going local

The storms passed. And the uncertainty about what comes next has been pushed aside for now. It's hot, it's summertime, it's lovely outside. These last days of summer cannot slip by unappreciated.

But first let's bake some muffins. We have buckets and buckets of peaches from our tree and something needs to be done with them. Peach muffins?

The kids will be here this morning, so let's hurry this project along. Easy enough to do. I've been baking so many batches of fruit muffins this summer that I can do it with hands tied, eyes closed and head in the clouds. Which is where it is at the early baking hour.

A quick garden trim. 

Breakfast.

And then the kids arrive. Not too many pics for you. It's toasty out there and they want to go indoors pretty quickly. Still, they're always good for a couple of photos.

Outside and inside too.

I'm to take them home in time for lunch. Great: we have time to stop by Stoneman farms for their freshly harvested corn. It's Sparrow's first visit there this year. And yes, they both like to pick out the corn...

... but Snowdrop (and therefore Sparrow too) really loves playing with the kittens. And with the Stoneman kids who often hang out here and who love to chase the little dynamos around the Stoneman yard.

(Sparrow  can also be cajoled into walking over to the goats. Can I go inside the fence? -- he asks. The little guy has no fear of animals. He likes them all. I can see him asking the same question in front of a lion's den...)

(Back at their home, I spend a while with Sandpiper...)

And now, at the farmhouse, Ed and I are again tossing around dates and ideas for a local adventures. Well, not super local: we need to force ourselves to move beyond the perimeter of the immediate parks, trails, and nature preserves. In other words, we need to be willing to sit in the car some. We've done all that's really local many many times. So we have to expanded our reach. I've agreed to do wilderness camping (some), though I've taken to grumbling about doing hikes where we have to carry supplies and a tent with us (and because I am difficult, I also grumble about bears), but he has convinced me we do not have to be ambitious in our hiking goals. 

Like, how short can our distance be in a day? -- I ask.

Ten feet. If you want to stop after ten feet, we can stop.

That's what I call being agreeable! I think we can do better than ten feet, though we both could use a little pre-hike training. It's been a while since we've done distance walking with stuff on our backs.

Okay. So we have some goals. We have some plans. And we have beautiful weather in the meantime, reminding us that summer is really the perfect season for indulging your whimsey and adventure craving. We've got two little adventures coming up! Solo and safe. Well, unless we encounter a bear...