Ah, it sure is nice to be able to drive off the island.

Two and a half weeks ago, this spot at the top of our dead-end road — sorry, “cul de sac” — was a river. A pretty angry, frothy river that had just wiped out our wooden bridge.

So we were stuck here with our vehicles, along with our neighbors and a bunch of folks who were in town visiting. We devised a way to get out, but that involved a quarter-mile trek through our nice neighbor’s cow pasture. Nice cows!

Luckily, Elizabeth’s parents loaned us one of their two cars, so she could get to work and drop the boys off at camp. They could escape our new island…

As for me, I got to stay home and keep on working from home. It didn’t get bad until the last few days, when the guys working on the bridge were getting closer and closer to finishing it. I got a bit… stir-crazy. I couldn’t leave if I wanted. No sneaking off to Rocky Knob for a quick bike ride, or a trip to Bald Guy for a latte. Trapped!

We even had guests come through to visit, so they got to enjoy the hike past the cows on the way to our house.

And now it’s done. Well, more or less. They’re still fine-tuning the bridge, adding in a berm and other structural things. And they need to pave it.

But we can escape, with our own cars! No more trekking around cow pies with groceries in each hand! No more staring down the steers twice a day!

So take a second and appreciate those bridges you pass over every day. Or those roads that are still intact and not crumbling into the ditch (or ravines or mountainsides). And enjoy the curveballs life throws at you instead of stressing about them. I know I did my best… And mostly succeeded. Mostly… 😉

So. We’ve been bike riding.

After saving up, planning, and doing lots of research online and at various bike places (as well as picking the brains of our biking pals), Elizabeth and I decided to take the plunge and get ourselves some bikes. Of course, when you get a bike, you also have to buy a helmet, a tire pump, and water bottles. Not to mention a hitch and rack to carry the bikes from place to place.

Ouch. Trying not to think about the sticker shock.

But you know what? It was all worth it. At last we can keep up with our two boys on their bikes!

Continue reading Rolling Down the Road(s) →

This photo (taken with my phone, which I then retouched with Instagram), was taken at Drew’s baseball “tryouts” last week, where he got to field some grounders and swing at half a dozen balls from the pitching machine.

Continue reading Trees and Saplings →