Kentucky is Full of Surprises!

Starting last summer, Shane and I and a group of friends began planning a summer vacation. After dates were debated and sites were sifted through, it was decided that Fall Creek Falls State Park in Tennessee would be the place we would visit. Knowing it was a bit of a drive, and the fact that Shane and I were going to skip some sort of anniversary trip like Costa Rica, we decided that our way down would be made our one on one time before the group cabin experience.

So I booked us a stay at the lovely Carter Caves State Resort Park in Kentucky. This little park had some big sites to see, one of which we meandered to right upon entering the park. As we wandered on the trail, remarking that we hadn’t seen too many trail markers, honestly something that continued to stick out the entire time we were down south, we came up to the “hole” that looked down into the natural bridge that the trail was leading us to.

We thought that was pretty neat, but we crossed the road and continued on not thinking much of the hole and comparing it to cenotes we had seen in Mexico. But soon we reached the natural bridge, and it actually made us stop with surprise and awh in our tracks. It was huge!

That wouldn’t be the only surprise that evening.

When we reached our room and checked in, to Shane’s delight, he discovered, as he and anyone from Kentucky would put it, “the world’s best ginger-ale”. As we cooled of sharing a glass of it, we decided to hit one more trail and natural bridge before trying the dinner at the restaurant.

It too was impressive, and there was a platform at the top of it where you could look down into the gully that ran through it. You could tell that they were set up to offer zip-line adventures, but we visited the park in mid-May, so things weren’t quite set up for summer fun yet.

We got back to our room, where we happened to have cell service, and my phone began to ring with a number from Oregon. If you read my last blog post, you know that I am headed out there soon to be an Artist-in-Residence. That wasn’t on the forefront of my mind, as I had just answered a rejection email, right before that last hike, with a nice “thank you for considering me” and “keep me in the loop for next year” and “what can I keep in mind for future applications”. But I answered the call, thinking maybe they were going to tell me via a phone call what they thought of my application; it would be a first, but it wasn’t inconceivable. Shane relaxed with another “world’s best ginger-ale” while I took the most wonderfully surprising phone call I have ever received.

It was a ranger from John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. Upon receiving my prompt response, they re-evaluated my application and realized they had had tunnel vision when looking for an artist for this years spot recipient. My medium of wool would work out perfectly with their fall festival focused on sheep and they wondered if I would still be interested.

All I can say is, at this point Shane was filming me on his phone, because I was nearly jumping out of my skin with excitement and my face was hurting from smiling. I of course answered yes! We celebrated with a meal at the restaurant on location, Tierney’s Cavern, and the next morning I enjoyed a coffee on the deck reading from Psalms, my heart bursting with gladness for all the wonderful things in my life before Shane awoke and the other Elser family joined us that day.

A theme verse for that week and this summer was from Psalms 145. That whole chapter breathed a lot of truth that week, but that morning verse 19 really stuck with me.

Psalms 145:19 “He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
    he hears their cry and saves them.”

What woke up Shane was a phone call from his brother saying they were close to the park, and Shane, in vacation mode, groggily admitted to having just woke up and not having breakfast yet. The other Elser family joined us as we ate from the buffet again in Tierney’s Cavern. It was a really fantastic, all kinds of southern, breakfast.

Now, something we just weren’t familiar with was this idea of “state resort parks”. In all my research pre-vacation, it seemed like a really great idea and it just something we don’t have in Pennsylvania. Almost every park had a perk that accompanied the booking of a room. For us it was a guided cave tour and that great breakfast, so after we dined we headed to the Welcome Center where we had to go to sign up for our tour.

A few delightful things were at the Welcome Center. For starters, the Natural Bridge Trail head was there, and we got to show Quintin, Raesha and little Bryce that amazing limestone natural bridge. But, the Welcome Center had another treat, these homemade sort of big cowtail like candies. I can’t remember what the folks in the shop called them, and as I researched them more recently, the name Modjeskas has popped up.

