Into the Woods

We went into the woods to get away from it all...

I am paraphrasing Thoreau here, very loosely, but his quote about living deliberately in the midst of nature was rolling through my mind during the few days we were there. Even though I was off all summer, I was surrounded by noise: car horns, power tools, barking dogs, televisions, people loudly having speakerphone conversations, media, etc. In the woods, there are noises too, but they're the kind that lull you rather than irritate you-- birds chirping, leaves rustling, water trickling.

We usually go cabining in the winter. There is something so incredibly peaceful about being in the middle of nowhere listening to the whisper of snow coating the woods. I love the ice-covered trails and the crackle of the fireplace while we play games over a glass of something mulled and clove-scented.

In August, it is so green. The light was filtered through trees that we're used to seeing stripped of all but a layer of snow. We arrived late in the afternoon on Friday and cooked hot dogs over the fire and enjoyed the hot tub as the sun went down.

Ambiance of a citronella candle 😆

Even though we didn't use the fireplace, I still love how it looks. 

Arrived at last!

We rent from the same people every time we go out, and now it is extra special because it's where we got engaged. Saturday, we woke up ready to do some hiking. We went to the Cantwell Cliffs, which is an area of the park we'd never been to before. As we started the descent to the trail, everyone was coming up out of breath and soaked in sweat, which caused us to exchange a somewhat nervous glance.

From the top of the gorge, the cliffs were beautiful. I leaned over a gap to take a cool shot and my pocket knife (a birthday gift from Shelley) jumped out of my pocket and right down. I tried to play it off but we ended up scrambling down and around the base to try and find it. A kind couple stopped to ask what we'd lost, and the wife-- a true Good Samaritan-- climbed into the wedge to get my knife, and sent it clattering down to where we stood waiting beside her husband (who was happy to take a break!). I was so excited that it wasn't lost!

Playing off the fact that I just lost my pocket knife

Into the canyon

Shelley was freaking out about me being at the edge of the cliff. 

View from the bottom-- before we headed to the top again!

Best hiking partner ever!

Delicious!

Charcuterie board of goodness

On our way back from the hike, we saw a local winery and decided to stop there for a tasting and some charcuterie. Every wine was made right there, and the atmosphere was everything I adore: outdoors, twinkle lights, and the love of my life. They also sold chocolate truffles, so we had a cherry and a campfire one (our favorite flavors) to pair with the dessert wine. 

Winery Vibes 

The Torch Master 

That night, we had booked a torchlit canoe trip, which was pretty adventurous for us since we'd only been canoeing one other time together. While we were waiting, we met a family who was from the exact town we live in and ended up talking to them. It was nice to talk to kind strangers over the course of the day. I feel like in our day-to-day lives, we are often so caught up in what we have to do that we fail to make contact with other people unless we already know them. People are generally good, I think, and in spite of the crazy, horrible tragedies that had taken place right before we went into the woods, it's important to remember that.

Crazy faces as we tried not to hit any more canoes!

We are not skilled at canoeing, we learned. I was in the back-- the space for the more experienced one-- but I do not have much upper body strength so I was having a hard time keeping us on course. I found this hilarious. We ended up brushing against trees, spinning in circles, and hitting other canoes.

Shelley was less amused.

Near the end, we figured out what we were doing enough that we stayed on course, although we were the last canoe to finish up the five mile trip down the river and make it to shore.

I enjoyed being out on the river in spite of the struggles. It was so beautiful to see this row of canoes lit by nothing but torches and the moon (and the occasional glow stick) and hear the water lapping against the oars and people having murmured conversations.

After all of the adventure of the day before, Sunday was indeed a day of rest. We went to a petting zoo in the area in the morning and spent the rest of the day relaxing at the cabin.

I may or may not want a baby goat now...

This goat was named Greg, which we thought was so funny. He was a huge fan of Shelley and kept following her around. 

This one had ears like Zorro.

Who knew goats were so cute?

This horse couldn't have been less interested in me.

I had a couple of things I wanted to do while I was out there, including make s'mores and play guitar by the fire, so I was super excited to be able to do both on Sunday evening. 

Side note-- if you are looking for a solid hiking boot, I can't recommend Sorel enough. I got mine from Backcountry but they sell them everywhere. They're sturdy, waterproof, and slip resistant, which is huge 1) if you know me at all and 2) for hiking, say, slippery cliffs.

Making s'mores 

Playing guitar! 

Waking up on Monday was bittersweet. I am so grateful to have had the chance to go out for a last summer hurrah and have so many positive experiences together. It was weird to be back and hear power tools pretty much immediately upon returning-- definitely didn't miss that. Next time, maybe we will be brave enough to camp in our tent! 

Morning Views 

September, At Last

It's finally September, friends.

When I was little, my mum would read me this story all the time called A Bear for All Seasons. Basically, this bear and this fox are friends and they talk about the awesomeness of all of the different seasons while they try to decide which is best.

I feel like that bear.

I love the twinkling lights and sparkling snow and the bustle of Christmas, but once that dies down, winter in the 'Burgh is just...well, blah. It's grey and more rainy than anything with biting cold winds and random 65 degree days.

Spring comes and brings all of these gorgeous flowers and the long-missing sunshine, and it's great until it rains and I just want summer and sundresses and front porches and outdoor concerts.

Scarecrows on the shelf-- not too early :)

That wears out after a while too, and I find myself missing falling multicolored leaves, pumpkins, flannels, bonfires, and that hay/dirt/rain smell. I love fall. We aren't quite there yet, but as soon as it was September (the best of all months, and not just because it's my birth month), the weather seemed to know it was time to cool down. I had a hard time not busting out sweaters, and Shelley and I definitely got a little carried away with pumpkin-spice-scented pinecones and a little scarecrow girl who resembles me, right down to the overall dress.

I look forward to the possibilities that come with this autumn season. I've started my new jobs, and I have a classroom full of students to shape into better readers and writers, sure, but also just decent human beings. If they leave my room learning to connect to others and be compassionate, the literature has served its purpose-- and so have I.

Yesterday, I went out to Y-town with Shelley to see her younger sister and nephew, and we took them to a market and played around outside in the drizzle, then adventured to the park. It was so freeing to be able to run and explore (in spite of my frizzy braid) and enjoy the weather and nature together. I encourage you to get outside and just be. Winter rolls in pretty quickly in the mid-Atlantic states, so I'm taking advantage of the beautiful days as much as I can. Also, the photography options are great!

My best little pal

It was overcast or drizzling most of the day, so I left my hair curly and put my barn coat (a Kmart special from when I was 12) on over my flannel shirt and these most comfortable jeans from Dottie Couture Boutique. Dottie is my favorite store, and they also are doing something called Dottie Cares-- basically each month they donate proceeds to a different cause, which is super cool and another good reason to shop small versus at a chain.

It was a good day for Vans, even though as I was chasing Trent and Shelley over the loamy grass I wished I were barefoot. We were slaying dragons (aka Shelley) at the White House Fruit Farm and scouting out lions, sharks, and polar bears at the park. Also, while we were hiking we found a couple of different rocks. The first one I saw tucked into a tree's roots, painted blue and green like the Earth and it said "Peace," which made me smile. The second one, Shelley and Trent found. It's part of some social media campaign to brighten people's days, so we moved them somewhere else for people to find! It's definitely one of those things that sounds sort of cheesy until you experience it, believe me.

Happy Labor Day, everyone. Hopefully you're all enjoying the long weekend. I'll be trying (rather unsuccessfully) to refrain from all things apple/pumpkin/flannel as we segue into fall.