Another three moons have come and gone... which means it's time for another life update. Here are my top 10 highlights of the quarter:
1,2 &3: Mindy and I have gone on three major trips: a backpacking trip in Uwharrie National Forest near Ashboro, a camping trip to Elkmont campground in the Smokies, and a beach trip to Oak Island with my family. All were great in their own ways: It was nice to do some real hiking and camping in Uwharrie, then celebrate the nuptials of my friends Kevin and Catie right afterward. We spent two out of our three days in the Smokies learning how to kayak and the other day camping and checking out Gatlinburg, all of which was fun and educational. And it was nice and relaxing to spend almost a week at the beach reconnecting with family and soaking in all that the beach has to offer.
4: I am still swimming at least twice per week, and my times for my workouts continue to drop. My mile time came in at just under 37 minutes back in May. I'm actually going to be participating in the swim portion of the Watauga Lake Triathlon as part of a relay team next month, which was not something I anticipated doing this year, but which made a lot of sense when I looked at how much time I was dedicating to swimming. This has replaced self defense / Krav Maga as my main physical pursuit for the year.
5: I bought a new road bike last month in anticipation of getting back into doing full triathlons later this year or next year. It worked great on the couple rides I went on at the beach (wish I could say the same for Mindy's tires...)
6: We have started warm composting. We also had worms for vermicomposting for a brief time, but they all got burned up when the compost heated up after I added rabbit manure. Sigh.
7: On a sadder note, we bought 2 angora rabbits at the Mother Earth News Fair in Asheville, but Pepper killed Roger, so only Thistle remains alive at this time. As a result, we have started our family pet graveyard. But we are still harvesting her fur to ultimately spin into yarn, as well as her manure for compost and fertilizer.
8: We completed a fence around our entire 6.5 acres, but Pepper has learned how to jump a part of the fence, so now we are in the process of attaching an electrical fence to the existing fence. I heave a heavy sigh as I write this. Hopefully the end of the Escaping Pepper Saga is in sight.
9: We decided to not have puppies, so Lula has been spayed as of last month. We also are holding off on chickens and goats for now, but have a long-term plan to make than happen sometime in the next decade.
10: Back in June, I sojourned to the Nahimana Forest in Ashe County for a 2-day personal retreat. If you're looking for a place to retreat from the stressors of the world, I can't think of a more peaceful spot than this one. It was my best personal retreat by far, and I'm looking forward to going back in a few months for another round. A month later, I'm still benefiting from the sharper focus and higher perspective I gained during those two days.
Despite the setback of having to build all these fences for Pepper, I'm staying on track with most of my goals. Here are a few of my thoughts as I look ahead to the third quarter:
The garden is doing even better this year than last, and the harvest has begun! We will probably need to learn how to can or preserve or pickle some of the stuff we get if it produces like I think it will.
I have oyster mushroom spawn sitting in the fridge ready to grow and am hoping to start growing them in the next few weeks.
I have several house projects outstanding for the rest of the summer that I hope to get done.
I plan to buy a kayak very soon and start getting out on the river as much as I can, hopefully at least once per month.
Mindy and I are flying up to New Hampshire for her mother's 60th birthday next month. After that, we only have one camping trip planned for the rest of the year.
I've finished several books and hope to get reports written on these sometime soon!
I'm really digging a couple new (to me) podcasts: The Bible for Normal People and The History of Philosophy without any Gaps. Download a few episodes now and check them out the next time you're in the car!
Much love.
1,2 &3: Mindy and I have gone on three major trips: a backpacking trip in Uwharrie National Forest near Ashboro, a camping trip to Elkmont campground in the Smokies, and a beach trip to Oak Island with my family. All were great in their own ways: It was nice to do some real hiking and camping in Uwharrie, then celebrate the nuptials of my friends Kevin and Catie right afterward. We spent two out of our three days in the Smokies learning how to kayak and the other day camping and checking out Gatlinburg, all of which was fun and educational. And it was nice and relaxing to spend almost a week at the beach reconnecting with family and soaking in all that the beach has to offer.
4: I am still swimming at least twice per week, and my times for my workouts continue to drop. My mile time came in at just under 37 minutes back in May. I'm actually going to be participating in the swim portion of the Watauga Lake Triathlon as part of a relay team next month, which was not something I anticipated doing this year, but which made a lot of sense when I looked at how much time I was dedicating to swimming. This has replaced self defense / Krav Maga as my main physical pursuit for the year.
5: I bought a new road bike last month in anticipation of getting back into doing full triathlons later this year or next year. It worked great on the couple rides I went on at the beach (wish I could say the same for Mindy's tires...)
6: We have started warm composting. We also had worms for vermicomposting for a brief time, but they all got burned up when the compost heated up after I added rabbit manure. Sigh.
7: On a sadder note, we bought 2 angora rabbits at the Mother Earth News Fair in Asheville, but Pepper killed Roger, so only Thistle remains alive at this time. As a result, we have started our family pet graveyard. But we are still harvesting her fur to ultimately spin into yarn, as well as her manure for compost and fertilizer.
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| RIP Roger (top) |
8: We completed a fence around our entire 6.5 acres, but Pepper has learned how to jump a part of the fence, so now we are in the process of attaching an electrical fence to the existing fence. I heave a heavy sigh as I write this. Hopefully the end of the Escaping Pepper Saga is in sight.
9: We decided to not have puppies, so Lula has been spayed as of last month. We also are holding off on chickens and goats for now, but have a long-term plan to make than happen sometime in the next decade.
10: Back in June, I sojourned to the Nahimana Forest in Ashe County for a 2-day personal retreat. If you're looking for a place to retreat from the stressors of the world, I can't think of a more peaceful spot than this one. It was my best personal retreat by far, and I'm looking forward to going back in a few months for another round. A month later, I'm still benefiting from the sharper focus and higher perspective I gained during those two days.
Despite the setback of having to build all these fences for Pepper, I'm staying on track with most of my goals. Here are a few of my thoughts as I look ahead to the third quarter:
The garden is doing even better this year than last, and the harvest has begun! We will probably need to learn how to can or preserve or pickle some of the stuff we get if it produces like I think it will.
I have oyster mushroom spawn sitting in the fridge ready to grow and am hoping to start growing them in the next few weeks.
I have several house projects outstanding for the rest of the summer that I hope to get done.
Mindy and I are flying up to New Hampshire for her mother's 60th birthday next month. After that, we only have one camping trip planned for the rest of the year.
I've finished several books and hope to get reports written on these sometime soon!
I'm really digging a couple new (to me) podcasts: The Bible for Normal People and The History of Philosophy without any Gaps. Download a few episodes now and check them out the next time you're in the car!
Much love.
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