Loaded up with Modjeskas, we headed in the direction of our guided cave tour that took us away from the many trail heads that begin near the Welcome Center. Keep this in mind if you ever visit this park. The one trail near the guided Cascade Cave tour was the Box Canyon Trail. We chose to do it before our guided tour.

This trail was well worth it. Almost a mile of big, beautiful rock formations in Olive Hill, Kentucky.

It reminded me a little of Hocking Hills with it’s large rock walls that shot up into the sky streaked with earth-tones.

The trail was manageable for us four adults, one, Raesha, being pregnant, and one toddler. We finished in time to sit and rest for a bit before meeting at the parking lot for the cave tour.

Like any good cave tour, we saw little bats dotting the ceiling in the Dance Hall portion of the cave where they used to hold weekly dances! Could you imagine?

Even though it was May, our tour group was pretty large, and we were near the end of it, the last to leave each of the unique spaces like the Lake Room where they turned off the lights so we could get the full affect of the reflecting pool.

As promised, we got to see the 30 foot underground waterfall. Just as a note for anyone who hasn’t been there, it isn’t in a large space like the Dance Hall or Lake Room cave spaces. We went down the stairs into a small cave to view it a little at a time.

The guided trail overall had around 250 stairs. They were spread out and manageable with a two year old. The rest of the trail was really easy to walk along and we were surrounded by people of all ages. At the end, we had to walk through a sudsy shoe bath because of the white-nose syndrome plaguing the bats. Our ranger and guide was very informative of the bat’s health in the park, the history of the park, and cave information. It helped that our particular guide had grown up living and loving Carter Caves, her passion for it was really clear.

We ordered pizza that night, so yes, there was a pizza place that delivers that far, it just took a little while, and we enjoyed state trivia while enjoying some of Kentucky’s fine ginger-ale on the deck.

The next morning we were going to take the mile and a half Horn Hollow Trail. The Horn Hallow valley boasts of wildflowers from April till May, so we would’ve hit it at the perfect time, but the description of it also included the word “hilly”. We chose against it as Raesha wanted to save her energy for Tennessee, instead we threw axes at the Welcome Center. This is not an activity that the park necessarily had out for any-old visitor. They happened to have the backstops for ax throwing, and like any good outdoorsman, my husband had a few axes!

There was so much more to explore with in this little park that it will definitely remain on my radar. The breakfasts were great, the guided tour was worth it, and the trails we did do were stunning. If you are going from one place to the next, and this park is in the middle, take the time to stop in. Better yet, give it its due, and spend a few days taking in this unique Kentucky landscape.

 

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Artist-in-Residence

I am so pleased to announce that I will be the Artist-in-Residence at the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in ten days. Ten days! Can you believe it?

So what all does this entail, right? I mean, what even is an artist-in-residence? I have gotten that question A LOT in this whirlwind of a summer, and I love answering it. A residency invites artists to be away from their normal environment to create, make, and be inspired in a new setting. It is a chance for an artist to reflect, research, and even present.

When it comes to the National Parks Service, people like to reference the Hudson River School painters and how they captured America’s wild places. They were in their glory in the mid 19th century, and brought to life America’s landscapes with the clear influence of Romanticism. Wild places still inspire artists, and many National Parks offer an AIR program.

In college, when I learned that this was a way I could share my art and my love for the NPS, it has been a big goal to make it as an AIR.  It has been such an honor and blessing to have been chosen to create at a place that is home to a world class record of ancient mammals and their ecosystems. While I am there, I will be giving a public presentation to the local schools and my big focus will be on the oreodont (pictured below) despite one of my portfolio application images being of a brontothere head mount (pictured above).

So for me, being an AIR gives me a chance to use my art to promote and stick up for our nation’s public lands. What a month to do it in too, after all September is Public Lands Month! My art work will tell a story of the secrets hidden in the land at John Day Fossil Beds and I will bring to life these mammals that once roamed this place.

I will try to keep this blog updated on my AIR experience between other posts of the many adventures Shane, Jagger, Grizz and I had this summer. Now off to pack!

