Simplify

As hubby and I enter into the next chapter of our lives, with a change of careers,  I've decided to accept and move gracefully into it.  I have complete faith that this was meant to be and that all will be fine and we will be much happier.   Before I begin my job search in earnest, I've decided that I need to clean out and purge 23 plus years of crap and regretted purchases.  Today I started the real work of Simplifying my life.  It's not easy to let go of *things* but it IS what I need to do. I need to be free from all that binds me, and the clutter I've created isn't going to allow me the freedom I crave.  I want to become a minimalist, and have TIME instead of things.  We will be building our little log cabin in the woods someday soon and we don't need to be bringing lots of things with us.  I also have decided that I want to get into backpacking, to really immerse myself in nature like never before, hubby shares this dream.   So the journey begins.....Simplify my life...for real this time.  Hello Craigslist, Ebay, Amazon and garage sales! 

Blueberries

Went on a 2.5 hour hike up to the AT with my Monty.  Gorged myself on fresh blueberries, they taste so different then the supermarket variety.  The weather was stellar, no humidity and in the mid 70s.  While Monty was taking a dip in the river I spied out of the corner of my eye a Black Bear and a Cub crossing the river.  I quickly leashed the Montman and headed up the trail to where they crossed. They were up the hill and it was the Sow with all 3 cubs.  She grunted and the cubs treed for a moment then slid down and off they went.  A bonus for getting out there and hiking....exercise is such punishment!

Quiet hike

Sitting here all alone at my picnic table, candles lite, eating a delicious meal of Seafood Wor Bar.  Enjoying every morsel of it after two hikes today. We went to Cascade in the morning and just returned from a 1.5 hour hike up in the Co. Park. I decided to wear my barefoot shoes for tonights hike.  I couldn't get over how quietly you can walk with them.  At one point, Monty has stopped to smell something from a distance, so I stopped as well and listened, all of a sudden along comes a fox.  I love when that happens!  I also heard Barred Owls and Wood thrush.  The temperature couldn't have been any more perfect, 72 degrees, no humidity and a slight breeze kicked up.  Talk about heaven on earth. 

Bunny Release Day

Stink Pot

Today I found a really neat little turtle, a male Common Musk Turtle, Sternotherus odoratum.  A small aquatic turtle that ranges in size from 2-4.5 inches long. They live in wetlands and lakes. They live a long time in the wild, up to around 40 years, and in captivity close to 60 years.  Females aren't sexually mature until close to 10 years old. They lay from 1 to a dozen eggs, usually with other musk turtles.

On my hike a very large bear(approx. 400#) crossed the trail directly in front of me, how very exciting that was.  Monty was a good boy and stayed when he was told.

I'm releasing the two baby bunnies tomorrow.

Miss Jean

Hodgepodge Lodge

Miss Jean & Aurora

Miss Jean at Cabin dedication

When I was a child very few people influenced me. I was so completely obsessed with animals and nature that nothing else attracted my attention. One TV person who made a life long impact on me was Miss Jean Worthley. She had a TV show on PBS called *Hodgepodge Lodge.* The show started in 1970.  Miss Jean was a Naturalist who lived in a tiny cabin in the woods with lots of different animals.  She took the local children on hikes and shared with them her vast knowledge of Nature and Animals. She started each show at the Discovery Table where she would introduce the children to an animal. She was living my dream life. In her real life she was a Naturalist who lived on a large farm and who also was mother to six children, four of them sons. Her husband was a Botanist.  Many years later while I was in my local library digging through the nature section as I always did when I had a few free moments,  I came across her book The Complete Family Nature Guide. It brought back so many memories.   I took the book out of the library multiple times and each time I could see that I had been the only one to do so.  I told the librarian that if they were ever going to discard the book to please let me have it and I'd pay for it. One day the library called and gave the book to me! What a wonderful surprise.  I wrote Miss Jean a letter telling her how much her show meant to me and she wrote back and I was able to get a couple of copies of the show from her.  The Hodgepodge Lodge cabin has now been restored and is at the Howard County MD Conservancy and will forever be an interactive nature exhibit for children, what a great tribute to a wonderful inspiring women. Thank you Miss Jean for helping me become who I am.

