Spring Throw Away

The sun is shinning and very few clouds are across the sky. At 6:30 this morning it was 21 degrees. The weatherman, who is often wrong, is predicting a high of 50. Spring could actually be wining its way to southeastern Idaho. There is something about sun that changes attitudes. I suppose that is why spring brings a frenzy of cleaning and clearing our homes. For me it is not cleaning and scrubbing and painting that excites me, but throwing things away or handing them over to someone else. I have STUFF!! Most of this stuff hides in my closet. Just because I have a walk-in closet there is no hard core rule saying I have to fill it. I am not obligated to bring half of the Gap or Dillards merchandize home to store.

There are items I have not touched or moved in months. Apparently, I must not like them, don't feel good in them or I bought them just because I could. Thank heaven for big black garbage bags. I heard no cries of pain or sadness as I pulled sweaters, shirts, pants, and shoes off the hangers and shelves and deposited them in the bag. It is time to move on for the clothes and me. They need a new live in some other closet. I will be happier if they move on and so will another person who falls in love with my no longer wanted clothes. It will be a new and refreshing beginning. When items are no longer used they have no value and just become stuff. Owning stuff is cumbersome and in the long run we turn from owner to being owned. Why would I want to keep a sweater I wore on vacation Three years ago? It served its purpose at the time and for a period after, but now I have four sweaters I bought for two other vacations and love none of them enough to see them occupy space just for the sake of occupying space. I keep walking into the closet to see the empty spots on shelves and the spaces between hangers. It makes me feel good and reminds that I am in charge! I am liberated.

A Winter Gift



Ice slowly melting in the January thaw


This has been a strange winter. It has been mild with only moderate snow fall. December roared in with temperatures below zero and then mellowed and allowed warmer air to move in. The heavy snow from Christmas Eve and Christmas day is mostly gone. Only a few patches remain along the fence and shaded areas of the yard. No piles of shoveled snow line the edges of the driveway. The grass creeping out from under the melting snow is green. What a tease--I wonder if my perennials in the flower beds near the fence are feeling an urge to poke their noses out.

 

This reprieve is definitely not the norm and most likely spring will still arrive in late late April. There have been days when the sun has chased away the gray sky and on those days the spirit sings in gratitude. The darker sky always returns but just interspersing it with blue sky and sun makes winter more tolerable There is a beauty that winter shows on a bright clear day. The sky seems bluer with the billowing white clouds adding soft accents, and the sun more intense

This winter may be a reward for enduring many long, cold and snowy winters in the past--sixty six in all. Or it could be Mother Nature's way of teasing. Reward or tease--I gratefully accept the winter package and count this season of change a welcome gift.


 

Looking Toward a New Year

There is always a lift and  renewal after Christmas. Perhaps it is the aspect of anticipating a new year  with a feeling of newness and hope.  We look forward to fresh starts, new experiences, challenges and growth. Not one to make New Year's resolutions I look forward to beginning a new year with renewed energy and enthusiasm. I might plant fruit trees this spring and forget the mess they make in the fall. Or I could write more, explore more non fiction books, learn and remember the names of the flowers I plant, enjoy the now and throw out what ifs.

There will always be things we can not control or change, but the option to decided how we will accept the adversities is ours. Moving forward slowly or aggressively we begin the climb out of the deep spaces we encounter. The best of life is found in movement: learning, finding new places and people, going beyond what is comfortable, and in giving ourselves permission to try without worrying about failure.

A new calendar year is not yet filled with regrets: only possibilities, opportunities and anticipation.
  

A wish for the new year

Difficultly Breathing

I am having difficulty breathing. I can still function, and my oxygen levels are normal. The problem seems be the lack of deep refreshing breathes. In becoming aware of this problem I have noticed one thing in particular that has made my life less than pleasant--too much information. Perhaps I don't need to know so much about what happens hourly in the world around me. While not all media information is negative, the majority of what we hear daily is not what makes you feel warm and fuzzy.