 

Signs Big and Small

When I do write a blogpost, it is generally about something that has touched my life or is a little personal revelation that I feel I need to share. I suppose that can be an excuse as to why I don’t write consistently. That’s right, I called it an excuse. I could, and often say, I should write more, but I find I write in spurts of truth. Little showers of ideas come down and I have to write fast before they dry up. That’s not to say I only get ideas, experience things, or discover truths once every two or three months, but this is one outlet of many, and when I feel like I need to plug into this outlet is when a post is produced. Other than that, it is my art that gets poured into, or it is my personal journal, or even a sketch pad, or it is personal letters being written or read.

I received a letter recently that encouraged me in the same way that the imagery of the regal moth I wrote about in my last post did. The writer affirmed and encouraged me with prayer that the seeds I’m sowing will find fertile soil.

Soil.

These words of encouragement brought to mind a verse in Isaiah and I scrambled to look up the words that echoed in my head which were something like:

“If the word goes out, it won’t come back empty, but will accomplish something.”

But when I looked it up using my cellphone, it pulled up the verse that precedes the exact verse I was looking for, so all together I read:

^{Isaiah 55:10} As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Rain and snow.

All these little ideas and thoughts tied together. From the moth weathering the storm in the earth to seeds being sown and finding fertile soil. I had to smile. All the time we get hung up on big signs coming from our big God, but if we only train our eyes to look for big signs, we will miss the little ones that still shout out loud God is here and God is listening.

A Regal Reminder

The regal or royal walnut moth is one of the largest moths around my area. They are a gorgeous vibrant orange with a muted brown almost grey with cream highlights. These striking colors are just one part of what makes them so interesting. After all, these moths begin as a giant caterpillar, green and almost frightening. They have large horns that look menacing and if you find one, if you handle it, it may thrash it’s bulging body in attempts to scare you. In all reality, the regal moth’s caterpillar form, the hickory horned devil, is a docile, chubby green caterpillar that means no harm. 

These caterpillars can be as big as an average hotdog and you may find it on the ground rather than on a branch because of its peculiar life cycle. The hickory horned devil does something a little different compared to most caterpillars seeing that it doesn’t spin a cocoon that we naturally relate to most moths. Instead, the little devil makes his way down from shade trees and burrows in the ground, choosing the earth to make his transformation into the beautiful regal moth. 

Maybe it is strange that I would be writing about an insect in the dead of winter, but right now is when the transformation is taking place. The sun is shining less and snow blankets the earth in its sheet of white, but underneath all of that, down in the dormant earth, a small creature is being transformed into something beautiful. The change is happening now, even through all this wind and ice. 

Maybe you are in your winter in life. You just don’t see a change happening, all you see is cold, unforgiving harsh weather patterns. But, change can happen in the wait. Maybe you are watching someone else weather the cold storms and you can’t understand why they are not changing the way you think they should, maybe the change is happening underneath, deep down, where you just can’t see it yet. 

I pray that this moth is a reminder for you this weekend, whether you are waiting out your own winter storm or watching someone you love weather their own, God made it possible for a green, horned slow moving caterpillar find it in themselves to dig deep and wait it out just to reemerge a beautiful moth. So if God has a plan for a caterpillar, He certainly has a plan for you. 

Hiking Hocking Hills

Being in nature is a way that Shane and I find God’s glory. It is no replacement for the unity we can find in a church, small group, or concert setting, but for us, it is a way to find “our Jesus” like I suggested in the last post. What is so extra wonderful to me is that as we stare in wonder at wandering waterfalls, I know that Shane and I are thankful to the same creator, the one and only creator, God.

As good as all the food was on Shane’s birthday getaway, I do have to rave a little about the amazing place we were at, Hocking Hills, Ohio. We arrived on a Friday after a stop at Cabela’s and only did one small hike, if you could even call it that, that evening. We thought we could hit the waterfall labelled “Cedar Falls” before the weather turned, but only made it down the meandering steps down the steep hill to a rock wall and lazy stream before we decided we should turn back. That rock wall alone was amazing and left me wondering how it would sound if it sung out praises.

