Another Week: Number 176

Our change of seasons is still in flux. There was frost on our rooftops Wednesday and Friday mornings, but Friday afternoon was shirtsleeve weather. My crabapple blooms are already fading and falling.

I have added a few outdoor items to my wardrobe.

One is a “Tracker Water Resistant Cotton Outback Hat” from Conner Hats. I bought it as both sun and rain protection for my walks. The chin cord is essential if there’s any wind.

Having never been much of a hat guy, I was afraid of looking dorky, but I love this hat’s weatherbeaten, Depression-era, semi-Australian, oilskin look so much that I may start dorkily busking with my guitar for loose change.

I also bought a dedicated yardwork outfit from TRUEWERK — their “T1 WerkPant,” “D-ring WerkBelt,” and “B1 Sun Hoodie.”

Previously, I had favored old chinos and a retired dress shirt for freedom of movement and lightweight sun protection, but these new duds are even better. The fabric is super-lightweight and does not hold dirt. On Monday, I spent hours trimming and edging and mowing and crawling around pulling weeds — you know, really werking — and I felt sleek and comfortable the whole time.

The phone pocket is on the right pant leg, which seems like the wrong side for a right-handed person, and the belt’s D-ring buckle is dumb. I had figured the hood would be unused, but about 60 seconds in the noonday sun made me pull it up under my earmuffs and avoid redneckery.

Now I just need to get unsubscribed from all the emails.

My WNBA enthusiasm is slightly dimmed this season. I unsubscribed from their League Pass because too many games are only available after the fact when carried live on subscription services. In the games I have watched, the Indiana Fever are not clicking just yet and their shots aren’t falling. Also, the Washington Mystics are not using Lucy Olsen enough.

The Chicago Cubs, meanwhile, are on a dream roll — three walk-off wins at Wrigley Field in three nights!

Donald J. Trump and Islamic Republic of Iran continue to rope-a-dope each other. War-wise, it was yet another week of the same old staring contest.

On Tuesday, Trump’s lackeys tried to pass off his Iran war as an identical twin — gaslighting us to insist that “Epic Fury” has already concluded, and that we’re now on brand new mission called “Project Freedom.”

It’s breathtaking how quickly they’ve maneuvered themselves into such a quagmire that they no longer have the energy to even think of a name. A couple of hours later, Trump put “Project Freedom” on pause.

I walked 5.61 miles this week.