Backpacking, Hanging Out and Turning Forty. One.

First of all, school season is back sniffing around and I realized I am in this gig for 2.5 more years, 3 at the most.  Time to start weaning away from being a roamschooler and start doing my own thing as...me.  So, I have started up a second blog and have been doing all the 'just me' stuff over there. Though I do digress here plenty, this started as our family unschooling blog.  I don't want to be just a homeschooling mom any more, I need to start branching out and finding other ways to connect with people. So after a couple minutes of thought, hiking, camping, backpacking, nature study...yeah.  Those are my people.  And happily, I can still maintain a few current friendships that can carry over to post "our kids get along so well, let's do things together" era, as I have a few truly awesome friends.  :)

Speaking of awesome friends, Jacki and I have a birthday tomorrow!  She will be 40 and I will be 41.  I love that we share the day.  :)  This year, like last, I am going to the lake to swim.  Though this year-I can walk!  I will never, ever take that for granted again.  What a gift to be able to move freely and without pain.  I have been working so hard-hours each week-on getting stronger and having better balance and better core muscles.  It's showing!  I was able to do the 13 mile Fiery Gizzard Trail last weekend with a 25 pound pack in 9 hours of hiking.  

I hiked with Melissa, another mom I met who lives just over the TN line.

Then Tuesday I walked 12 miles on the Richard Martin Trail in 4 hours.  With a 12 pound pack.  Elevation change is a HUGE factor and RM only has about a 50 foot change.  I was tired after both hikes, but recovered and was ready to go again quickly.

SWAMP

Melissa picked up a friend!

What 97% of the trail looks like

Me,10 miles in!  Heat index was over 110, I drank 3 liters of water!

Back at the middle!  

I have been taking it a little easy to let my feet toughen back up.  Being wrapped and rubbed and coated in Stephanie's concoctions made my callouses soft!  Hit her up if you have an ailment, she is a little nuts about the miracle powers of her witchy oils, but some do help!  Her bug spray is the best all-natural repellant I have tried.  And I have tried at least a dozen.

Yesterday was an easy day, we went to Gina's to celebrate Phoenix's name change and their moving MUCH closer to us.  It's less than half an hour drive now!  They moved to nearly where we used to meet 'halfway' to swap kids.  STOKED.  We snacked all day and when it cooled off, played in the pool for an hour.  Perfect day!  Lots of yammering and catching up with the other moms and guacamole.  Yeah! Jake calls a group of moms a Squabble and a group of teens a Mope.  hahaha

Draft blocker.

All the kids?

Chicken House Horror!

I agreed to have one final party here, before the chicken houses get stocked.  There are 1.5 of the 4 houses ribbed in now.  The trenches they dug to put up the walls hold water, as does the bowl-like area between the house sites and the road.  So far, they have been just hauling in more gravel to cover the water.  I still think after 6-7 days of steady winter rains, it's going to be cold Chicken Soup over there.  Between the guy overseeing the construction being unable to dress for the weather and the total disregard for the simple fact that it's CLAY they are building on, I have stopped worrying so much about the impending smell and have started placing bets with myself about time until failure.  The last time their chicken houses fell into ruin, they let the bits of them blow over here for about 8 years before they decided to clean up any of it.  With fire, of course.  I threw away sheets of styrofoam after every breeze.  Crappy neighbors and worse farmers and even worse stewards of the land!  Triple Threat.

In other, better news, my first 2 trail guides came in today. OMG, those things are $$$.  I have my eye on a third long trail, but can't justify $24 for the guide and $20 for the maps plus shipping.  I will have to before I tackle it, $50 is nothing when compared to being lost or unable to find water.  But they really do have you over a barrel and with reroutes, you can't just buy a guide and be done, it has to be within a year of the trip. So if you miss your dates or want to go again later, you have to buy it again!  GARH.  I need to start writing trail guides.  But first, I need to get on the trail!  :)

Matt's on his way home and we are going to get groceries this evening because he has a Magic tournament tomorrow and a gig Saturday.  Being an adult is way cool.  I already got to pay the bills due before August 15th and scrub algae off the dog water pool and repaint part of the front porch today.  :)