mountain adventure

I arrived home with West Virginia mountain soil ground into my skin, everything smelling slightly musky and very smokey from rain and campfire and feeling more alive than I've felt in a long time. Hot, sore, soaked, dirty, smelly and utterly alive.

Honey and I have this little thing. When we're in sync about something, any little thing, we have kind of a slide-five, confirmation of everything right between us. We did that a lot more this trip than we have for a long time.

I had dreams, amazing dreams of people far away but near to my heart, as I slept with my head in a Civil War trench on a hilltop, in a damp tent, surrounded by RV city. One friend currently working, far from his family and friends, in Argentina. Others in a far off land...I think it's called Wisconsin. ;)

This is who I am. I am of the land, mountains, rivers, sea and sky and night fires. This is where I am happiest, most content, completely myself.

And I haven't been camping in over 20 years. Now, I know why I feel such discontent. It's not the suburbs. It's not my family circumstances, or other minute aggravations of the day in day out or the lack of writing time to myself.

It's that I haven't fed my soul the way it loves to be fed most in such a long long time. A lifetime. A roasted marshmallow soul under the moon and stars soul. A sun on my skin, rain on my hat, kid in a backpack on my back soul. A dog leash carabiner'ed to the backpack soul.

This is the seven year old Cathy, who when my family couldn't call me in from dinner so easily, my mother sent my brothers out to look up the nearest tree for me.

But I seem to be starting at the end here, rather than the beginning. and this is probably going to be a very long blog with lots of pictures. So maybe I will leave the end here, at the beginning, and give you the beginning to the end tomorrow, and maybe the day after, and again, after that.

I am happy, my family is safe. I love my spouse, and my daughter camped for the first time. Her favorite part was 'camping'. Parental translation: sleeping in the tent with Mommy and Daddy and Lucy.

"Can you see the real me, doctor, doctor?"

Honey and Toots at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers

I obviously need to do this more. The boys are coming next month.  Life is good, go for hike. Roast a marshmallow over an open fire, under the moon.

Warning: not so mild language.

It's that time - short family vacation, camping, after we drop the boys off to their father. See outside the walnut grained vinyl veneer station wagon? That's our camping reservations forecast for  the duration. Lucy is not a fan of thunderstorms when in the house. I wonder how she'll fair in a tent?

We should be back in four days. Glub glub.

And then we'll do it again with the boys when we get them back in August.

basenji central

My friend CW loves Basenji dogs so much that she fosters puppies regularly. She has a houseful right now and wanted us to come by and socialize them. Originally I gave a pretty hard no, because I knew I wouldn't be able to be around puppies and walk away without one.

Of course, I came around and we visited. The one in the upper left corner is one of CW's adult Basenjis. The rest are the foster puppies. I fell in love with the brindle, named Amber (upper right corner), but I was good and did not bring her home. Just so you know, as I write this, my heart is totally breaking about having left her there instead of coming home with us. Another friend of mine has already adopted one of the tawnies. She's a big Basenji lover, too.

Someone else has claimed another one of the puppies, but wanted to be sure she was gentle with little ones, and that's where we come in. Toots and this shyer of the pups were wonderful together. In fact all the puppies really gravitated to Toots because she is just about their size. Captain Comic noticed and commented about it.

Captain Comic loves dogs and researching about different breeds. He was really looking forward to going today. He was especially interested in hearing the barkless dog's yodel.

Mr. Cynic didn't say much, but I just know he was totally squeee-ing on the inside.

Here's a bit of our adventures in Basenji Central:

Here's Captain Comic waiting for a puppy attack. He wanted it so badly. But Toots got it instead. Sorry, I was fending off puppies from her and couldn't take a photo.

This is Amber, with whom I fell in love. 

She was pretty keen on all the kids, too.

Circling pups and Toots, squealing in delight.

Puppy kisses galore.

Captain Comic was so excited to make the puppies come running.

Just look at that giggle face. He's holding it in so hard.

Puppy love! And CW's adults, too. 

The big one is a Basenji mix, all the others are Basenji through and through.

Apologies for the dog butt. Toots and Captain Comic were in seventh heaven here.

See how Amber just seems to belong to us already? NO, wait, stop that! 

Breathe, Cath, leave the puppy be. 

If you love something set it free....

Meanwhile, at home, not long before we went visiting the pups, a certain troublesome terrier raised a bit of hell. I heard the dog door through the garage, and immediately, half a house away, was blasted with a stink so bad... I never smelled anything quite so odiferous in my life. It was the stink of a thousand rotting corpses. It was hideous beyond belief. Captain Comic wrapped his shirt around his face as we tried to chase her out of the house. Lucy was clearly very proud, happy and excited about whatever she had just rolled in and apparently ate. We chased her out, we locked all pet door access to the house. She managed to get back in as we tried to get shampoo and green dog treats galore out to her. We chased her out again, grabbed her and hosed and shampooed her down. The treats didn't help her lethal breath. I went into the fridge for some cilantro, anything full of chlorophyll to fight the stink of rotting zombie off of her breath.

