Fall Fun # 1

It's been a busy fall so far, but that's pretty normal around here.  Although we actually have fewer kid activities happening this year, it's seemed like much more is happening.  Part of that is that I'm teaching all Juniors this semester and that's the big English testing year in our state.  So, that's meant that I constantly have a huge pile of grading to finish.  But, even with all of the running around it's been a great fall so far.  It hasn't felt like fall here - it's been consistently in the high 80s.  As soccer wraps up and we head into November,  I'm looking forward to fall part two.  Hopefully it will be a little calmer and a little cooler.

Survival Strategy # 1  Crock Pot

We are managing to drive together most days this year which is good.  However, it also means that there are several days when we need to eat as soon as we walk in the door.  The crock pot is a fantastic tool that I use several times a week.  It's been a little hard to find recipes for the early fall though since it's been so warm.  I'll do soups later in the year, but no one is really in the mood for hot soup on a humid 85 degree afternoon.  This Lentil Dal really fits the bill.  I usually do a crock pot of rice in another smaller cooker, so dinner is all set when we get home.  It's a crowd pleaser, it goes together in about 5 min. in the morning, it makes enough to freeze or to have leftovers for lunch, and it makes the house smell amazing.

Crock Pot Lentil Dal
3 c. red lentils or split peas
6 c. water
28 oz. tomatoes
2T onion, garlic, fresh ginger
1T tumeric
1 bay leaf
2 t. cumin, mustard seeds
1 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper

Daddy/Daughter Camping

The girl and her dad were able to go out and camp together this year.  I love that they do that.  Eli and I went to the high school football game to cheer on my school's amazing guys.  We all had a great weekend together.

The Harvest (or Lack Thereof)

It was a pretty pitiful garden year.  The beans and flowers did really well.  Everything else was a bust. At least the garden looks pretty and because it's been so warm they're still blooming.

Pumpkin Patch

We headed to the local pumpkin patch and apple orchard with some great friends.  It was an awesome afternoon.  We had planned to go to the corn maze as well, but it was closed because of the heavy rain the day before.  Oh well, figures, the only weekend we have rain would be the weekend we planned to head there.  I'm loving watching these kids grow up and I'm so grateful for my parent friends as we help shepherd eachother through their teenage years (four of the five in that picture are now middle schoolers).

It was $40 to fill the wheelbarrow - we got as much as we could.

Physics

View from the apple orchard

Redskins Game

Ed and Eli had another chance to go to a Redskins game together.  They even won!  

Growing Up

We now have two middle schoolers (6th and 8th).  They've gotten so grown up so fast.  Mostly that is a good thing.  They're both pretty responsible, and most days they're kind and easy to be with.  No matter the age I love these kids so fiercely.  I'm already realizing that there are only four short years after this before our household starts decreasing.  It really makes me wish we had a bigger family.  It's going to be really quiet around here when they're gone.

1st day of school

Confirmation - She's now considered an adult in the Lutheran church.

Applesauce Weekend

It wasn't much of a party this year.  We had to do applesauce at our house because of Emma's confirmation, and the kids, Ed and my Dad had a school service event.  So, mom and I tackled four bushels of apples ourselves.  I missed having cousins and the weekend at the farm.  There's always next year.  At least the job is done.  I used the big pressure cooker to cook down the apples and it worked really well.  We got some fantastic tasting sauce.

I made him help me with the last half bushel because my hand hurt.

Campout

We held the campout a weekend earlier than normal.  The weather was gorgeous, but we were competing with several other events.  So, we had the smallest turn out we've ever had.  It was still a fun weekend, but we'll probably go back to hosting later in the fall next year.

Barking At Sticks

This time of year, as the end of school approaches and kid activities wind down, I start making plans to hit the road, get on the river, and put my boots on the trail.  I become drawn to trail narratives, mark up maps, draw plans, and spend time scheming with friends and family to see who's willing to join me.

