Our little bonus patch of volunteer petunias…teeny, tiny…hiding in the tub of African Lilies
Mr. FixIt and I were talking on the way home from camping Friday. It was grey and chilly…one of those misty October days that chills you to the bone. A day we weren’t entirely prepared for. I was looking around and noticing the beauty of the moment…the beautiful trees lining the highway with their flashy show of red, orange, and yellow…dulled by the spooky-dim light of late afternoon.
We watched this little maple tree slowly turn crimson over the week we were camping at Alum Creek State Park in Lewis Center, Ohio. The park is due north of Columbus and is about two and a half hours from our home. That’s a nice doable drive for a camping trip. You don’t have to leave at the crack of dawn in order to get there at a decent time to set up and still have time to play and enjoy your first day.
I awoke to the tippy tap sound of gentle rain on the roof of the camper. It sounds the same as my first camper…Little TOW-Wanda. It had a metal roof. Big TOW-Wanda had a rubber roof and I was always disappointed that the sound of the rain was so muffled. And now…Big Bird! Her roof is metal and reminds me a lot of Grandma’s house at the farm.
I know I tell you every day that THIS was the perfect day. That’s because it is. We have a tendency to rush through life. We forget to “stop and smell the roses”. We seek to get more when we don’t appreciate what we already have. It takes stopping…..just, s-t-o-p-p-i-n-g…to catch your breath, count your blessings, and SEE how glorious life is.
The first thing we do every morning is open the shade on the skylight and oooooh and aaaaaah!
I told Mr. FixIt yesterday morning that I was not doin’ nuthin’ all day ‘cept what I wanted to do. And that’s exactly how it panned out. I ate cookies for breakfast sitting in my big blue chair. It was nippy so I brought out the little ceramic heater and aimed it at my feet while I knitted all morning. My friend Lynn showed up around 1:00 and sat and talked with us for a couple of hours, which was really nice. When she left, we fixed a late lunch and sat at the table watching the sunshine dapple the ground through the trees. We sat and watched the squirrels running around burying the plethora of nuts available in these woods. There is one black squirrel that hangs out nearby and he’s stunning. I also listened for, and identified, several birds in the campground with my Merlin app from Cornell University…including a Red-bellied Woodpecker, a Nashville Warbler, and a Cooper’s Hawk.
The daytime temps are warm enough to wear a lightweight shirt, even if it’s long sleeved. And maybe leggings if you feel a little chilled. Night’s are cool enough to flip on the little space heater and cover up with an extra blanket. And throw on a fuzzy fleece jacket when you’re sitting around outside.
I can think of a lot of things I wish I had with us. Like, my propane campfire. That would have been perfect! A stepladder would certainly come in handy. And try as I might, I cannot find my little level that I use when I’m camping. But, we were really pressed for time to prepare for this trip. We had to run a ton of errands and empty out TOW-Wanda…all in one day. I grabbed some blankets and put them in a tote. Nothing matches, but they’re warm and functional and at this point, that’s all that matters to me.
Big Bird! A lot like Birdie, but bigger, with twin beds so the dinette stays up, and more storage!
We are camping at a beautiful state park we’ve never been to before. Our initial plan was to stay here a couple of nights, then head toward Gettysburg and tour the historic sites…something I’ve always wanted to do. We sat in the sun yesterday afternoon and had lunch surrounded by falling leaves. The weather is cool with lots of puffy white clouds in the clear blue sky. We are steps from a huge lake. And, we’re tired.
I knew after driving in high winds for two and a half hours…we’d made the right decision!
Y’all are going to think we need an intervention. I mean…why have one camper when you can have four, right? Well…our long term thinking is still to have ONE good camper for camping in, and the ‘67 Franklin for a renovation project. As you may remember, we’ve….I’VE had a mishap buying a used camper. I bought a small camper that ended up having a BIG rot problem and it literally started falling apart as soon as I got to Colorado summer before last. I ended up selling it for half what I paid for it. I was disappointed in myself because I didn’t do my due diligence and have the camper checked out. Lesson learned.
My view out the camper window yesterday morning! We camped at Hocking Hills State Park!
The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. Trips to Columbus and back for scans. Camping. Anniversary. Cleaning out campers preparing for winter. We got home yesterday midday and I had to turn right around and run back into town for some errands that had to be done before the end of the week. When I got home, I wolfed down a salad and went out to help Mr. FixIt do a big job and got overheated. We neither one slept well on this camping trip…it was too hot, I think. So, I’m calling it a night and hoping I feel better in the morning. In the meantime, here’s a rerun about taking time to rest and do some self care. We all need that from time to time.
I am working on a family project. Around the time the farm went up for sale, I remembered a bunch of pictures my mom took home from Grandma’s house. Grandma was slipping into dementia and would often stand up all night long in front of the buffet…sorting through papers and pictures. She was actually ruining the photos by crinkling them and even tearing some of them up. So, one afternoon when her mom slept, my mom quietly took the important and irreplaceable pictures home with her.
