Two Weed Eaters & A Squirrel (AKA Sometimes You Win Sometimes You Don't)

"Go confidently in the directions of your dreams.  Live the life you imagined."  - Henry David Thoreau

Well, I arrived safely this afternoon at my home base away from home base, AKA, my Mom and Dad's.  I am very happy and grateful to be here.

A hot salt bath and washing my hair are tops on my to do list before I head out tomorrow afternoon to my next campsite for the weekend. Oh, and I would LOVE a neck massage with my mom's little HoMedics device that sits so patiently next her recliner, awaiting my return after one long drive or another, from where I come it does not matter. (AKA sleeping on the ground and driving long hours might be starting to take it's toll.)

Currently in the southern part of Illinois the weather is warm, nearing hot and humid with clouds and some sprinkles.  Early in the day today,  thunderstorms kept threatening to drop some heavy rain on my parade.  

First, I had to hustle to get my tent and all the bedding inside, packed up and stowed back in 

their proper spots in my little Cherokee.  I made it before the sprinkling started.  

Next, I decided to make a moment and sit under the patio roof of the cabin near my tent site to relax and meditate and read some more Thoreau, do some yoga, sip my cup of homemade coffee, do some crossword, study my French and finally get back to practicing my chess lessons. (AKA life is good even in the rain.) 

I was reflecting upon the incredible capacity of human goodness and relishing in my good fortune, the synchronicities and simple gifts that have been presenting themselves to me all along this trip.  At this last location of the first leg of my adventure, my hip camp hosts so graciously offered me access to one of their rental cabins along with a REAL flushy toilet and a shower for my convenience even though all I paid for was a campsite and a portapotty.  (AKA Life is really good people can be really kind.)

Then, I was getting a little rushed and I got a little disappointed because I only got to do a quick lap of kayaking around the tranquil pond of my beautiful hip camp site before rain and my DOG (who I love BUT) who somehow escaped the safely fenced in area of the yard and started coming into the pond after me (I have no idea if she can swim since she historically hates water AND wet muddy dogs and my car don't go well together right now (AKA I am being a bit of a killjoy) finally forced my decision to call it quits and check out of this Hip Camp site, the last leg of the first leg of my August Adventure.  (AKA I am embracing the reality that camping happens rain or shine but sometimes I just don't want to bother with the messy.)

Lastly, the rain and the poison ivy squashed my plans to hike to Stoneface with my already muddy puppy.  I was, however, able to get to the base of the site and get some pictures by the sign for posterity.  And all of this was this morning. I have so many more experiences to share... sometime.

And I am grateful that today's drive was an easy one, only two and a half hours from the Shawnee National Forest area where I spent last night and although the storm clouds were hanging around as I pulled into my parents driveway, the sunshine and the infinitely ordinary cumulonimbus clouds won out in the end.

It has been a simple and meaningful adventure so far.  I am doing pretty well and consider myself no worse for the wear, barring a mid grade chigger attack on my body last night. (AKA my host TOLD me the chiggers were bad there and herbal stuff didn't work and since I wasn't hiking in the woods, I lived like a city girl and didn't put any repellent on at all.  Also, I don't have anything with DEET in it right now. Guess I need to remedy that before Pere' Marquette tomorrow.)

Every day is a new day.  A fresh day. And I have so many memories and thoughts and beautiful serendipitous occurrences that are stacking up as high as the mountains I have been driving through. (AKA this trip has just begun and it has already been life changing.)

Gorgeous views, serene vistas and breathtaking scenery are just the beginning of my discoveries.  I'm learning much about myself and getting a better understanding of the fears that are still lurking in my psyche.  And I am happy and grateful to see them, to meet them, to understand them better.  I am moved to forgive them and myself for even though they can't remain and I must do what I need to transmute and heal, they all have served me well and I appreciate them for that. (AKA that's just how I roll.)

Even the difficult is the good, although sometimes it takes a while to learn that.  Depending on how stubborn your soul is, it could take a lifetime or lifetimes. 

So, when I was in Tennessee camping for a couple of days, I was subconsciously testing my soul in a lot of ways.  I won't get into everything here, but I had some really valuable lessons coming in.  First and foremost, I realize just how freaking afraid I still am.  

Rustic. Unkempt. Tall grass and weeds. Poison ivy everywhere.  Arriving at dusk.  Pit bulls barking.  Kind words upon arrival. Darkness setting in, including my suspicious mind and my subtle fears. (AKA I still have some things to learn.). But I didn't run from those fears, as unfounded as they turned out to be.

After sleeping in some highly contorted positions in the front seat of my car that night with my dog SNUGLY in her little traveling spot in the back, I awoke with the sun and a real appreciation that I hadn't been met with any strange knocks on my window in the middle of the night.  These were good people, who just wanted to offer me a comfortable safe place to stay.

I stepped out of my car around 6:30 am to let myself and my puppy out for our morning potty break.  I was on my way to the composting toilet when the pit bulls I met through the front door the evening before came racing towards me and Margeaux at full speed barking and introducing themselves with their owner barking behind them to come back, stop and leave them alone! 

We all got to know each other pretty well though, their dogs, my dog, and the kind and friendly owners and I.  They kindly placed lights on the outhouse for my middle of the night convenience.  They kindly brought me boiled water for my coffee pour over in the morning.  They provided a peaceful and relaxing place for me to escape into the woods of Walden pond and the depths of Thoreau's thoughts.

They also introduced me to their friend Zac, AKA Squirrel, who was there, but quite overwhelmed at the seemingly monumental task of trimming all the overgrown and beautifying the unkempt with only his resolve and two weed eaters.

Zac graciously offered me the use of the adorable glamping cabin while I was on a zoom call making art with my Inner Magic art club and while he went about weed eating in the area that I had previously been hanging out in earlier that day having my morning cup of coffee with Thoreau.  I felt incredibly grateful and blessed by these opportunities.

Later that day I found a poison ivy free spot to set up my little tent for the night.  The owner, Paul, built me a nice campfire nearby and Margeaux and I enjoyed a relaxing evening with a few visits from the friendly pit bulls every now and then.  I got a very good night's sleep that night, that's for sure.

And although Squirrel had not finished the weed eating by the time I left the following morning, I have no doubt that he will get it all done by the time of the big event the glamping site is hosting Labor Day weekend, despite Squirrel's self-professed overwhelm.  They even invited me back for the party and to do some dog friendly caving exploration that weekend.  As my itinerary is still undecided at this point, I am seriously considering.  I did feel a little bit teary eyed as I was packed up and driving away from their place that morning. (AKA life is always working out for me.)

Even the difficult is the good.  I am growing.  I am being stretched, but only ever so much as I need it.  I trust that the Universe has my back and I will always, ever get all and only what I need.  (Even if it's only one square of toilet paper and a bucket, even if it's soaked clothes and a sacrificed flip flop, even if it's sleeping in my car on a piece of cardboard with a raincoat blanket, even if it's lukewarm coffee and a failing fire. Even if it's a colony of chiggers burrowing into my body for a few days. There is survival.  There is life.  There is the satisfaction of doing hard things.  There is strength.  There is growth.  There is the opportunity for bigger fires in the soon to be. (AKA All is Well.)

There is transformation.  There is transmutation.  There is manifestation.  There is getting shit done, even if you've only got two weed eaters and a Squirrel.  Life is Beautiful!  I hope everyone who loves me will understand this for themselves.  I hope that those who are willing, who have any desire whatsoever, will step out of their own self constructed comfort zone and join me for their own little adventure on this journey.  Those who have ears hear... your soul is calling you to live!