Sunday, May 7, 2017

Switching Gears

Charlie had another "fearful" day out on the hiking trail today. We attempted to hike the Underdown Segment of the Ice Age Trail up in Lincoln County but didn't make it very far when Charlie got spooked by something and wouldn't go any further.

I don't know if she heard something (I didn't) or possibly scented on something like a bear, coyote or wolf? Who knows.

In any case, we had to turn back after less than a mile of hiking. It was probably a good thing, though, since we were both crawling with ticks by then.

Wisconsin is getting really bad with ticks. Seems like we can't go anywhere between April and November without having ticks on us. May and June seem to be the absolute worst months, which is a shame because by then we're just dying to get out on the trails.

But there's a new tick disease that's got me a little worried because there is no cure and it's popping up in our area. I'm starting to think that between Charlie's fearfulness on trails recently and the constant threat of tick diseases, that we might be better off switching gears this summer and spending more time kayaking rather than hiking.

I've been planning on buying a kayak this spring and am just waiting for my tax return to make the purchase. Charlie and I love being out on the water and it's been a few years since we've had a kayak, so maybe this will be our "thing" this year.

I'm sure we'll still be out on a few of the "less wilderness" trails on a few weekends here and there (where ticks are less prevalent), and we definitely have a couple of camping trips scheduled, but since we live so close to the Wisconsin River, we could take the kayak out every night after work. That sounds like a ton of fun to me!

Kayak fun from 2013 - CLICK LINK



Saturday, May 6, 2017

Just.Be.Present.


Today was a day to just be present. To take in my natural surroundings and let the past week, past month, and past year melt away.

Today I was present to take in the blue of the sky. The green of the new leaves. The flock of white pelicans floating across the bay. The pale purple of the spring flowers. The brilliant blue butterfly that flew past me. The echo of the woodpecker at work. The warmth of the sun on my face. The wind in my hair. The sway of Charlie's tail as she ran through the woods.

The anticipation of the path ahead of me. 

And the beauty of the path behind me, seen from a different perspective upon looking back.