The Natural Progression of Life

As we near the end of August we are also nearing the end of major gardening season.  And everyone who gardens is pretty ambivalent about this fact.  It's kind of like parenting (Disclaimer: I'm known for making terrible analogies and since I have no parental experience this could be one of those situations).  When a baby is born everything is new and exciting but they take a lot of time and effort to care for.  The early years are filled with exciting milestones-- first steps, going to school, etc.  Then the kids become teenagers and require a little less constant attention as far as keeping them alive but they keep the parents busy with a variety of activities.  Finally after the teenage years the kids are sent off to college.  Most of the time both the kids and the parents are ready for them to be out of the house.  They still love each other but it's time to move on.
Gardening is similar.  Early in the spring expectant gardeners pour over seed catalogs choosing seed varieties and making sure all their equipment for the season is ready to roll.  They make lofty plans and plant far too many zucchini plants.  Gardening circles are all abuzz with news and gossip of the upcoming growing season.  Finally that all important "due date", the frost free date arrives and everyone is scurrying to get small tender plants started.  The plants are young and vulnerable needing frequent attention.  But these plants shoot up every time you turn around.  Each new bloom is celebrated and the first appearance of a seedling poking through the dirt is big news.  The first person to have little green tomatoes set on speaks about their plants with the same pride a parent of an honor student would (however, without the bumper sticker).  Then towards mid-summer there is the flurry of activities as everything is starting to get ripe for harvest-- the first ears of corn, the first peppers and summer squash, etc.  By August everyone is overrun with produce that it isn't safe to leave your car unlocked or some "well-meaning" gardener will leave you with a backseat of zucchini.  It takes time to care for the garden but almost even more time in the kitchen to do something with the fruits of your labor.  Towards the end of August a gardener is sick and tired of watering.  The plants have become unruly and looked bedraggled (This is why there are not any pictures with this post-- the garden is far beyond photogenic.)  If you have to eat one more squash recipe you might puke.  I think this is just the natural progression of the life cycle.  This evening I yanked out my squash and zucchini plants- plants I have cared for and watered faithfully for 3 months but there were no tears.  It's time for us all to move on. 
In the past month since my last gardening update there have been ups and downs.  We had a caterpillar invasion that nibbled all the leaves off my carrots.  In response I had a large caterpillar massacre which involved stoning-- hopefully that's not to graphic but pest control is not for the faint of heart. Another flop was making ratatouille.  I only harvested one eggplant this year so decided that it would be used for ratatouille with homegrown tomatoes, squash, and zucchini.  I overestimated my tolerance for veggies and made a meal that contained nothing else.  I made it through about three bites with quite a bit of gagging.  Arthur liked it and had a second helping but decided that there were diminishing returns when he had the leftovers the next day.  That recipe won't be repeated.  We have had some successes.  I have been making quite a bit of pesto with our basil and freezing it for pasta later on.  I have made a few batched of fresh salsa.  At work we have been taste-testing each others' salsa at lunch.  I also have a patient who supplements my tomato crop each appointment by bringing me boxes of cherry tomatoes from her plants.  I think there will still be more salsa making in the future-- maybe even some canning if I get really ambitious.    Omnia Vincit Amor.