If you get a chance to visit this place, let me tell you something that I only learned in hind site: the steps leading down from the parking lot were created by an artist! Akio Hizume designed these nearly 100 steps that lead you to the path below based on the Fibonacci sequence and one dimensional Penrose lattice. Shane and I remarked on the stairs while we were there and their spacing, which now in hind site is funny, because the artist purposely spaced them so you would have to change your leading foot as you walked.

Had we known how close the falls were, I am certain we could’ve reached them that evening, but instead we parked at the Cedar Falls parking area and viewed them the next day. They were part one to a long hike we planned out that included seeing the Old Man’s Cave and Lower Falls.

To best describe our hike, we went in then out to the Cedar Falls location, and continued past the artist stairs and around a bend to head on our way to the Old Man’s Cave. Visually on a map, this seemed like an easy hike, and unfortunately there wasn’t a lot of good information in the pamphlets we received from the visitor center on what the hike was actually like. Right off the bat, we hit a little scramble that the dogs enjoyed, we could’ve crossed the shallow stream and avoided it, but we didn’t need to.

By the time we reached the lower falls, we were passing people headed in the opposite direction asking how much further they needed to go to hit Cedar Falls, some with exasperated looks, and I don’t blame them. That particular path had quite a few ups and downs, narrow points, and was no easy walk in the park. This was fine for Shane and I and the puppy, but we both were aware of how much Jagger might be aching by the end of the day, and as it was, by the time we hit the lower falls, he kept laying down any time he could.

We debated at this point the best way to continue with more stairs to the right of us, should we turn back now or continue on? We decided to at least make it to the Old Man’s Cave, and took the stairs to do so, which weren’t all that bad. People of all ages were doing the stairs after all, so Jagger did well.

Reaching the very busy Old Man’s Cave, we again stopped and debated, giving Jagger time to lay down, where to go. The was always the opportunity to go back the way we came, but to be honest, that wasn’t an easy hike and we weren’t sure how well the old man, Jagger, would do. We decided to go on towards the ‘A’ frame bridge that crossed the gorge and to take the Gorge Overlook Trail back to Cedar Falls. Knowing that over look meant it would be over the bumpy terrain we just hiked through, I said to Shane it would probably be similar to that hike we did in Ricketts Glen, where after fallowing the water and seeing falls, it traced the top of the gorge and was an easy walk through tall trees. Fortunately for Jagger, that is exactly what this trail turned out to be. It was funny because all along the way we passed people who we had passed at the bottom headed in the opposite direction, we would all give a smile knowing we had all reached our destination and were on the homestretch of our own hikes.

We got to pass over the breast of the dam that hold back the waters to Rose Lake. This was one of a few metal grated bridges that made Grizz a little nervous.

Finally we made it made it to a bridge that crossed over to a very small parking lot. We recognized the lot from our drive in, and though it wasn’t our lot, with the grey skies, we thought it would just be quicker to cross here and walk up the road a short distance to where we started. Before we did though, we stopped on a lovely rock bench to reflect, and actually got some cute shots of all of us together; proof that I was indeed on this trip!

Surprisingly enough, that is the only hiking we did while at Hocking Hills. We agreed we could definitely explore more, because we missed the famous Ash Cave and didn’t even see the Upper Falls that were above the Old Man’s Cave. Unfortunately, I have more pictures of my dogs and man then of the sites because I didn’t have a lens on my camera that allowed for wide angle shots, but was more appropriate for portraits and low light, but I am okay with that. You can look up picture after picture that people took of these places online, and they are all great, but what mattered more to me was who I got to spend the time with, so that is what I captured.