So when I stumbled across Bill Bryson's A Walk In the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail  I was instantly engaged.  I enjoyed Bryson's description of his cursing trail companion and, as usual, felt envious that he had logged those miles on the AT and I hadn't.  But then, he wrote about his time in Shenandoah National Park.

Bryson hiked in 1996.  I was living within a day's hike of SNP in 1996.  Lollie Winans and Julie Williams were murdered in a peaceful campsite just off the AT near Big Meadows in 1996.

Their brutal  and unsolved murders terrified me then, and twenty years later they terrify me still.  When I'm in the woods I'm usually feeling very Thoreauish... "Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads."  Their murders made me feel more like Dickinson with "zero at the bone."  From an early age, the woods have been a place of safety and serenity.  I head to the woods when I want to hear my own thoughts, and maybe the voice of God if I listen.  I don't want the Devil breathing down my neck.

According to BackPacker.com  the top 10 most likely things that will kill you in the wilderness are the following:
1.  Falling
2.  Drowning
3.  Heart Attack
4.  Hypothermia
5.  Heat Stress
6.  Lightening
7.  Avalanche
8.  Suicide
9.  Flash Flood
10.  Insects (Tick Bourne Diseases)

I'm much more likely to die in the woods because I don't have enough water, or don't carry the right clothing than I am to be the victim of an attack.  So why doesn't a bad tick season cause me to reconsider solo hiking and make me think about attending the next Sherriff's conceal carry class?

The answer:  Fear.

Fear can be positive.  It can provide some caution, and is especially useful when your prefrontal cortex is still forming during your early 20s.  Fear can keep you alive, and can stop you from doing stupid things.

But Fear can also be paralyzing.  I am determined to not give in to "the grim phantasom of fear."


Earlier this evening I took the girl and a gaggle of her friends to the creek to swim.  I also took the dog.  The dog spent almost the entire time barking at a stick bobbing in the water.  She jumped down to the water's edge and barked at it.  Then she jumped up onto the low water bridge next to me for comfort.  Then she jumped back to the water's edge and eased herself out toward the stick, almost touching it each time, but always jumping quickly back as if she'd been bitten before she could catch the stick and her fear.  She did this for over an hour.  She has several barks - the play with me bark.  The middle of the night single bark to tell the cat she's too close to the kennel.  The predator's near howl.  The there's a strange car in the driveway notice.  The helooo and welcome home bark.  And then there's this bark - the one that says I'm terrified.  I don't know what this is, and I'm pretty sure it will hurt me so I'm going to bark as loudly and meanly as I can.  I hope I scare it and it goes far, far away.

Her theory is a good one when she's barking at something real.  I'm certain that one of the reasons we haven't had any predators around here for a year is because she barks when they draw close.  "Thou she be but little, she is fierce"  Nothing is getting past her.

But tonight her fear was completely without cause.  I tried to reassure her - but she was still afraid.  I tried to reprimand her with a Quiet! command - but she was still afraid.  I tried to wash the stick downstream and away from her - but she was still afraid.

This week I've been barking at sticks.  I read all the accounts I could find of the 1996 double murder, the 1997 assault, and the Route 29 stalker.  Then I stumbled across news of a recent assault on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and felt my hackles rise and heard the growl form in my throat.  Will I carry my bear spray and tazer flashlight when I'm on the trail this summer?  Probably.  Will I be aware of my surroundings, carry the essential 10, tell others where I'll heading and when I'll be back?  You bet.

But will I give in to fear and not put my boots to the trail?  No way. As John Muir said,  "The mountains are calling, and I must go."

Hike to the Falls

We spent a delightful Sunday afternoon with our congregation's young family fellowship group.  We hiked to the falls off of the aptly names Falls Ridge Trail.  It was a delightful way to remember our baptism on Pentecost.

Spring is a great time to see wildflowers in the mountains.  Alas, no Trillium.

The Falls Ridge Trail can be accessed from Forestry Road 88 near Liberty Furnace in Western Virginia.  The first part of the trail is fairly steep.  We hiked to the turn off point for the falls and stopped for lunch.

