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Homesteader vacations

If you’re on our email list, you’ve probably seen a lot of these photos already. But the truth is, I’m about to leave Mark holding down the fort while I travel south for yet another mini-vacation, so I don’t have much homesteading substance to share this week. Instead, I thought you might enjoy fun photos from other mini-vacations instead.

Starting with, above and below, Mark and my houseboat experience in Canada — more stressful than expected, but beautiful and mind-expanding.

Below: Creekwalking with my older sister in the Red River Gorge area of Kentucky. The Rock Bridge Trail is not to be missed!

Totally out of order, the image below is from this past Saturday in which I attended a Centennary Scottish dance ball in Dayton (bringing along six of my students who’d just started dancing this year and who aced their first event!). No, you can’t find me in the picture — I was behind the camera.

The next shot is from a writing retreat I attended in the Hocking Hills this spring. The photo was taken with a timer while drenched through after a downpour — the only way to get those busy trails to myself.

Going further back in time, in March Mark and I met up with Mark’s cousin and cousin-in-law-to-be on Lake Erie. Birding the Magee Marsh boardwalk (birdwalk?) was almost as good as spending time with such good friends.

More recently, Mark’s been on multiple mini vacations learning to sail in Cleveland. But the image below is from close to home as he takes those lessons to the dinghy scale.

And here I am photographing mushrooms in the amazing Heart’s Content old-growth grove in the Allegheny National Forest. If you’re a mycophile, this place is not to be missed!

Looking back at all of these adventures fills me with gratitude and makes me so aware of how much I’ve changed since starting this journey. I’m gradually learning that an imperfect garden combined with a joyful life is far better than vice versa.

You’re all quite clever, so I’m sure you’ve figured that out already. Which brings me to my question — what are you grateful for right now?

 

 

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Happy solstice!

Walden Effect at the Portsmouth Floodwall murals

Okay, so I know I promised you a farm tour video this week. How about next week?

Instead, here’s a bit of our journey through time for the solstice. Building a stone house in the early 1800s with unnamed guy and cat Woodrow…

1905 Portsmouth fire department

Hanging out with the 1905 fire department. (Glad we didn’t drop by earlier since volunteers to the 1820 fire department were first required to purchase their own leather bucket.)

Wood-burning train

Then we were wowed by a wood-burning locomotive from the same era.

Yes, we did sneak away to enjoy the Portsmouth Floodwall Murals. Definitely worth a visit if you’re ever in southern Ohio.

Happy holidays!