If you plan to go to Hocking Hills for a quick weekend here is a list of tips to make the trip go a little smoother:

• Print maps of hikes offline, they are a little more detailed than ones we received in the park
• Remember, waterfalls don’t happen with out elevation, you are in a gorge, there are scrambles and stairs that the maps don’t go into detail about
• The primitive camping is great and spread out, their normal campsites were a little more crowded but you have electricity and are close to a bathhouse, and in the summer time, a swimming pool
• Wear good shoes, Shane and I are all about our Keen sandals, but were grateful we had on our hiking shoes for the hike we took
• Give yourself time for these hikes to stop and wonder, the map may say a half an hour or hour, but if you are stopping to play fetch it takes longer!

Hocking Hills Birthday

I can’t begin to write all of the things that Shane and I did this summer, but I can tell you that when we looked back at a calendar, our weekends were mostly all taken up by some sort of gathering or activity. This is a blessing as much as it is an annoyance; I consider it a blessing because it means we are healthy enough and able enough to do all these different things, but it is also annoying to think of how little we got done around our home. It is a funny thing because if we did more at home, maybe we would be more inclined to finish projects at home, but as it is, we are hungry for adventure. So even though we want to get things done with in our walls, we are out and about in God’s nature.

That all being said, we are well into fall and I have barely kept up with this blog, this glimpse into our wildly busy little life. But as rain drizzles down outside and lesson plans are finished for dance classes tonight, I feel I can take the time to express my pure joy over Shane’s little birthday weekend that I planned at the beginning of summer.

Hocking Hills, Ohio has been on my radar for quite some time, and knowing we were going to have a puppy this summer, no big trips were planned. When I say there were no big trips planned, I mean on both sides of the family no trips were planned by either side, unlike last summer where we spent a week with Shane’s side in Put-In Bay, Ohio. This would make it seem like our calendar was left wide open for little weekend getaways, but in fact little things kept pushing out any free time we might have had. The idea of Hocking Hills stuck though and I booked far in advance a camping trip there over Shane’s birthday in September.

This place was beautiful! I could go on about the falls there, but I am going to focus more on our camping experience.

We got there on a Friday afternoon and set up camp. I had booked a primitive campsite, which I am so glad we did after driving through their crowded campsites later that weekend when we went to the bathhouse to shower. I had chosen the furthest primitive site from the parking lot which was almost a mile down a gravel path. We took two packs in and carried a soft-sided cooler and bucket of water for the dogs. The cooler was refilled each day with the food we were going to eat which prevented us from hauling back a huge cooler.

I had chosen the farthest campsite, figuring we would have a puppy and who knows how he would act while camping. To our great surprise, he was so well behaved! Grizz and Jagger both slept under the tent at night and we never heard a peep from Grizz. Honestly, it was Jagger who was the loud one. From time to time he would catch the glimpse of a neighbors flashlight and start barking.

By the end of the trip, the two dogs actually seemed to get along a little better. Shane remarked that maybe this was a good bonding trip for them!

But it wasn’t just a good bonding trip for them, it was another brick in the foundation of Shane and I’s relationship. We didn’t have to go to Hocking Hills to appreciate one another more for their strengths, but it gave us a chance to in a different way. I had begun the craziness of my job and was only on the second week of it by the time we packed up the truck and drove out to Ohio leaving behind a big wooly mess of my fiber sculptures all over the dining room because I had just done my first art festival with my fiber sculptures.

Needless to say, it was mainly Shane that packed and prepared for the trip! Normally I am on top of the food game, but again, was caught off guard because I was so sidetracked with fibers and dance. We had long ago signed up for one of those home delivery meal services and honestly hadn’t received any in a very long time, but God had perfect timing because that week I had forgotten to cancel it and somehow an order showed up at our door step. Basically ignoring their cooking instructions, we had amazing meals over the fire with their fresh ingredients.

For Shane’s birthday meal, we had his favorite, salmon! We cooked it in foil with a sweet mustard sauce. It was paired with green beans cooked in foil and a hasselback potatoes in foil with sour cream.

 

 

Thank goodness Shane picked up breakfast at our little local meat shop and got the worlds best bacon that we enjoyed with some jetboiled coffee and eggs.