The bombardment of information we expose ourselves to each day is an overload to the senses. A one time exposure is enough for us to understand that the world is not in a good place. I like most people, only need to hear the story once to get the drift of what is taking place.  So why do I listen to news reports several times a day. Am I afraid of missing something important? So far that hasn't been the case. If I watched the news one day a week I would have all the information needed to be news literate.


If I want to increase my ability to take deep breathes and change my environment the TV has to take a hike along with news apps. I am reminded of the sayings, 'too much information is dangerous' and 'a little bit goes along way.' It is time for me to change my news dosage. One dose a day should be enough to make me aware of the world situation and whether or not anything has changed, improved or degenerated.


This is a good decision for me, but not for everyone. I want to take time to enjoy the things around me that have a positive influence in my life and feel good about being in this moment. The ugly will never go away, but we should never forget there is more good than bad--we just have to look harder to find it. Now that I have shared my perspective I am taking a deep refreshing breathe. Ah, I feel so much better.

Just A New Twist On Travel

Humans are a strange species.  Many are blessed or cursed with a travel gene. This gene is no respecter of persons and there is no way to predict who will be born with it. Often people who did not inherit the gene find those who did rather annoying. In their eyes a travel gene is a disability which causes restless feet and over active brain activity. It is important that people with this extra gene find a partner who also carries it. The relationship just works better and smoother.

Travelers are always looking for something new, different and the next adventure. Unfortunately for us, it is a tear drop trailer which we keep pushing to its limits in an effort to see just how far we can roam with this little beast. We need to know its cold weather capabilities just in case we need a quick get away during intolerable weather this winter. We took it 84 miles down the road to Craters of the Moon National Monument. A great place to test its proficiency. There are no modern amenities this time of year, just cool temperatures--a good place to try a taste of early winter. Most people would not view this as fun or even sane but they are normal, therefor they see things in a much different light.

Morning sun is deceiving  A cold 23

We did not freeze You can spend a comfortable night in a small insulated space with proper bedding. Faces get cold, but a blanket tented over your face solves the problem. A cold 23 degrees outside by morning which surprised us. The Little Guy passed with flying colors and lives to pursue more adventures. I don't want to paint a too rosy picture because not everything was all that great. Because the water was turned off the pit toilet was the modern day option. No matter how you disguise it by changing the name it is still an outhouse. In fact outhouse sounds much better and even more hygienic. But as with every negative a positive can be found and in this case it was the lack of electricity--a blessing in disguise.

Sometimes plain is beauty

By night the full moon provided soft light and illuminated the rocks. We woke to a blue sky, bright sun and frost. A beautiful November day. A real treat this time of year and a great way to great a chill morning. The little adventure was successful and fun--just something out of the ordinary that adds a spark when life becomes too predicable. 

A little bit of frost to greet the day

Snow Canyon State Park--St. George Utah

sketch by Nolan olson
October 23, 2014


What a beautiful morning! Such a trite statement, but if it says it all why try for something better. This is the first day of our trip to Snow Canyon with our new tear drop trailer. We are the mini RV in the campground and this little out fit draws much attention. The big rig people are amazed we can sleep comfortably and make meals from our tailgate kitchen.  People walk past our camp site very slow trying not be obvious as they give us a side angle glance while still pretending to look straight ahead. Often they walk by more than once. "Come on over and take a look." "Oh, don't want to bother you, but that sure is cute. Soon they have surveyed the whole outfit short of crawling in and trying the bed. I can see it in their eyes. They really, really want to.

October 25, 2014

Gave two more trailer showings. This Little Guy just draws people like a magnetic force. Last night we joined a group led by a naturalist on a star walk to the sand dunes. Yes, we have seen the stars and constellations more than just a few times, Nolan particularly, since he is the Dark Sky Ranger at Crater's of the Moon, but it was a unique experience to view the sky from the vantage point of the sand dunes. An owl adding background noise with soft hoots.

Woke early this morning just as the sun touched the tops of the red rock mountains. I think this time of day is the most spectacular as the light gradually creeps toward the canyon floor. The dark drape of night slides back to reveal the brilliance of the landscape.

