To Be Young Again

    For my fourteenth birthday my parents handed me a card.  I opened it with the fervency of any young person who has begun to grasp economics.  Inside was not the placid green portrait I had anticipated, but rather the bane of any birthday young or old.  I stared bleakly at a slip of paper that read "This coupon entitles you to GET A JOB!"  I looked up, head cocked to the side like a dog who's been given an unknown command, to see my parents beaming at the dish they had just served colder then the ice cream that was melting in my lap.
     Last week Cas and I spent two days and one night with a group of high school youth that had sought out, applied for, and been hired for a competitive program called the Youth Conservation Corps.  I had no idea young people of their caliber existed.  Come to think of it, I don't know that many adults that would spend their summer camping out doing manual labor at minimum wage out of little more then the simple desire to do so.  These kids weren't forced to do this, and they truly seemed to enjoy it.  There was no ladder to climb.  When asked, they didn't seem to register how good it would look on a resume.  One kid put it simply, "I would have just been sitting around all summer otherwise."  Well yeah!
    The time I spent with these kids made it easy for me to forget that I'm nearly twice there age, which was mostly good.  It also reminded me how much I liked hanging out with kids that age and how much they get it, and how much adults don't.  These are the people that are forming the world we live in today, and will be making the decisions for us in the next thirty years.
    I can look back now on my adolescent time and realize that was the lesson my parents were trying to teach me.  That it's not enough to just sit by and let everyone else foot the bill.  And that coupons for your birthday suck no matter how old you are.

Here Fishy Fishy Fishy

I don't know how to explain it!  I haven't done a single thing different.  Same rig, same bait, same spot.  Earlier in the day maybe, or later in the season?  I guess I have been doing one thing different....

Happy Anniversary!! Here's some Cheese.

Saturday was Nate's and my 6th wedding anniversary! We sold our truck topper on Craig's list and then headed out to the UConn Dairy Barn and then to Bush Meadow Farm. Nate and I have always been interested in homesteading and since our friends Jenny and Jason are soon to start their homestead, it has us thinking about that dream again. Nate has always wanted to have goats, and that is the one animal, besides ostrich, that we did not have on my small farm growing up. So with the intention of growing our education we visited the farm to explore their operations. They have a commercial kitchen where they serve food that they grew or raised themselves. We bought a half gallon of goat's milk, which is the best milk I've ever tasted. And the nutrition and health benefits of goat vs. cow milk is no competition. They get more business than they can handle because of the growing awareness, especially by people with serious digestion issues. They gave us a free container of Garlic and Spinach feta cheese spread. It was amazing, store bought will never taste the same. Thanks Bush Meadow Farm! Support your local farmers!! They also cut all of their own firewood that supplies energy to their radiant floor heating and hot water throughout their buildings in the winter. They're also planning an ice cream operation soon. Checkout the pics of all the goats, the babies were so cute! The owners were super nice and offered us possible workamper positions for this winter. We have yet to discuss details, but I can't help but think that it would be a great opportunity for us. Not only will our restaurant experience and my forestry and Nate's carpentry skills be useful to them, but for them to teach us all about the goats and goat dairy and meat products would be invaluable to our future. We'll be praying about God's will for The Smocks Winter 2010!!

Home Sweet Camper

So this will be our new home starting on August 21, which is our anticipated departure date. Against the advice of my former boss, Ms. Betty Hammel of Craig's Place Deli in SC, we went ahead and brought home our new truck camper on Sunday. There were some difficulties in getting the camper mounted to the truck and getting the lights hooked up correctly.But after hours of sweating in the sun, while I sat inside with the lady of the house drinking lemonade, Nate and the seller got it all worked out. I am so proud of my hard workin' man. How will we live in this small space you ask? Well, I'm not sure yet. We will have to, once again, get rid of more stuff. But it is wondrous knowing that I have the capabilities to cook almost everything in one pan. The fridge is really nice and larger than our other camper fridge. It has a built in CD player, a rear camera video for backing up, a wet bath (which means you can poo and shower at the same time!), a place for a microwave and tv, plenty of storage for what we need, and early nineties decor (which Nate doesn't mind, but I can't stand). So we are already thinking about all the things we need to do for our next adventure which is . . . . going back to Iowa. See you soon!

Come Fourth

So the 4th was fun. Nate and I saw an amazing fireworks show the weekend before. From the island you could see about 10-15 shows going on at the same time. To see the fireworks over the still ocean water was incredible. Nate commented that it looked as if the east coast was under attack! So on the actual weekend we went inland to Chandra's house. That is my niece Sophia in the pic. No, it was not raining when she was wearing those boots. But Aunty Candy fixed her cute hair, didn't last long. Soon her hair ended up into a third pony tail in her bangs to keep it out of her face, giving her the look of a triceratops. Chandra had an amazing spread for us to eat and drink. She had friends over and we stayed up late socializing while we sat in her bug free tent. I added photos of her home in Storrs, CT. It is gorgeous here.

Nate and Falkner's Day-Of-Fun!!

Back out at Falkner, hopefully for the last time.  It was my turn (no pun intended) to spend some quality time with our winged banal brethren.  The first chick to fledge was witnessed while I was there and it is now a brief matter of time before the great colony will depart for warmer winter climes.  The terns fledging time span is a scant few weeks, where they transform from a dripping helpless mass to maven of the skies.  Though the fecal bombardment is quite annoying, these creatures are something to behold.  Though once is enough.