“Trees are the ambassadors of patience.”
― Bhuwan Thapaliya
The first part of week was HOT. It was only in the upper 80’s/low 90’s but with little air moving, the van heated up quickly. Cosmo and I took our walk in the morning before it got too hot outside. The morning temps were pleasant, and the forest walks were pretty nice. By afternoon, it was usually stifling and there weren’t many options for relief. We sat outside in the shadow of some tall pines in the afternoons, but with the bugs, that got old fast. I’d come in and listen to an audible book or watch mindless YouTube videos. Cosmo lay at my feet panting. A couple times I hosed us down, but that brought its own set of issues, walking through dirt that resembled powdered cocoa and then bringing a wet dog into the van. Eventually we just gave up and dealt with the heat until the sun went down. Evenings were quite comfortable, and sleeping with all the windows open brought a much needed break.
The forest is quiet for the most part, and scenery is quite lovely.
And although I feel a little guilty for saying so, I often feel antsy. I was so enjoying Two Guns and really enjoying Winslow. Both reached temperatures above 100⁰ this week, so neither was an option for me. I’ll want to move from here by 4th of July weekend, but unsure where I can go where it won’t be blazing hot and/or full of holiday campers.
Friday the weather broke. The high temp was just over 80⁰ and there was a breeze. Saturday was cool and breezy. It is predicted to be about the same for the next 10 days. I’m keeping an eye on the temperatures and still have hopes of returning to Two Guns during a week where it won’t get too much above 90⁰. I’m not sure that will happen again until late September.
Lessons From The Road: My friends Sallee and Mike took a family trip to Florida last week. They always text me on Mondays to check in on me and Sallee said that as much as she enjoyed Florida, it was nice to be home. I agreed totally and then laughed because my concept of “home” is probably way different from hers. Or maybe not. When we moved from Two Guns last week, we ran our usual errands, got water, gas, propane, and groceries and then drove nearly an hour more to get to our destination off Ashurst Lake Road. Once I got leveled up, got the solar panels out, and my chair and table set up, I let out a sigh. I was home. When Cosmo and I go for a walk and I notice him seeming to get tired, I say “Let’s go home” and he perks right up and we head for the van. So even though our front yard seems to change weekly, there is something quite comfortable about being set up and settled in that makes us both feel like we’re home. And we both like it.