Horn Creek Highlights- Part 2

The weather most of the week was cool and rainy.  On Wednesday we decided not to hike anywhere due to the weather and possibly due to the fact that we were stiff and sore from the previous day's hike.  Instead we went with a group to Mission Wolf, a wolf sanctuary located on the other side of the valley.  The purpose of Mission Wolf is to provide a home for wolves that people try to raise as pets and they find out that having a wolf in their backyard isn't such a great idea.  A few of them have also been born and raised in captivity to have roles in movies.  It was such a unique experience to see the wolves so close and especially when all 30 of them would start howling together-- it was quite eerie.  That morning on the drive over it was very foggy because the clouds were so low over the mountains and the mountain roads were twisty and curvy with some drops off-- the drive itself was an adventure.  On the tour we learned about the different wolves as well as how wolves are different than dogs.  Our guide was passionate about wolves and was willing to tell you everything he could.  My dad said it was not a good sign when it took about 20 minutes to see just the first 3 wolves.  A long tour also may have been more pleasant if it wasn't so rainy and wet too.  After about an hour we tried to get Arthur to stop asking questions so the rest of the group wouldn't mutiny.   Finally at the end of the tour we actually got to go in the area with the 5 wolves they use for the ambassador program to go around the country to provide educational programs.  It was a neat experience to have a wolf come right up to you and get to touch it.  Feeding time was next but we all decided we were wet enough already and it was starting to rain harder.  The rest of the afternoon back at the lodge we read, took naps, and sat around and chatted with other campers.  That evening several of the guys that work at the camp or live in the area got together to play basketball so Arthur and my brothers joined them.  Playing basketball at 9,000 ft for over an hour is exhausting (or at least it looked that way-- I wouldn't really know since I sat on the sidelines enjoying my hot chocolate.)
Thursday was another day of adventure.  Arthur and I joined my younger brother and his wife for a jeep ride with my brother's former boss, Dave.  My brother worked for a year as an intern at Horn Creek on the maintenance crew with Dave.  We were headed to the Great Sand Dunes for the day on the west side of the Sangre de Cristo range.  But we had to get over the mountains some how-- therefore the jeep ride over Medino Pass.  The first part of the trip was foggy-- in the low clouds over the mountains-- until we got over the pass and on the other side it cleared up and the scenery opened up more from forests to more meadows and streams.  Some of the stream crossings got a little interesting since all the rain had washed away the sandy road.  When we arrived at the Dunes we met up with the rest of the family who drove the long way going around the end of the mountains.  We had a picnic lunch and then "played" in the Dunes.  Arthur headed up the side of one dune trying to make it to the top and I decided to follow him since I didn't want to miss any fun.  There is nothing more fun than climbing up 400' ft in sand and your hands and knees when you slide backwards with every step.  On the top of that dune we traversed across the ridges exploring just a small section of the dune fields.  The Great Sand Dunes are there because the mountain range acts as a wind block so all the sand blowing in from the south gets dropped at the base of the mountains creating some awe-inspiring dunes.  Going down the dunes is much more fun.  We ran down zig-zagging like downhill skiers.  My brother also had rented a sand sled we took down a few of the dunes as well.  We were covered in sand and we still trying to clean the sand out of our ears even days later.

After the dunes Dave took us to Zapata Falls.  It was a short hike up to the creek and then by climbing along the rock edges we were able to work ourselves to the bottom of the falls.  The water was freezing and the roar of the water was deafening.  This stop was a real gem and we were glad Dave took us too.  On the way back to camp Arthur and I jumped back in with the family car and drove on some pretty back country roads as well (not quite like the jeep trail but still fun).  We did stop and watch three bull elk.  The size of the antlers they each had was very impressive.
Throughout the week each night there was a time of worship and a speaker also presents.  This year the messages were about standing firm with the full armor of God.  One of the reoccurring themes through each evening was how God uses all types of people and all different personalities.  Another theme was how God uses ordinary people throughout the Bible and today to reach others with His love.
The final evening we had a banquet meal and then a time of reflection and communion.  During regular communion at church it seems very individual- between the believer and God.  At Horn Creek communion is taken as a family with the head of the family distributing the bread and the juice and praying as a family.  For me I really enjoyed continuing a family tradition by going to Horn Creek but it was a blessing to be able to begin new traditions by sharing the experiences and adventures with Arthur and the new family that we have become as a couple.  Omnia Vincit Amor. 

Horn Creek Highlights

Our summer vacation this year was traveling to Colorado for  week with Alex's family (so maybe vacation isn't the word Arthur would use).  For the past thirty-so years my (Alex's) family has been going to a Christian family camp in the Sangre de Cristo mountains called Horn Creek for a week.  I have missed the past three years because of school and work so I was excited to get to go back and even more excited to share this experience with Arthur.  This year was also special since both my brothers able to come and brought their wives and families.
We left on Saturday morning from my parents' home.  The idea was for us to car pool out.  This meant that 6 adults (including three above-average height men) would need to fit in my parents' SUV with all of our luggage for the week.  After some real life Tetris arranging the bags in the back we all piled into the vehicle.  I was "lucky" enough to draw the short straw to share the back seat with my mom and an assortment of small bags, back packs, dress clothes, dutch ovens, and other odds and ends.  It's a good thing we weren't too claustrophobic.  The enjoyment of the trip was only increased by my dad's choice in radio stations-- classic country.
After settling into our rooms at the Lodge we headed into the nearby town of Westcliffe for church Sunday morning.  My younger brother was in intern at Horn Creek for a year previously and wanted to attend church and say hello to several people he knew.  The windows of the church looked out over the valleys and the mountains- gorgeous.  Afterwards part of us got a picnic lunch and then went to watch a cutting horse show that was in the area.  I have been to cutting horse shows a time or two before but really have limited knowledge of this sport.  I was impressed by the athleticism of the horses and their agility and speed.  As a physical therapist I would also venture to say that the riders have to have good balance and core strength to stay on a horse that can change directions in the blink of an eye to get in front of a calf. That evening the camp activity was hanging log night.  Basically, a large log is hung about 3 ft off the ground with mattresses underneath.  Two people then sit on the log facing each other and try to hit each other with pillows until one loses their balance and falls off.  Yes, this is a family camp focused on building stronger relationships within families and beating family members to a pulp with pillows is one way this is accomplished.  Arthur and I did battle one another and we had a great time.