We hiked all day Saturday, so it was a good thing we had loaded up on fat and protein in the morning. We grabbed a quick sandwich after the all day hike before returning to our campsite where we made my favorite meal of the trip of southwestern pork chops topped with cilantro lime sour cream, cheese and tortilla strips and a side of foil cooked squash and zucchini.

We left in the afternoon on Sunday after we had an easy morning of oatmeal and coffee as we slowly packed up the whole site. Once everything was packed, we stood around the warm fire as the stuffed peppers Shane also grabbed at the meat market cooked. It was a perfect ending to all of our yummy meals.

Everything that came in in one trip went out in one trip! And yes, I brought my felting things a mile hike in to a campground because I was in the middle of a pumpkin seed bluegill that I was really excited about!

It was a wonderful birthday weekend slipped in between busy weeks and rushed schedules. Even though it was short, it was a great reminder of God’s creativity and how he has blessed us with one another! 

 

 

Meet Grizz

We did it. We got a puppy. He has been in our care for six days now and is a joyful, wiggling, floppy handful. His name is Grizzly Adams, but we call him Grizz.

When we picked him out, we played with his other brothers first. You see, when we got pictures of the litter, Shane had immediately pointed to the all brown one and said, “That one!” At the same time, my finger pointed to the all white, with a brown head fella and I declared, “That one!” We eventually thought the all white one would be easy to see when hunting, so just from a picture said that was choice one and the all brown one was choice number two, even though, initially, he was choice number one.

When we got to the breeder, the all white one was gone, our number three pick, the one with the interestingly symmetrical spots on his back was still there and quite the hefty fella. The all brown one only stood out because he was just that, an all brown one compared to the spotted siblings. We got out the number three pick with another smaller, friendly one to play with as suggested by the breeder. Although the big guy followed the breeder around, he didn’t seem all too interested in us, and he was loud and pushy. We got out another spotted one with the big guy, and it could’ve cared less about us or anything else. Finally we got out the all brown one.

Not only did he seem interested in us, he was somewhat submissive, not loud, and seemed calmer than all of them. So our number one pick, moved to number two, then ignored for a quick moment at the sight of all the other spotted, mostly bigger brothers, became our Grizz. Even the breeder seemed happy with our choice, as though he knew that was the one for us and was holding his breath until we said, “This one!”

We stayed and chatted with the breeder for a bit before we headed off, back to my folks place to show him off, and to meet Jagger. From there we went to see our friends at a camp on the Allegheny where Grizz met more dogs, more people, and water! It was a busy first day, followed by a Sunday and Memorial Day of more playing at Shane’s dad’s home. It couldn’t have been a busier weekend for our new little addition.

Rest

I flew into the rest of my weekend after I wrote my last post. I literally flew off of my longboard, onto the hard pavement, hitting first my knee, followed by a slide on my right side. The flying on the longboard stands out less against the memory of falling and sliding. I stood up quickly, annoyed I skinned my left tricep very much, and then I looked at my knee. I shudder at the picture that comes up in my mind. 

Shane was still at work, that was why I decided, after accomplishing my list of things to do, that I would ride my longboard. It was the first time I had gotten it out since last summer, and some pride in me said that I could indeed ride it to Rin’s house and back before Shane got home before our date. I had not considered the hill before her home, and there I met the pavement with a leap and a tumble. It was fortunately on this hill where a neighbors house is situated and this neighbor happened to be sitting on her porch with a biker who had been peddling by and took a break. So two angels, one a nurse, and the other ready and willing to take orders and help out, happened to be right on the scene and knew what to do till Shane’s dad arrived to drive me to the hospital.

So now, here I am, my right leg wrapped and velcroed into a brace propped up on a camp stool while I sit in a camp chair on our back porch. 

I can tell you exactly what got me into this situation, but it is still aggravating to think of how hurt my knee is. I shouldn’t bend it for two weeks due to the huge gash full of seven stitches and twenty-seven staples. Do you know how hard it is for me to sit still? Alas, I can count it a blessing it wasn’t worse. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make it any easier to sit still. As Rin put it, there must be some reason God wanted you to rest. 