The girls had a their last confirmation class for the year on the trail with our pastor.  They were told to watch for water and wind and think about the Holy Spirit.

After lunch we turned to the left on an unblazed, but well traveled trail to head for the falls.  If you head out to find the falls look for the rock cairns that mark the trail turns.

 Some of the Laurel is just about ready to bloom, the falls had more water than we'd ever seen before, and there were beautiful Jack in the Pulpit near the falls.

 Even though it was windy and cold, we even saw hail, we certainly found the Spirit out there on the mountain.

Happy Pentecost Everyone!

Rained Out

Because of the boy's fall soccer game schedule, this was the only weekend open for fall camping. I love to go fall camping because we really spend time together as a family, and because it's very relaxing.

On Monday, when the boy and I bought camping groceries, the weather forecast still looked reasonable.  By Thursday, when we would have packed, the forecast had turned to dire predictions of up to 10 inches of rain.  Although it turned out to be much less of an event than anticipated, the weather here on the East Coast did not cooperate - first a Nor'easter and then fall out from a hurricane.  It's been a bit soggy.

So, we altered our plans and said we'd have a Camp In.  The theory was that we would do no work, stay off of electronics, and spend lots of quality time together as a family.  We'd also still cook on the fire (only we'd have to use the wood stove).  

We did a good job of sticking to the alternate plan on Friday, and even Saturday morning.  But, by Saturday evening the girl had been invited to a friend's house for a sleep over, and since Sunday's soccer game was cancelled, the boy and the Woodsman decided to go on an all day Sunday football adventure.  The girl had homework to do, and I had grading to do - both of which meant the computer was needed.  Because the girl was gone, the boy wanted time to play Mine Craft.

Well, at least we still ate like we were camping, and it certainly was a relaxing weekend.  Maybe we'll go in the spring....

 

On the Way Home

We made three brief stops after leaving Glacier on our way back East.  One of the strategies we try to employ as we eat up large chunks of miles is to stop somewhere interesting.  We keep moving toward our ultimate destination, but yet we break up the monotony that can come from long hours in the car.  Plus, this is a big country.  There are a lot of excellent places to see.  If you fly you only get to see the big ones.  Car travel allows you to see more of our country's small gems.

First People's Buffalo Jump 

One of our stops was at First People's Buffalo Jump State Park.  This is the largest buffalo jump used by the ancient peoples (before the horse).  We learned a lot from a wonderful Native American ranger.  The ingenuity of the early people and their cooperative living and working was amazing.

The boy plays the part of the brave pretending to be a wolf to scare the buffalo.

The cliff from the bottom.

Bone fragment from an ancient buffalo.

The top of the cliff.

 Missouri Headwaters State Park

Not much to see here, and the campground wasn't much either, but it was amazing to stand in the same spot where Sacagawea was captured, and where Lewis and Clark camped.  We were a bit distracted when we got here because we discovered that our trailer and car tires were in really bad shape.  Of course, it was the weekend, and we had a lot of mile to cover before we could find a place to get new tires.  It was also the last night with my parents, so we were losing a bit of our saftey net in case of an emergency.  This trip is the only time I was ever thankful for Super Walmarts.  Their auto repair shops are open every day.  It took us traveling half-way across Montana, and two different shops, and incorrect work, and five hours of waiting in Wal-marts, but we got safely back on the road.  Stressful indeed.

Teddy Roosevelt National Park

We love badlands, and we were working to avoid motorcycle traffic from the Sturgis Motorcycle rally in South Dakota.  So, we headed to North Dakota to Teddy Roosevelt.  It was rainy while we were there, but we still enjoyed the excellent campground among beautiful cottonwoods (great ranger program), beautiful wide open scenery and colors and close encounters with buffalo herds. 

You just don't get views like this in the East.

We sat waiting for this herd to move for a long time.  I love this kind of traffic.