The stinker after we tortured her with bath and breath fresheners.

She is clearly still stoked about whatever she attacked and possibly devoured. 

dog day

Does it get any better than this?

Lucy has just dug up another mole. She is excited at a job well done in her mind, while the yard has yet another hole in it. But the sun is shining and something good has been scented. She has taken over my chaisse once again.

I took this the other day. Today, I have been all over the yard, digging up dead boxwood root balls, transplanting peonies to where they will bloom, reorganizing the shed, weeding, watering and trimming dead branches. Guess what I meant to do?  That's right, none of the above. I went out to weed whack the driveway edges and hedge trim the boxwoods in front of the big window. I still intend to make the driveway job happen today, because the whacker and extension cord are waiting for me there, but I'm hoping the forecast rain holds off tomorrow, so that I may trim to where the window is visible again then. I don't think I can do all of it today. This is me trying to listen to my back. I'm still a little late, but I may actually not put the darn thing completely out.

a dog's life

 Toots loves a picnic. 

Lucy loves to take over the chaise where I sit.

It's a dog's life. 

Soak up the sun.

it was a dark and stormy night.

 ~ Snoopy


Last night was quite the storm. It pummeled, it rumbled, it alerted often on TV.
Captain Comic was in a panic.
Lucy was in a panic.
Both periodically hyperventilated. 
And whimpered, there was a lot of very high pitched whimpering.


Toots crawled under the dining room table at one point, "to be safe under heyah". I had been cataloging all safety procedures to assuage Captain Comic's blood pressure. 


Captain Comic: I can't believe we're having a tornado warning. This is so scary. You shouldn't have made me clean my room earlier, that only made the day worse.


After the tornado warning was over for our area, I had to call Mr. Cynic and ask if he was still alive as the tornado warnings continued for NC where his bus was on the road home from his Choral Competition in Myrtle Beach, SC. 


Captain Comic cried, But I don't know if he's alive or dead! He collapsed to the floor and shook raised dramatic hands to the sky. 


On the phone:
Mom: Are you alive?
Mr. Cynic: No mom, I'm calling from death.


Gee, I wonder from whence he acquired his sardonic sense of humor.


All kidding aside, I am extremely grateful that Mr. Cynic made it home safely and the bus only had to pull over once for safety's sake. My heart goes out to many others who did not come through this storm nearly as well as we did. In the next town, three people died.  


I am also very proud that his Jazz Choir is Grand Champion! The trophy is as tall as my pipsqueak nearly sixteen year old. Poor kid, doubly cursed with short genes. 


I went out quite late to retrieve Mr. Cynic. By then the storm had passed and I walked out to the driveway under a brightly deep prussian blue sky full of stars and moonlight from a full, full glorious moon. The world, rocked by the moods of spring, once again, lay forever changed, and yet unchanged as the ages.  


Life goes on and I am grateful for the ordinary. 

dog in crab grass

Watch the nose and ears:

I don't know how this one went so blurry, still needed it for the full effect, apologies.

Good Lucy on a sunny day. 

PS: We mowed shortly after I took these shots.

geese

Yesterday turned out to be crap day for writing. But a good one for walking the dog and hanging with Toots.

Snack?

What, no snack?  We're outa here.

The two in front are the ones on the approach in the other pic.  As soon as they realized we weren't holding, they high-tailed it, and spread the word.

Weather was sunny, a tad cool, and a lot windy. We didn't stay by the lake for very long, but we had a decent walk.

Today, the plan is to drop Toots at preschool then hit the library again with my manuscript. Wish me better luck with it than yesterday, please.  Thanks.

future photographer

Sorry, I don't mean to rub it in for you storm weary folks, but yesterday, it was 70F here.

(Duck)  Please don't shoot.

Don't worry, it was a one day only tease thanks to Punxutawny Phil. We're back in the 30s now. 

Toots and I took a walk with Lucy around the neighborhood and lake. I took pictures, she took pictures.

Here's one of her pictures. They were all a variation on theme. lots of chopped faces and up our noses shots.

Then I took this one of Lucy.

Love that dog.  But I think Captain Comic will be walking her today. Burr.

walkin'

Here are some sights along our route on the Noland Trail in Newport News on Saturday. It turned out to be quite an ambitious afternoon hike. Five miles total,  4.75 of which Toots wanted to be carried, as we set out at her naptime.  Because that's the way we roll.

