perseverance

 Friday morning I paced like a caged lion while waiting for Carm to get home from golf. I’d gotten up at the crack of dawn to make a big pot of Creole black-eyed peas and a batch of Italian lemon almond biscuits. The pile of stuff to pack was already at the door, I just needed a car to pack it into.

He finally came home triumphant - he holed out from the fairway on one shot! While he showered and then much to my frustration, put in a load of laundry, I fretted. I was anxious to get going for our weekend ‘camping’ at Kirsten’s. Eventually the car was loaded (to the roof almost) and we were underway.

With the camper already in place it was easy to unload the car and get settled. We did have the task of sanitizing the fresh water tank which meant stringing almost 200 feet of hose from the barn. The plan was to leave the chlorinated water in the tank overnight, drain in the morning, and refill with clean fresh. Saturday morning we had a bit of trouble getting the tank to drain though. Still, it’s in usable shape although not for drinking.

 After a bit of a visit with Kirsten, the ‘woman folk’ leashed up a few dogs and walked down the road. Poor old Spike could barely make it the 2km round trip - I won’t bring him walking again, or we’ll plan a short loop, drop him off then continue for longer. Nissa man-handled Adia, running her back and forth trying to wear her out.

The pot of peas were for supper Friday night - my contribution for when we descended upon Kirsten. A few of her pears went into the arugula salad - they were beautifully tart and sweet at the same time. It was late all too soon so with my eyelids drooping we took our leave.

Saturday started off with bright sun, a truly glorious day. Everyone had errands to do so I got busy and made a tower of blueberry pancakes and a pack of bacon. Once everyone was back I brought it all into the house where there’d be a bit more room. Next time we’ll eat in the villetta.

Then we went for a monster walk along the trails that Shawn has cut with his giant tractor… we travelled across open meadows and through wooded glens, dogs running at our sides, their pleasure a mirror of our own enjoyment. Adia was exhausted at the end although she did have the energy to hunt down a deer bone. Spike stayed back at camp, it was far too vigorous for him. Kirsten and I went hay shopping while everyone else chilled and then it was time to get supper going. My meager contribution was not even really mine - a tomato peach basil salad with Trudie’s tomatoes. We played ‘toss the pig’ after which was great fun. My eyes were drooping and my head was spinning when we headed back to camp.

I brought the ramp with us this time - this morning Spike was starting to get the hang of it again but he fell and crashed and tumbled off it so many times - it’s painful to watch and a wonder that he doesn’t just give up or just get too afraid to try. He doesn’t though - he keeps trying, a lesson for me on perseverance.

This morning we were up early and on the road back home by 9:30am. Such a great weekend!

“It had nothing to do with gear or footwear or the backpacking fads or philosophies of any particular era or even with getting from point A to point B.

It had to do with how it felt to be in the wild. With what it was like to walk for miles with no reason other than to witness the accumulation of trees and meadows, mountains and deserts, streams and rocks, rivers and grasses, sunrises and sunsets. The experience was powerful and fundamental. It seemed to me that it had always felt like this to be a human in the wild, and as long as the wild existed it would always feel this way.”

~Cheryl Strayed