Slowing down, the little things help
I sat down to write about the little things of daily life up here that are different than at home, and that help to slow me down.
Living in a cabin where the view is filled with views of the St. Croix River, ever changing surrounded by pines, maples, oak(a few patches of poison ivy) inspires a slower more reflective way of living. Is the river lower today? Where are the herons? Oh, there's another kayak or fishing boat.
--suddenly peering into the window as I type this warm summer afternoon, a small black flying . . . oh, it's . . . a hummingbird . . . just inches ffom the window!
Today was laundry day. I had planned for several days to drive into another town to find a laundromat to wash my mud covered white "mosquito & sun shade" shirt, muddy jeans, and other items.
Time is passing too fast, and I thought I'd just hand wash a few things to tide me over until a really hot day when the respite of the laundromat might be more appealing.
I filled my two wash tubs and hand washed and scrubbed away the mud, rinsing the clothes and squeezing them as dry as my hands could do. It was fun to figure out how to hang them outside where the sun and breeze would dry them faster. My hammock provided a line, there were three clothespins in a drawer, and a few hangers on a nearby pine provided a makeshift clothesline.
My nightly ritual has been to boil pots of water -- because the water to the cabin is spring-fed and clean, its not suitable for drinking--this sets off the smoke alarm if I forget to remove it from the kitchen. At home, Mike does the dishes -- I just make the mess. Here, I wash the dishes by hand, and manage clean water sources for rinsing.
No air conditioning so I move slower when indoors shielded from the mosquitoes. Outdoors I am pretty quick--no tolerance for mosquitoes! But that will be a topic for another day, and many beautiful photographs from hikes.
