springtime hike

Yesterday morning we got up so early it was probably illegal and drove to Tullahoma, Tennessee, to hike in the Short Springs Natural Area. The weather was perfect, there was a strong breeze blowing which was great because the temperature was borderline too-hot-to-hike.  Need I remind you that I do not hike in the summertime. [...]

happiest

One of my oldest friends posted on my Facebook wall that I’m happiest in the woods and I think she may be right. We had a wonderful trip to Foster Falls, TN.  I didn’t take pictures of the falls there, but you can see them here if you like. These pictures were taken at Greeter [...]

back from the woods

What a great weekend!  We hiked the Odum Scout Trail, which isn’t very long and is generally rated 5 out of 10 for difficulty, but let me tell you – it was plenty difficult for me!  Considering this was the first time I’ve carried a pack since March, I actually feel pretty good today! Here’s [...]

vacation: the good

Wow!  Thanks for the encouraging words, and thanks especially to those who shared your own vacation woe-stories!  It certainly makes it easier to think that we did the right thing by throwing in the towel on our Frontier House vacation! So…back to the story.  We drove home Tuesday afternoon, ending a 34 hour round trip [...]

Frontier House

Recently I mentioned that I was about to embark on my own version of Frontier House, and that little adventure began last Monday. Memorial Day morning, SB, the boy and I drove to Swan Cabin near the Joyce Kilmer Wilderness area in North Carolina.  We knew the forecast was for 50% chance of rain for the first [...]

It’s springtime in Alabama

Don’t blink, or you’ll miss it.  SB and I went backpacking last weekend – a short trip to the Cane Creek Canyon Nature Preserve about two and a half hours northwest of Birmingham, in Colbert County.  The Preserve is owned and operated by the Lacefields – a husband/wife team who have been steadily buying up [...]

saturday sky

Saturday Sky posts aren’t something I participate in generally, but with a sky like this, I had to post the picture.  I love birch trees. Some hours later, the sky looked like this.  How do people get a good shot of the moon?  This was taken while laying on my back on an enormous downed [...]

living in the moment

I’ve said many times before that spending time in the woods is my rejuvenation. Even starting today with 27 emails from just one of my three bosses hasn’t touched the lingering sense of calm from being in the woods.  Click the picture for bigger pics and brief descriptions, if you like.

Why I don’t hike in the summertime

You know how memory fades over time, and things aren’t as bad in retrospect as they were at the time?  That’s the way I’d started to remember hiking during the summer. SB needed to hike a short distance for his next column (!!!) and I decided to tag along since it was only 5 miles, [...]

rejuvenation

I feel like a new person today.  I always do after spending the weekend in the woods, but it’s been so long since we went backpacking that I am feeling doubly refreshed today. Darlene told me to take lots of pictures, but the colors of wintertime are a combination of brown and gray, with an occasional shock of [...]

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