On Monday we woke up to clouds so we decided to head to Colorado Springs for a day trip.  We left the parents to lounge around camp relaxing and the younger adults, with my 2 year old niece hit the road.  When my brothers get together with Arthur there is always some interesting conversation-- thoughts on the death penalty, capitalism, and spiritual warfare just to name a few.  I think the conversation lasted well beyond the 2 hour car ride and long into the night.  Our primary stop in the Springs was at Garden of the Gods.  We wandered through the amazing rock formations and even scrambled up a few.  I have always had a fascination with rocks and going to Garden of the Gods is a treat.  Our next stop was Focus on the Family's headquarters.  I think Arthur greatly enjoyed the bookstore and several of us enjoyed reliving favorite memories from childhood going to "Whit's End" from the Adventure in Odyssey. It was also fun to see our niece who is 2 years old enjoy all the play areas and hands-on exhibits.

Of course when your in Colorado hiking seems to be mandatory.  After getting adjusted to the altitude some we decided to take off on a 10 mile hike with my older brother and Dad.  Since we have been coming to the same area for several years we have gone on quite a few different hikes.  This year we picked going to Lake of the Clouds which was a little bit further up the mountain range then we usually do.  We drove up to the area and at the trail head there were a few vehicles with search and rescue stickers.  It's good to know that search and rescue would already be in the area if needed.  There is a trail that runs the length of the mountain range at about 10,000 ft elevation which has beautiful views of the valley.  My dad opted to hike this trail for the day instead of going up the side of a mountain.  The rest of us headed upwards towards the lakes.  The first mile was a fairly gradual incline up towards where we crossed the creek.  There has been quite a bit of rain this year so everything was a luscious green and there were explosions of wildflowers in all the meadows.  As per family tradition while hiking, K-State football was the primary topic of conversation as well as each of our projected win-loss record for the year.  Other conversation also included the topic of how America would be different if the West Coast had be settled and colonized first instead of the East Coast.  When you are hiking there isn't a lot else to do but talk or think for several hours on end so it is always intriguing what conversation topics arise.

We finally reached the lower of the three lakes and stopped to have lunch.  It looked like several people came up to the lakes just to fish.  After our lunch we headed further up the trail to the second lake and continued to a rock ledge with a waterfall and impressive view of the lakes, creek, and surrounding mountains.  Of course the pictures don't do it justice and it was well worth the 10 mile hike for the view.  Arthur and I both agreed later that this was our favorite part of the week.  However, what goes up must come down so we had to leave the view at timberline behind and hike back down through the forest.  While I am very appreciative of all the Forest Service does do to maintain trails so we can experience such splendor I am almost certain that the mileage they post on the information signs has to be flawed.  The signs will say Swift Creek .5 miles.  And you will hike and hike and hike for what seems to be hours before you finally hear to creek in the distance.  We returned to the trail head to meet our driver and I personally was glad I didn't have to hoof it on foot any farther. We were tired and sore that evening but enjoyed hanging out with the family having some s'mores inside around the fire since our outdoor camp fire plans got rained out.  Omnia Vincit Amor.

