The Spontaneous Activities of Summer: Hiking

Sixteen Miles. 8 miles UP and another down. All in one day. All in summer heat. All with good company and a bit of pain. So goes the adventure story of sis and I ( as well as the 3 other friends that accompanied us). You can read more of the gory details on Middle Sis's blog here, but mean while, here are some quick photos from the trek. 

While much of the hike was NOT shaded, our timing was just right so that we came upon this lovely woodland, shady spot at lunch time. It was perfect. If only I knew then how much farther I would have to go! So glad I didn't!

The view from the top

I know it ain't pretty, but I just had to simply say "I was dirty"  doesn't do the dirt or myself justice. Take a look at my feet right after I removed my shoes, before they got sprayed with the hose.  Yes, the bright white is my natural skin color. 

I am almost too ashamed to admit it but this hike sparked more pain in my ligaments than I have ever experienced in my life!  Needless to say I took a delicious soak in the bath almost immediately upon entering my house.  There was not much rest for me the next day...I ended up working 10 hours at the Farmers Market.  I was waddling and limping around a little but I made it to the end of the day. 
It was certainly one of those unforgettable summer memories. 

Home from Vacation

Well, my family is back from a lovely little vacation we spent visiting my Country Sis and her husband. It was delightful. Everyone told us that we had brought the good with us for apparently it the sun and her warm rays had scarcely seen consistently for months. We were glad to help and tried to assure the Sun that it indeed was summer and that everyone wanted to see her shining face. I think she listened.

The pictures are evidence of the lovely weather. These pix were taken when Callie (the dog) and I were walking through the forest and the newly cut hay field.
Deeee- light-ful!!

A Six-Book Summer

Seeing as this is the first day of Fall (in addition to the fact that the school quarter begins this Thursday), I reckon it is appropriate to take a glance backward at this summer's reading list! Thanks mostly to the Playaways that my library have, I consumed 6 books , totaling up to almost 100 hours of literature! The books I read were:

Anne Of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Vern

Ever by Gail Carson Levine

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Bleak House by Charles Dickens (This baby was 39.5 hours to listen to and it took me approx. 6 weeks!)

Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington.

As you can see, a wide range of genres were represented here. When I read, I want to discover something; it may be from the actual information written in the text, it may be from the writers' style. One thing that I have discovered is that the older I get the more I appreciate books. I guess there is one good thing about getting old, and that is there are more opportunities to read!

My newly acquired maxim...always be reading something!

I Am Off...

...to visit my married sister who I like to refer to as Country Sis. Although I have some posts scheduled during my absence, I probably won't be online much while I 'a there, sop the pictures will have to wait until I get back!
I can't tell you what a big girl I feel like--flying by all myself!



My flight gear ( notice the easy-to-remove shoes)



The bags (let's pray that it isn't over 5o lbs!)

Cheerio!

Vacation in Review--part 5 Friends and Fun

Friends

Meet my friends, the goats. I came love these two, four-legged critters. They call to you, eat (anything!) out of your hand. Tthey frolic and run with (and after) you.

I really came to have a a deep affection for these little guys. I think of them often when I am weeding or cutting out strawberry hulls. I could feed my goat-buddies with these I think. Maybe one day I'll be able to have some, but for now their memory will live on in pictures.

Fun

One of these happy vacation days was spent swimming in a river (not the one in the in-laws backyard, a different one). We jumped and dove off of rocks as well as those overpass cement post thingys (never in a million years would I have thought of jumping off of the actual overpass! EEK!)! I later took County Sis's dog's example and took an nap in the delicious sunshine using Callie-dog herself as my pillow (honestly, you didn't expect me to use a rock for a pillow do you? I hear it gives you weird dreams and strange visions. Just ask Jacob of the Bible.)

Sigh...the whole day was wonderful....what relaxation!

Vacation in Reveiw--Part 4 Harvesting

“I’m a God-fearing hardworking combine driver
Hogging up the road with my p-p-p-plower
Chug-a-lug-alugin 5 miles an hours
On my International Harvester”

Such are the words to the country song written by songwriter Craig Morgan. I always thought this upbeat tune a fun one when I heard it played on the radio; however, the humor became much more real as I got a taste of real combine work.