Her comment made me look into verses about rest, because I have been doing a lot of that. I enjoy doing it on my back porch the most because I see our Orchard Oriole families, we have two, the yellow warblers, hummingbirds, cat birds, mocking birds, bluejays, countless red wing black birds and robins, and of course my little phoebe whose nest is just over my shoulder. It really has been a joy to just observe God’s nature, and on a morning like this morning where I was calling in a gobbler, interact with it despite my limitations. 

This certain, classic Psalm stood out to me though, because of the non-passive word, make.  He makes me lie down in green pastures. Why would God make me lie down when I have so much to do and I have this break before teaching summer workshops? Though I believe in signs, I am not sure a very obvious one is about to literally be written in the sky answering my question as to why right now must I rest. I just have to sit, be patient, and keep my eyes open and alert like I do when looking for all my different birds. 

Psalm 23:2-3 “He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.”

Ironic I would’ve just ordered the book, and got about the day before my accident, “When God Doesn’t Make Sense” by Dr James Dobson. Again, I am not unaware of what got me into this situation, and I am thankful it isn’t worse, but the why right now at the beginning of my summer has echoed in my head. This book draws stories and examples from far worse accidents that have happened in christians lives, and dares to ask why. It doesn’t skim over the question of, “Why, God?” with verses like Romans 8:28 where it says all things work together for good. Dr James Dobson really pulls out good examples of people in the Bible with big why’s, and verses besides Romans 8:28. 

One verse the book brought up felt appropriate to my injury, as our nurse neighbor, gingerly, yet assertively held my knee together with a motherly touch. Then again, when my mom drove down on Monday and kept me company and helped around the house while I was confined mainly to the couch. 

Isaiah 66:13 “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you: and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.” 

As I continue to watch the birds and finish some lyric videos for mu mom’s vacation Bible school, I actually want to leave some pictures of a bird that I can’t seem to identify. So for all you bird watchers out there, help me out, this grey bird has no other markings besides a light belly and red skin around its eye and a curved bill. I am in western Pennsylvania, so a curved bill thrasher doesn’t make sense, but that is what it reminds me of.

Trout Season

Last year Shane teased about standing shoulder to shoulder on opening day, until on my first cast, I reeled back in a lovely, little rainbow. What really began, besides friendly competition, was Shane joining in on one of my traditions. I can’t believe that, with all the build up to the moment, that the time is now long passed by and it is May.

I had gathered snacks the whole week before, this included a desperate search for peach rings at a big, blue chain store. Did you know that there are no peach rings in the Clarion, Pennsylvania Walmart? At least they had Shane’s other requested treat, pull-apart Twizzlers, which were a huge hit with my nephew, Marcus. (Note to self: before they ever come visit, pick up chocolate milk and pull apart Twizzlers.)

So I had done all this searching for snacks and had even gotten sweet rolls from my favorite local bakery, which I promise to gush over in another blogpost, intended for a breakfast. Well, on our way to my folks, Shane and I stopped at a little local market, where, first off, we scored peach rings, but Shane asked if we could take the little camp stove to cook breakfast while we waited to cast. When it was agreed that we probably could, we grabbed some delicious, garlic bacon to fry up.

Saturday morning, we loaded up all the food, and oh, yeah, the fishing stuff and headed to Parker Dam State Park. We brought the sweet rolls, heated them in the camp stove, and ate them while we waited for the bacon to fry up next. It was a quiet, cool morning, with the sun promising to shine, which was good being that my brother and sister-in-law were headed up with the niece and nephews.

The shore was crowded with family and friends of all ages. Groups sitting side by side, apologizing when their kid’s line crossed over three stranger’s own line. We cast for the kids in our own party most of the time, but now and again, we were the ones apologizing and correcting a crooked cast from a kid. Even my Grandma Hayes and aunt joined us that day, my grandma wanting to take advantage of her lifetime license.

