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On Tuesday, I had my biweekly in-person meetings with the Utah Historical Society, where I am the only man on the Education and Engagement team. My supervisor explained to the group that she had received a grumpy email, and I chimed in to add that the email was a textbook example of mansplaining. One of my colleagues said, "Oh, now I have to know more!" And then, because I was the only man in a room full of eleven women, she said, "Explain it to us, Mark." The joke wrote itself.

I had a few interactions with wild(?)life this week as well.

Tuesday evening, because it was so hot and smoky outside, I went back to swim with the swim team, which I usually do during the winter. As I put my hand on my swim bag, I felt something sharp, as though I had just cut myself. What the heck?! There's nothing sharp on my swim bag! And then I was surprised to see that a wasp had hitchhiked onto my bag!

I don't like to kill things, but since I still needed to use my bag, and I was in a locker room where people are barefoot, I couldn't let it go. So I used my shoe to smash it and then brush it into the garbage.

On Thursday, I was working from home when my dad came into my room to tell me there was a peacock on our shed! So I went out to get pictures. But I took them from a distance because I didn't want to scare it off. 

I went back into my room to keep working. But a little bit later I saw it leave our front yard and head up the sidewalk. They really are stunningly beautiful birds. No wonder they're so popular! It was so random.

And here's a picture of my splooty baby that same day. 

Then that evening, I went on a walk to eradicate goatheads. As I was almost home, I apparently brushed against some plant growth, because there were dried petals on my arm. But I didn't notice that. I just noticed a sharp pain in my arm. I had been stung for the second time in a week! There was even a stinger left on my arm, so presumably it was a bee. 

In the ensuing days, I felt as though I had received a shot in my arm. But instead of a vaccine, I was filled with venom.

My mom's family was in town this week, and in some of our conversations, we discussed snakes. Yesterday (Saturday), I returned to North Canyon for my first time in five weeks. Right at the beginning of the trail, I saw a good-sized snake. But it didn't have any rattles. 

Then as I headed up the trail farther, I heard a rattle, and I barely saw something move off the trail and into the brush. I backtracked a bit on the trail so I could get back on the dirt road instead of the trail, until I knew I was safely past the rattler. 

There were also many trees covered in caterpillars and their silk. There's a different kind of caterpillar that does this in June as well.

And on the non-animal side of things, I also saw this fungus:

And I saw August wildflowers. 

fireweed (pinkish) and Richardson's geraniums (white)

And finally, here are this week's dreams. 

Mark explores ancient underground tombs

Mark tells a woman she left her water bottle on the roof at the top floor of the library, but it's actually on the second floor

David hosts a table at the BYU library, but he is interrupted by an awkward man with a glass nose who talks about construction

Mark is concerned about ingesting a small wire from a barbecue brush

A contestant on "Halloween Baking Championship" serves turkey shrimp in sauce

Mark and his mother want to go to a museum by the water, but it is closed down (For some reason, AI always puts a giant in bodies of water)

Mark wants to try all the rolls made with jelly beans at the church activity

Mark puts his stuff in a popular hot spring that is surrounded by a column made of red calcite

Mark accompanies Susanne at the auto shop in Walmart

Mark's mail is accidentally delivered to a man making hot sausage

on December 26, Mark puts up his few New Year's decorations

on December 26, Mark goes running and thinks about New Year's socks

Mark, Ben, and Charlie work with a toxic liquid that can make people sick

Mark walks carefully over freshly tilled soil with a stinger on top

Mark clears spiderwebs from the basement

National Great American Outdoors Day

Since before I was born, my family has liked to camp at Moosehorn Lake in the Uintas, almost every August. So I went up Friday night to join my parents there. Projects for my BYU job have dried up somewhat, so I had extra time to go there earlier than I would if I had a full-time job. 

I got on their kayak and went around the lake just a little bit, which was fun. 

Near the campground is the trailhead for Bald Mountain, and I was there early enough that I thought I could run up the mountain that evening. So I drove over the trailhead and found a spot to park. Sometimes there are officials who patrol the parking lot to make sure you pay your recreational use fee. But this weekend was National Great American Outdoors Day, so there was no fee. 

I've only been on this mountain a couple of times, so I forgot how rocky it is, with lots of quartzite and sandstone boulders. So it's not a good trail for running; there were only a few small patches where it felt safe (or possible) to run. But even if it wasn't a good run, it was still a good hike, and I think I made it up faster than the average person would. It's less than three miles round trip, with a climb of over a thousand feet. As I've been watching the Olympics, the athletes talk about being at their peak in their twenties. I think I'm physically at my peak in my thirties, but if you're supposed to peak in your twenties, does that mean I wasted my twenties?

There are so many glacially carved lakes up there

That's Mirror Lake

I might have to explore another trail up there sometime.

Then the next day, I inflated my paddleboard and went around the lake. I stood up on my paddleboard for an hour, the longest I have done so, and then I sat and kneeled on it for a little more. It's a fun fad. And I wanted to try to swimming in the cold lake, but a storm was coming in, so I didn't.

When I headed up on Friday, I stopped at Hi-Mountain restaurant in Kamas, and I noticed an unusual menu item. So on my way back down on Saturday, I had to stop back down to try it. I avoid nonseasonal desserts, and I have reduced my meat consumption, but it was so weird that I had to try it: a chicken and waffles milkshake!

Yes, it had actual chicken pieces in it, and the waffle bits came from a waffle cone. It had a syrupy flavor. It was weird, but it wasn't half bad. I would consider getting it again, especially if I ate more meat and milkshakes. 7/10.

Oh, and our plums are ripe, so I've been picking some. I have a lot more I need to pick before they get overripe. But they're also not very good when they're underripe.

And I had to take a picture of this non-LDS church sign about Pioneer Day, which was pleasantly surprising. 

Those were really the highlights of the week, so here are this week's dreams.

after finishing grad school, Mark packs up his stuff to move back home

Mark gently hits his dad on the head with a binder full of papers because of a political and religious disagreement

a man tells Spencer he is smart enough to go to grad school

a small trail goes through a small building that has a multimedia exhibit about the Bill of Rights

a hole in the kitchen floor is a rabbit burrow with a bunny that has ten ears (I tried many variations to try to get ten ears, but the AI wouldn't do it)

A custodian lives in a small, smelly apartment in the back of a college restroom

a college store resells raw beef roast from Costco

Mark is surprised to see two small, brown dogs next to his bed

Burger King sends burgers in large boxes, but one of them is inedible

a man gives Latter-day Saint missionaries stereotypical missionary foods, like ramen and grilled cheese

Mark uses green sunscreen and Starburst candies

Mark buys a handcart-themed journal at Deseret Book

a haunted attraction sells fall-flavored candies with fall-colored nonpareils (I checked, and hallsoubal.com is not a real website)

Mark sees his sister's former dog in someone else's yard

Mark drops his mini Christmas cheesecakes on the floor during the staff Christmas party

Mark plays Christmas music in the public shower