The Salty Dog

Today was the conclusion of our major project this summer that pushed both Arthur and I to our physical limits.  We have been training all summer for the Salty Dog triathlon which we competed in today.  Months of training in sweltering heat, cold ice baths, sore and achy muscles, as well as blood, sweat, and maybe even some tears were all involved in training for the race.  All of our training came together today as we finished our first ever triathlon.
Towards the beginning of summer my best friend from high school and college called me to see if I was interested in completing a triathlon.  We ran track and cross country in high school together.  We have also ran a few half marathons together so we can commiserate about training and then met each other for the weekend for the event.  She usually talks me into these events by offering me brownies-- I am a sucker for her brownies, enough that I will willing run 13 miles to "earn" a brownie.  She suggested doing a triathlon this year and I was on board.   I then mentioned the idea to Arthur and talked him into training and competing in it as well.  I think there might have been a few days after a long hard bike ride followed by a painful run he was probably wishing he hadn't agree to this for his wife.  It was a great project to train for with one another this summer and was good motivation to get out in the morning and evening even if it was pretty warm.
I love road races and events like this but my one problem is that it usually requires getting out of bed at an ungodly hour on a weekend-- where's the fun in that?  It was 4:45am when the alarm went off and we climbed out of our partially inflated air mattress we had spent the night on to greet the morning.  We arrived early to get our bikes checked, marked with large numbers on our arms and legs, and to sort through and set up the variety of equipment which is needed for an event like this. On each leg and arm we had our numbers written in black marker and also had to wear a chip around our ankles since the race was "chip timed" meaning that your time begins and ends when you cross the mats at each stage since not everyone starts at the same time.  One participant made the comment that it was if the End Times were coming since they track your movements with a chip and our numbers were like the mark of the beast.
At 7am the first participant jumped in the pool to begin the 400 yard swim and every 10 seconds another person jumped in the water until the pool was full of bodies swimming back and forth zig-zagging to the next lane until 8 lengths of the pool was completed.  Swimming hasn't been a strong suit in the past.  I did work as a life guard but the pool was only 3.5 feet deep so being a strong swimmer wasn't necessarily essential for the job.  Training for the swimming has been my favorite part of this summer and I improved quite a bit.  Arthur and I both didn't swim as well today as we had in practice.  Arthur got caught up in a group of people which made it more difficult for him.
Once the swimming was complete we ran soaking wet to put on our shoes and get our bikes.  The next portion was biking 10.5 miles.  At the park were the competition was held there was a road that makes a 2 miles loop so all the competitors did 5 laps.  The biking part was where the beginners were set apart from those who are serious triathletes.  There were some pretty fancy bikes today that went whizzing past me but my bike got me there and in a faster times than I have done in practice.  Arthur thought his biking went really well too and he felt strong the whole way.  It wasn't till this evening we looked at the posted results and I had a faster bike time we knew something wasn't quite right.  Arthur easily blows me away on the bike all the time so the only thing we can figure is that he possibly did 6 laps instead of 5-- Arthur's always the over achiever. 
Next was the hardest part of the race, transitioning from biking to running.  For the first half mile your legs are in shock wandering what in the world happened from biking to now having to run and they want to mutiny on you until after a mile where they finally succumb to the torture.  Running is my strongest event so I was able to pass several people here although I didn't train for the running as hard as I would have liked.  Arthur hates running and was dreading this part of the race all summer.  It was only this past week that he felt like he could run and slightly enjoy the experience.  I ran the time I had predicted and Arthur was surprised with how well he ran.  And we were both still alive and breathing at the end-- this is also important.  I finished in 1:21:04 and Arthur in 1:32:45 (including a possible extra 7 minutes for his extra lap on the bike-- he might have placed in his age group without the extra 2 miles of biking but Arthur isn't one to take the easy way out).
Overall we really enjoyed it and are ready to sign up again next year.  It was a great race and for our first time things went really well but we also learned quite a bit about running a triathlon which could be helpful in the future.  Also this was a lot easier than running 13 miles and I still got a brownie from my friend.  When we got home this afternoon we took about a 2 hour nap-- we were tired puppies after the Salty Dog.  Omnia Vincit Amor.

Chores

Arthur and I often share about the fun and exciting things we are doing but one of the things I love about our marriage is that even the mundane because fun and interesting when you are doing it with your best friend.  We have talked before about how much the movie UP is quoted around our house.  The following quote is from Russell, the younger boy: "That might sound boring, but I think the boring stuff is the stuff I remember the most."  Lately two "boring" chores I have thoroughly enjoy have been doing the laundry and washing the dishes.

First of all, one of the best things about doing the laundry is Arthur is in charge of making we have clean clothing.  I will sometimes jump in to help with the folding process but have discovered that Arthur is very particular about his clothing.  One day I started folding his t-shirts thinking nothing of it but was told to keep my paws off of his shirts since I don't fold them correctly (maybe he is afraid that I will turn them into another quilt).  I fold shirts in half while Arthur does the more professional tri-fold that is used in department stores. I have also not seen anyone stack his underwear so neatly either.  This is a lot of bantering that is shot back and forth while we fold clothes since we both have different philosophies about proper clothing storage.  It also makes me extremely giddy when all of the socks match-- the holy grail of laundry.

I also enjoy working with Arthur as we clean up the kitchen.  Another reason I love this man is because he does the dishes every night.  We discuss current issues of the day or have informal family business meetings.  One evening this week Arthur serenaded me for about 15 minutes singing songs he learn in college at FarmHouse.  Then he pulled up some YouTube videos because we didn't have enough "auditory stimulation".  Arthur has a variety of musical tastes from '90s rap to classical piano (sadly this variety doesn't include country).  Sometimes he grabs me and we dance around the kitchen.  Occasionally we will have a friendly dispute that ends in us snapping our dish towels at one another.  

"Boring stuff" like folding laundry, finding lost socks, washing pots and pans, or a dish towel fight are some of our favorite memories.  Omnia Vincit Amor.