Ducks.  They looked cold.  We saw a great blue heron, too, but he was too far for a good pic with my little zoom.

This is the first of officially 14 bridges we crossed.  There were many more little foot bridges, too, across dips in the path for watery days.  Toots counted all the bridges.

Captain Comic and Mr. Cynic were more focussed on the mile and half-mile markers, as they completely did not want to go on the Noland Trail that day, and had little to no knowledge of what it entailed ahead of time.  Heheheh.

A lovely jogger took a shot of us all together.  Very sweet of her to do.

There must be elves and fairies, etc. in this section of ivy covered forest.   At least that's what I drew a lot of when I was Mr. Cynic's age and was reading a LOT of sci-fi fantasy.









Sparkly!  It was a gorgeous, if slightly chill autumn day for a walk around and crisscrossing a big lake.












Rounding the bend ahead of me is the rest of the family.  I believe I was struggling with Lucy at this point, as well as trying to take a picture.  There were many dogs to meet along the path, and Captain Comic HAD to meet all of them. And Lucy had to read all their pee-mail.

We found a bit of a cove with some still and reflective water.  I love the blue.

 Another bridge, somewhere before the halfway mark. Exhausted Captain Comic, glaring Mr. Cynic. Lucy is still excited about the hike, but trepidatious about the bridges.

The Noland Trail runs through a system of parks around the Mariners' Museum.  This one is called Lion Park.  The big stone lions look over the James River and wear wreaths around their necks at this time of year.

Toots did not want Honey to put her down at all, not even to stand in this hole in the tree where she would have looked like a cute like elf.  By the way, that red corduroy coat was mine when I was little.  My mother saved everything.  This is one of the few items that is still wearable, 42 years later.











All in all, a lovely afternoon with some chill fingers and some gripey boys who had their fill before we found the 2.5 mile marker.  Honey and I really enjoyed it, even if our knees, hips and backs had enough long before 4.5 mile marker.  And Toots was a real trooper for a napless tot. Of course, Honey's arms were numb by the end.  He was a real trooper, too.  We all were, come to think of it!

why i typically don't host writer's group

I did today.

Lucy had to bark and click clack her terrier claws around the hard wood floors we recently put it.  She would not settle down for about the first half of the meeting. Of course this happened largely in the livingroom dining room area where all my guests were attempting to write or edit on their laptops.

I was in the office, trying to coax Lucy back with treats to stay with me or lock her out of the house in the back yard. It is a beautiful day, the sun is shining, and she scratched on the slider like her life depended upon being inside.


Captain Comic called repeatedly from school trying to avoid something, putting on quite a dramatic show of a stomach ache, with no fever, no vomit or diarrhea. 

Two of the writers needed to leave about thirty minutes earlier than usual, so I left to pick him up.  I got him home and he aimed straight for the brownies. He scarfed one down with a big glass of milk.  Promptly, he then corralled Lucy for a walk and flew out the door with her. Clearly he was healthy.

I did managed to knock a decent editing dent in my manuscript.  I also researched online about the locations of certain astromical asterisms for my book.  I found a lot of conflicting info and incomplete info for the purposes of my book.

Anyway, I did accomplish something more than I had before. I just hope the other writers felt they could work among the residual mayhem. 

Grandma picked up Toots from preschool today and took her out shopping so we could meet, so at least we had that slice of quiet. 

Hmmm, I wonder if we'll meet here again anytime soon?

down by the rive-e-er

After a solid week of rain, we had a perfect day. We spent the afternoon at York River.

I don't know who was happiest.

 Honey and Toots. "I gotchoo Daddy!"

 Captain Comic walking Lucy or Lucy just thoroughly enjoying being taken out of the house for an adventure.











Mr. Cynic plucking his bass by the river.

Toots, "Can I watchoo?" 

I am writing. 
outside. breezy,
in the grass.  barefoot.  by water.
The sound of the waves lapping the breakers behind me.

The happiest really may have been Lucy. 

Wrestling.  Be gentle, Capt. Comic!

 "I gonna getchoo!"

The Alliance

We live near History. This is where the deciding battle of The Revolutionary War was fought and where Cornwallis was captured by Washington.
 
 

 Here is where he was imprisoned, affectionately known as Cornwallis's Cave.

We also walked the pier, saw someone's Blue Crab catch in a bucket, helped a kid get a splinter out of his foot, and then headed toward the little touristy township for ice cream.

We stumbled upon the wine festival that was advertised everywhere, but I had completely forgotten about it.

 And then we got ice cream. 

 And Lucy got a good drink.

Captain Comic made certain he said hello to every dog we met along the way, too.