So, You Come Here Often?

 

I thought long and hard about trying to do a recap post of all the adventures I found myself on since my last snippet.  That turned into re-visiting my old (and yet still beloved) blog Cells and Constellations, and that led to becoming embarrassingly sentimental and drafting a letter to it explaining why I abandoned it. 

A sign I'm still an irrational human: I feel bad for neglecting an electronic journal that exists only within the inanimate universe of computers and interwebs.

I might still post the letter, filled with sadness as it is, so be forewarned.  Anyway, that's why it took me so long to get this short and inconsequential post written.

Returning to the backlog of adventures that need re-telling...probably not going to happen.  I just don't feel like taking the time each one deserves, but I'm always happy to do a quick photo montage of the most recent excursions.

A visit back to one of the best places in the world, Columbia, Missouri, to see a few old friends and my favorite old building on campus in early July.

And it's familiar patterns

A brief pilgrimage back to Wisconsin later that same month, which is always good for the heart and soul:

A rollicking adventure into the mountains with Boyfriend, complete with free range cattle on the roads, a leaky tent during 24 hours of steady rain, expensive beer, and the best views this side of Everest.



























First ever trip to a Renaissance Faire.  No pictures were taken, but whatever your imagination has dredged up, that was it.


Several excursions out to Sandhills State Park, it's proximity to my house is one of the many things I'm grateful for this Thanksgiving.

And let's not forget the adventures found in my own backyard with my nephew.  I'm convinced the desire to poke grasshoppers with sticks to make them jump is universal and innate.

Makin' Friends

These two came along on a hike with me! Collars and tags, but def the ramblin' kind of dogs! Always glad for the company...

Feeling pretty American tonight

Go Wingnuts!

Yesterday's find at the Reno County Farmer's Market

Gooseberries!!! Jam was promptly made and enjoyed!

Today is also my oldest nephew's 4th birthday! He had his birthday party yesterday and everything was wonderful, from the ice cream cake with a tractor on it to his new water guns. Pure joy.

Remember that time I was going to have a blog?

You know, I had every good intention of keeping up with things on here (and pretending like all of you eagerly await the next adventure), but between some pretty big life decisions and their associated internal/external struggles, new road tires on my bike, and oh yeah, a new nephew to squeeze and adore and give my whole heart to, I have failed to do any photo-uploading or make any attempts to put words together into even semi-intelligent sentences.

To make for it, here's a pretty picture of some prairie prickly poppy from Sandhills State Park.

Through a complicated series of increasingly frustrating events, I have set aside the plans I had laid last fall to pursue a high school teaching career and left the program of which I was a part before I began classes.  I battled with this decision for several months, and now that a few weeks have gone by I can say that I feel really good about it and know it was the right decision.

It was also the right decision to follow this little guy into the brush, though to my everlasting
shame, I could not even guess as to what kind of lizard this is...a skink of some kind??

My superstitious nature prevents me from divulging any of the new/old and exciting ideas swirling about my cranium, but I'll leave you with a vague statement: It would seem that the one thing I desperately want to do is also the thing that terrifies me the most.  When the time comes, and if all goes according to plan, it will be a big leap of faith but probably completely unsurprising to anyone.  But it could also be replaced by an equally ridiculous idea in the coming months, so really I just want to apologize for this entire paragraph.

Now that school is out for the summer and my substituting skills are no longer required, my days are filled with alloparenting and keeping my nephews entertained, odd jobs around the house and especially in the basement (update to follow soon, I swear), being a rockstar in the kitchen when time and motivation allow, and getting in the kind of solid hang out time with friends I have not been able to enjoy in years.  I obviously find time to roam around the state parks of Kansas, but I prob didn't need to tell you that.

Wilson State Park.  So cool.  Will be back there soon.

To sum up: I'm still alive.  Still in my hometown.  And there may indeed be a light at the end of the tunnel for me yet.

So there I was...

Spaced off on the bike trail until this little guy/girl darted in front of me, then sat in a field to watch as I talked aloud to myself and fumbled around for my phone. 

Turns out my dad says he sees this fox there a lot, so any thoughts of it being my spirit animal are already out the window.

Color Us Awesome.

BOOM.