Walking – Asbery's Echoes

Quiet Places

We who live in quiet places have the opportunity to become acquainted with ourselves, to think our own thoughts and live our own lives in a way that is not possible for those keeping up with the crowd.

By Laura Ingalls Wilder

I’ve walked this lane so very many times and in all season. By myself, with family, and with many different dogs throughout the years, a cat or two, herding sheep, leading a horse, riding a horse . . .

We had a hectic couple of weeks again. A family camping trip (post to come), Joe was under the weather, babysitting the grandkids, helping Dad and Mom. I was starting to get overwhelmed again. Then this morning, while we were at Dad and Mom’s, I stole away for a walk down to the timber.

This little timber has been my happy place for oh so many years. Just a quick walk through the trees and I always feels so much better. Now that there is no livestock down here, the trees and grasses and wildflowers are taking over again and that makes my heart happy!

The beans are turning and look so pretty.

I love the above quote by Laura Ingalls Wilder and I’m working more and more towards living in a quiet place. I want to just be home and have my handful of acres be my quiet place where I don’t have to worry about keeping up with the crowd. And of course, I’ll head over to the timber too when I need to really unwind!

My tree – I always have to visit this majestic old cottonwood.

Weekend at Lake Darling

It was so nice Thursday as we were pretty much the only ones there!

My daughter contacted us right after we came home from our Clear Lake camping trip and asked if we would want to camp at Lake Darling with them the following weekend. And of course, we made it happen! How could we not make it work when it meant spending time with her and our son in law and our grandkids? We had such a great time in a beautiful setting.

We had such a pretty view across from our camper. These guys visited a couple of times.

We spent the weekend relaxing, hiking, playing games and just enjoying each other’s company. There was some really good food to eat too. Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Ward and Uncle Jerry and Cousin Todd came for a visit Saturday afternoon/evening which is always a treat. Great Grandma brought homemade peach cobbler and homemade strawberry pie!

There’s nothing like camping to enjoy family. Days and evenings with nothing to do but be together. Very little internet reception meant the kids didn’t beg to be on devices and us grown ups couldn’t spend much time on devices either. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and we took advantage of the cooler temperatures. There are paved trails along the lake and through the woods that are great with little kids as they can ride their bikes and scooters. There are also trails to hike that aren’t paved which we plan to walk someday too.

There was a mink running along the shoreline here. He ran under the bridge we were on when I took this picture, crossed the creek and ran back under the bride. He was a pretty little critter!

A little coffee and early morning reading for me! I like to get up before everyone else and have some alone time and listen to the campground wake up.

The early morning sun peeking through the trees

Grandpa and Braxton having an early morning discussion

Drew starting an early morning fire to warm me up

Bayah may have gotten tired so Daddy gets to carry her scooter while Grandpa gives her a ride

UNO in the evenings. When Abby and Jeremy were dating we would play UNO at the campground, now we’re playing UNO with their kids!

Grandpa is trying hard to convince Bayah that there’s a crocodile in the lake. She knew better!

Camping has been a favorite of ours for quality family time for years now. And it makes my heart happy to have my daughter and her family camping now too. She said once that she has such great memories of our camping trips when she was growing up and she wants her kids to have those same memories. Joe and I are blessed that she wants to include us in those memories!

Busy Week

This week has turned out to be a busy one. Yesterday saw me walking, then home to do laundry. Lots and lots of laundry. Cleaning out the chicken coop and taking care of the cats we brought home Sunday evening. They are in the shop but they won’t come out when we are in there. Hopefully they will be a little braver today. Then Dad and Mom came over with some apples to share and to see the cats. They stayed and chatted until dark.

Today I’m up early – no earlier than usual but I’m heading to Kalona to meet Abby. I’m going with her to a doctor’s appointment in Iowa City. Jeremy couldn’t take time off work so I volunteered to tag along. Nothing is wrong, just checking for gestational diabetes. I had it with my second two pregnancies and am hoping she doesn’t but since she didn’t pass the first test I won’t be surprised if this one comes out positive. So, I get to spend some quality time with her today which will be nice.

Tomorrow should be pretty normal. Nothing specific planned anyway. Just normal routine. Although I do need to do something with the apples Mom brought over. And I finished stitching my Fancey Blackett I working on so I need to decide on a finish for her. I love those days! Then Thursday and Friday I’m subbing at the elementary school. Friday is homecoming so that should be fun – the kids will be all excited to go see the parade. Not sure I know what I’m getting myself into! It’s nice to visit the school now and again to see how things are run and to get to know the teachers. Especially with Drew there. And he likes having me there. There will come a time when having his mom working at the school once in awhile won’t be so fun but for now he thinks it’s awesome!

And best of all – it’s supposed to be ten degrees cooler today than yesterday and then it’s supposed to drop down into the 60s. Yeah – hopefully fall is here!

Still Walking

Week two of my new walking routine is going strong. Every morning now after dropping Drew off at school a friend and I have been walking – four miles every day to be exact. Last week was rough. I couldn’t believe how stiff and sore I was. This week things are going much better. I’m not near as sore and I don’t get near as winded. It’s nice to spend an hour and a half walking and talking. We talk a lot about God, our families, our grandkids, the ways of the world. It’s good to take this time to exercise and bond with a cherished friend.