After the hustle and bustle of keeping an eye on the active kids, catching trout, and snacking all morning, my dad, Shane and I headed to the quieter creek setting and hit both Laurel Run in Parker Dam and Moose Creek on the mountain. Moose Creek was one of the places where I first got to see Shane and his best friend Scott in their truest form. It was good to finally go back there, remember that day with Shane and Scott, but also to make new memories.

Something that my whole family thrives on is quality time. After listening to The Five Love Languages book with my parents and Shane on our way to Chincoteague one summer, we all decided it was one of the top, if not the top language of us all. I am so lucky that we all have that in common, it is easy to fulfill when you all have the same goal, shared, quality time. But, I also have to back up and say how fortunate I am to have a husband and parents who would all listen to that book together and enjoy discussing it afterwards.

With out intending it to be so, I have to summarize this entry by saying it is one full of thankfulness. I am thankful we found peach rings and pull-apart twizzlers that the kids enjoyed and for the breakfast we had. I am thankful I got to see the joy on the kid’s faces as they saw trout pulled from the water at the state park I am thankful for, Parker Dam. I am thankful it was a sunny day after all the crazy weather that lead up to it. I am thankful for the quality time spent with everyone at Parker Dam and the quieter quality time at the creeks later that day.

Eating at a Soda

Shane and I had a goal in Costa Rica, and that was to have some really authentic food while we were there. This is one of those little reasons I love that I am with Shane. When we want to find the best burger, we know that the hole in the wall place normally has just that, and it neither scares or grosses out either one of us. So we knew that to have some real, local food in Costa Rica, we had to find a Soda.

We didn’t rent a car, and although our hotel had bicycles, we had the hotel drive us into town after figuring out it would cost about the same for a taxi to take us. As we went driving up and down steep hills, we were glad we took the hotel’s van instead of a bike! The curving roads slithered up and down the not yet green hills, I think the “short ride” might have turned into an all day event.

The Playa Del Coco was a twenty minute ride through the countryside. Our driver pointed out a grocery store across from a Hard Rock Cafe and proceeded to say something about a rodeo. Honestly, we were distracted and I got hung up on how he was saying rodeo, unsure if he really meant what I traditionally think of a rodeo as being, and began looking for some sort of stadium that could host a rodeo. Before he dropped us off we, despite him pointing out the Hard Rock Cafe, we asked where the best local soda was and he seemed excited to share where to eat.

We wandered the sidewalk that lined the beach for a bit, taking in the kids laughter, music playing, and seeing plenty of food carts, and were never approached by someone trying to sell their goods. People were just out enjoying their weekend. There was even a skate park that had tents set up, music blasting and people watching maybe a small competition. Everything was small and condensed, so soon enough, we had walked what seemed to be the main part of the beach and we headed to the recommended soda.

Shane got a fried red snapper, and I got my favorite Latin American dish of ceviche. Locals were basically the only other customers around us in the bright pink space. Air and sounds flowed through the walls from outside since there were no windows, only stacks of rectangles out of cement. With Catholic images, silk flowers, stacks of glass coke bottles and a beautiful hand painted mural on the wall surrounding us, we had one of our yummiest meals.

It is so fun exploring with your best friend, laughing that our bright pink room that we have yet to renovate was the same color as the soda, and trying each others lunch choices. I love that a year has trickled by, and there is no less charm to our relationship. We both enjoy similar things and still surprise each other and introduce each other to new things. I love spicy things, and Shane has pointed out, since being with me, he hasn’t ever not liked spicy things, but finds himself searching it out and enjoying it more. So one thing we discovered during lunch was this tabasco sauce, Lizano Tabasco.

It was so much better than any tabasco sauce we had ever had, it was thicker, more flavorful, and we knew we had to bring some home. After our lunch, we walked to the grocery store as live musicians played on the streets with horses trotting up and down the road. We passed vendors and shops, again, never approached about buying things we weren’t looking at, which left a big positive impression on us. We left the tiny, but vibrant town with some fresh avocados, delicious Lizano Tabasco and some soda-pop and juices since we weren’t at an all-inclusive kind of hotel and drove back in our hotel van pointing out monkeys dotting the tops of trees excited about our new discoveries.