Glad I have some good books on tape. This little home improvement project is clearly gonna take the rest of the summer to complete.
A Place to Sit…
…out of the dirt. Building a simple floating deck can’t be too hard, right?
Provided I master a few tools and a little patience.
Look at that! A quick tap o’ the hammer, and we have a lovely place to view the stars while resting from all the deck construction.
It’s Really Not So New
Since returning from April’s Spring South trip I’ve busied myself with seasonal repairs, property cleanup, and general improvements.
This process has helped me realize something critical about my experience living in the cabin… I’m finding joy in allowing things around me to be NOT new.
Defining NOT New
Put simply, there’s a special kind of ‘newness’ new things seem to have. And it can be really nice. New things are shiny or smooth and generally flawless. But allowing things to show wear lets us know that someone has lived here… and done things… and maybe even done them in a specific way.
It’s a small relief to feel I don’t need to worry about things becoming NOT new. Oddly, this is a new experience for me.
Growing Self Reliance
As long as things function as I need them to, I’m good to go. And if they don’t, a twist of the screw here… a tap of the hammer there… and all’s right with the world. Or my little piece of it, at least.
Increased self reliance. I guess that’s the point. It’s a trait generally thought of as common to New Englanders, and maybe I’m just starting to absorb it? I post this here to remind myself of the value of things getting good use and aging naturally.
Including my own self.
Spring South Part 4: The Trails
Spring South Part 3: Turning Fifty
Something unique happened during this trip. I turned 50.
I spent a significant amount of my camping and exploration time reflecting on this milestone. (As one does, I suppose.)
Then (what are the odds?) I accidentally (but also on purpose) deleted the last decade (maybe more?) of my personal notes, sketches, formulas, and tracking data. A few unpublished essays were saved, but not all.
These ideas were steeped in the work of my early adulthood (now mostly uninteresting to me) when my brain was lightning-fast, light, and agile. They had sat alone in the cloud, waiting for an opportunity to be reviewed and possibly critiqued or improved…
And then they were gone. Where did they go? Doesn’t matter…
Today I open a new (slower, but most definitely wiser) chapter.
Spring South Part 2: First Spring
After some decent sleep and a decidedly southern breakfast, Scully was ready to adventure.
Right away Kiki found an old friend…
…and we were off to explore the backcountry.
The views in the Blue Ridge Mountains did not disappoint.
And neither did the early signs of spring.
It had been a minute since we were camping together, but it sure didn’t feel like it.