Gila monsters are alive and well in the canyon. Walked with the wildlife biologist as she showed a group the habitat of the Gila monster.  Rocks, crevices, and scrub brush are favorite hiding places and they blend so well with the natural landscape locating one is very difficult. It was an education about a species I hope to not encounter close up and personal. They are prehistoric looking, ugly, and poisonous .


October 26, 2014

A campground is a society unto itself.  It is very similar to a small neighborhood. People come from various states as well as foreign countries and come together in a tight communal living space. Inhibitions seem to be put aside, possibly because the time and shared space is short term and then everyone moves on to never meet again. Walking to the showers in the morning or to the restroom in sleeping attire is perfectly acceptable. No one cares or finds it offensive. People seem genuinely happy and relaxed. There is no shyness about saying hello, how are you, or beautiful day to a complete stranger.  Often that stranger will stop for a casual conversation before moving on. You trade information about where you live, how far you have traveled, and favorite places that are a must see. Conversations never run long and the participants part company respecting each others privacy.

We are in the minority because we do not travel with a dog.  First of all a dog would over crowd the tear drop and secondly we have been there and done that so why do it again. These dogs are so well traveled they don't bark or charge ahead on their leashes. The fluffy white dog next to use rests on the picnic table with his own towel spread on top. He is a die hard traveler.  His man buddy says all he has to do is say trailer and the dance begins.

October 27, 2014

 New neighbors arrived yesterday with much bigger trailers than ours. Actually, any trailer is bigger than ours. I am certain that we generate many conversations among our fellow campers. The conversation probably starts like this, "How do they sleep in there and isn't difficult cooking meals?" The answer is--we sleep very well on our queen size bed and cooking is just a matter of being organized and remembering that less is more It is amazing how creative you can be with a two burner stove and two pans. We love sleeping in our little bed on wheels. We are snug and comfy. The mornings are filled with the smells of breakfast floating through the air. The evening smells are just as aromatic as supper time approaches. Everyone seems to linger over the last meal of the day while feeling the chill in the air arrive and listening to the night sounds. Just a pleasant way to end the day. Our time in Sow Canyon has come to a conclusion and reluctantly we have packed things away and realize we have a bad case of travel fever that may not be cured any time soon.

                                                                                    

The Wild Side

                                                  




Large cities with swarms of humanity make it easy to forget the America of wide spaces that still exist today; the America where you can drive for miles and see not a house or pass another car. It becomes a reality when standing above a deep canyon or looking across an open expanse of land to the far horizon. When I find myself in an area of nothing I try to imagine what it was like to be the first person seeing this same view, to walk for days and not encounter another person, to see nothing but vast open plans and sky stretching from mountain top to valley floor. Even today that is still a large part of the western United States. We now can choose to walk as we explore or we can opt to use modernized transportation.

The Steens Mountain area of south eastern Oregon is a beautiful example of the same yesterday as today. It is rugged and empty just as it was in 1863 when John Work a fur trader from Europe saw the area. He called it snowy mountains. This land drew a unique type of individual. It had to be someone willing to gamble not only money, but life as well; a person with a bounty of confidence in his survival skills and willing to work beyond the normal meaning of hard. They founded their dreams on bits and pieces of information gathered from other curious sojourners. Sight unseen and banking on the stories related to them along with endless stores of faith they began their journey of exploration.

 I often wonder what it is that draws a person to the remoteness of areas like Steens Mountain. Even for a city bred person like myself there is a fascination and wonder when I stand in the quiet solitude and take in the unspoiled beauty.  Millions of years ago when the lava flowed across the valleys and built the mountains there was no one there to watch. They have seen millions of springs, hot summer heat, gentle touches of fall and harsh cold winters covered in snow, weathered away while changing in shape and adding sharp edges and canyons. A friendly land it is not, yet people came bringing cattle and horses and dreams. What happened to those dreams is open for speculation. Not all came to a happy end, which is the way of dreams.

I'm glad I saw this part of Oregon which is so different from the lush green forests we always associate with the state. An explorer or risk taker I'm no but do I like to see places like this and follow someone else's footsteps---Most certainly.  Thank heaven for the adventurous and curious individuals who found Steens Mountain and the Alvard Desert.

 

Spring is the softer side and flowers find a spot in the rocky volcanic soil