To continue yesterdays’ narrative…after we finished with the blueberry pie filling, The Lady and her brother Wrestler Man had to go to their Combining job with a local farmer. Were we (Curly-Q and myself) up to ride along with them? Were we ever! It was between one and two O clock in the afternoon when we left for the fields. Because of the recent rainy and damp weather, their work day began later so as to give the cut rye grass a chance to dry out.

The cab of a Combine is not designed for two females of feminine proportions to fit spaciously into; however, The Lady and I squeezed in (good thing we know each other and are friends!) so we wouldn’t have to endure the dusty conditions resulting from an open cab door. Yes, you can keep the door open when you Combine without any fear of being sucked out at the incredibly high speed of 5.7 miles an hour! Round and round, The Lady and I went, chit-chatting while the monstrously large machine “ate” at the fallen grass that lay before it. With rye grass, The Lady told me, you have to come at it a certain way. The grass has to be facing the Combine (the rye heads forward) so it will be collected, sifted, and separated all properly. I even got to drive for a while, having to pay a little more attention than I did last year when I “helped” (if you can call 30 minutes of driving “help”) combine wheat grass.

I felt almost special knowing that I was helping make food for other people. It was one of the highlights of my trip.

I still think the song by Craig Morgan is funny, perhaps even more so now that I can identify with it a little more. I sure didn’t “hog up the road with my p-p-p-plower” but I sure “chug-a-luga-luged 5 miles an hour!”

Vacation In Review--part 3 Blueberries For Gals

A note of explanation… before I begin my narrative let me explain the “names” I use:
Country Sis is my eldest sister whom my family was visiting
Curly-Q is my middle sister
The Lady is Country Sis’s sister in law who lives across the road. When I call her “ The Lady” I am meaning it with all kindness and seriousness (and certainly not an austerity) . She is indeed a lady in the best and noblest of ways.

It was 7:00AM when we got the call from Country Sis that The Lady was going a-blueberry picking. Did we want to come? Did we ever! 45 minutes later Curly-Q, the Lady, and I were dragging the drift boat to the river bank that bordered the in-laws yard. After almost getting our heads and hands spun off by the incredibly fast whirling crank/reel that releases the boat from the trailer in to the water, we piled in and enjoyed a rather surreal ride to the opposite bank where the “U-Pick” blueberry field awaited us. There, up atop the incline, was the field owner’s house surrounded by trees, from which hung decapitated milk cartons with twine threaded through their handles. Following The Lady’s example, we made little “blueberry baskets” by tying the headless milk cartons around our waists with the twine. (This, I learned, was standard procedure for any passerby wishing to pick berries. One never had to bother the owners until it was time to pay.) Away we went to the farthest end of the blueberry rows and “plink, plink, plink,” we picked, picked, picked. Between mouthfuls of blueberries we discussed the whys and wherefores of our favorite books and movies, until we came the end of our 4th row and realized we had collected a grand total of 8 gallons! As we rowed back home through the deliciously cool water that sparkled with the summer sunshine, I felt like a thief, having paid only five dollars per gallon!

Once home we continued in domestic busyness by making 14 jars of blueberry pie filling as well as one (each) fresh blueberry and rhubarb pie. The fun and industry didn’t end here for almost as soon as we had finished the pie The Lady…but if I told that, it would make this post terribly long. No, that story must wait for tomorrow!

Vacation In Review--Part 2

Don't sunflowers just make you smile?! This was the little beauty that graced the table of four of us ladies: Mom, L, A, and myself. We went a little town and eat lunch, and window shop, and simply enjoy the little chance we had at "girl time." This happy little table decoration reminds me of the joy it was to sit and discuss, take pictures (mostly of our food), and goof off.

Vacation In Review--part 1

I could write numerous excuses for why I haven't been posting much lately (ok, at all) , but here is one of them...I was on vacation! We went to visit my dear sister and her husband and his family in their house in the woods. Sigh...It was such a wonderful time.

This picture shows a bit of "dead" amongst the profusion of "green" It was taken on a morning walk with Mom in the clear (unpolluted) woodsy air!

It was the first of several walks that Mom and I took together. This particular ramble through the woods was sweet to me because, as Mom and I came to the medal green gate that stopped us from going further, we took the opportunity to sit on a stump, hold hands, and pray. As the birds twittered, and sun's fingers reached in past the tree tips that moved in thelight breeze, we talked with Jesus, told Him our fears and asked Him to be with the ones we love so dearly. It was a sweet time. One of the many of our trip. Stay tuned!!