The Week 8/52 & 9/52

Put in 7 miles with Karen on Friday, we had so much fun!  Karen wore her new Osprey pack (ours match!) and we fiddled with it until she was very happy with the fit.  Hurrah!  I have not even done that with my own pack yet, the one day I loaded it to try out, I pulled a neck muscle picking it up, then the food was still in boxes, so they poked my kidneys.  I had it loaded for a full week of no resupply-clothes, food, water (well, 3 liters) stove, fuel, pot, cup, light, rain gear, tent, bag, pad, down jacket, hat, maps, camera, batteries...it was 33 pounds and toooooo heavy for my liking.  I was glad she was loving hers, I am hoping for a better plan next time I haul mine out! haha

found these at Big Lots, bought...a lot of them.  SO yummy!

deeeeer

Afterward, I went to meet Andrea at Ditto Landing and it was flooded!

We got in a couple miles anyway, then had dinner at Tazikis.

A weekend trip to Hobby Lobby for more art supplies for the Chan netted me some half off figurines to place along the trail.  

Lots of trail work and the occasional stab at trail work that ends with just hiking around.

This is the top of the log road I want to open back up, that's about 4 afternoons of just burning the downed stuff.  It's been so much work, but a really good way to sneak in some exercise.  After I get the loop at the north end done, that will add a serious climb.  It's 600 feet at the confluence where the property line is and it's 1000 at the cliff where the campsite is.  The house is about 200 feet higher than that, so a good elevation change!  The trail is a mile long now end to end, so a 2 mile walk to do it all.  So far. Going for 3 for now and planning to add 2 more miles next winter.  I don't want to disturb the critters too much by moving brush around, snakes in particular!

I needed to sit at the top a bit and plan where to start the trail down.

Jessie likes the contemplation time.

That's a dog smooch IN my backpack.  Nosers!

The start of the north loop path, so far I have just been moving large fallen things and rocks out of the path.  That tree was too heavy!

Salamanders are waking up!
Don't touch with bare hands, they absorb through their skins and can die from the crap we slather on ourselves.

On leap day, we returned Kurt's car and went geocaching so Matt could get a special leap year badge.  On the way home (all 5 of us crammed in Matt's tiny car) I snapped some pics out the window.

Lovely!

And that's it.
I got Ben registered for the next school year.  We talked it over and are TIRED of homeschooling.  He's going to work at getting his last few credits done early, so he can graduate next May instead of 2018.  So, without realizing it at the time, I enrolled us in our final year as homeschoolers!

So, I only have to plan 6 more events in my role as AC and I am DONE.  I am nearly giddy with the relief of the end being in sight.  I have planned so many things and led so many events and outings over the past 16 years.  I will be glad to be at the end of it all.  Fittingly, my last homeschooling event will be the May campout in 2017.