Trail Running again!!!

I may have found the secret to feeling better for me. I have not trail run in many years. The last few days I've felt a bit like my old self with more energy then I've had in the last few years since the Big M started. I decided that instead of just wearing my usual hiking clothing on my daily hike with my pup, I'd wear my bare foot vibrums, a running bra, shorts, and tie my hair back. Guess what.....I'm back to trail running!  I'm not doing up hills yet nor am I very fast...but I showed up and I did it! I sweat heavy duty and felt like I purged all things bad from my body! I love how you have to be absolutely in the moment you can't think about anything else but what is in front of you or you will fall.  I came home and felt like I was high.   I have missed that feeling! I do strongly believe that if your body hurts you need more exercise, but I myself have fallen victim to my own inner voices, thinking that I'm too old to run, or I'm not fit enough, or this or that hurts...the list of excuses is endless. It's all bullshit. Get dressed and get out there....JUST DO IT! I can't wait to go again!

Trail Run!

Today I did a Trail run and walked the dog later on.  Had a green drink for lunch that lasted me until 4pm!  I may have 2 a day and then eat dinner for a week and see how I feel!  Loving making all kinds of salads and eating tiny portions of meat. 

My oldest son turned 25 yesterday, he went sky diving with his dad, they had a blast!

Bunny Rehabs

My Santuary

Who needs a treadmill?

My Tread Mill & Training Partner

Snack Bar

Reward

Well only a few days into eating mostly fresh raw foods and I felt well enough to do a bit of trail running this morning.  I'm keeping this way of eating up and seeing where it takes me. I didn't have any breakfast,  just the handful of wild blueberries, I felt no hunger and had tons of energy.  I later rewarded myself with an amazing lunch.  I made up fresh tomatoes with basil and arugula, just picked  homegrown green and wax beans sauteed with lemon grass, ginger and topped with a Salmon Fillet and Thai Red Chile Sauce and chives.  Ok...this really is living...I feel like I'm eating in the finest restaurant.

Fruits of Summer

Since the Big C has entered our lives I'm on the quest to eat even better then I already have been for the last 30+ years.  I've basically eaten  very healthy since I was 19 years old and walked into my first Health Food Store up at college. Most of the time I've already been eating the latest health food fad for many years when it hits the main stream,  starting first with becoming a vegetarian and even a vegan.  I ate my first tofu 32 years ago, it came from a large pickle barrel.  There were no fake meats back in the day, the first commercially available burgers were Sunshine burgers made upstate NY.  I made my own with cooked beans and froze them.  I've steered away from Gluten for more then a decade now.  Personally I feel that most of the *health foods* available out there are not good for you. They are every bit as full of carbs, sugars and chemicals as the product they are replacing.  People feel they are doing something good for their body and they are really eating junk that's organic.   I'm going  to step up the way I've been eating and feeding my family a few notches.  I'm going to eat as many veggies each day as I possibly can.  I find myself now thinking about vegetables all day long!  How very awesome is that?  Each meal will have a protein source and several fresh vegetables.  We are also using our vitamix constantly, lots of fresh green drinks, I even grow my own wheat grass.  Today I had a green drink for breakfast, salmon tacos for lunch (spicy salmon rolled in lettuce leaves with salsa, hot peppers,  avocado and arugula) snack is baked kale.  Dinner is going to be Free Range Grass Fed Fillet, Large organic salad,  fresh tomatoes with basil, corn on the cob and BBQ sweet potato with cinnamon and chile. This has got to be the easiest diet in the world, nothing to even think about....got  to the produce isle load your cart up with veggies, some meat and presto...you are done with your shopping trip!