summer love:: thunderstorms

there is hardly anything better than a late afternoon summer thunderstorm. they both frighten and excite me. i relish the sense of impending doom that accompanies the rolling of thunder. the longer the build-up, the better.

as a child they frightened me very badly. enough so that my parents started a ritual for middle-of-the-night storms. we would all get out of bed and go outside to watch them from the porch. as a child, i must have believed that everyone did this. only as an adult do i fully understand the magnitude of their devotion to my sister and i. getting up in the middle of the night to sit outside just to show your daughters that nature is awesome and beautiful instead of scary? that's love.

thanks mom and dad.

as i sit here listening to a glorious thunderstorm slowly rumble in, i think of how fortunate i am to have a shelter over my head that allows me to rejoice in it.

a river ran through it

i don't camp much. in fact, this trip is only my second time as an adult. my husband however, is a seasoned veteran and so i put myself in his capable hands. off we drove with friends to the adirondacks, to a beautiful riverside site that greeted us each morning and rocked us to sleep each night.

i am however left wondering if i am truly a camper at heart. setting up the tent minutes before a torrential downpour (featuring hail) is not my idea of relaxation. having to constantly dig in one container or another to find the most basic of items like food, toiletries or clothes gets old very quickly. having to put them away again right when i'm done gets even older. the feeling that i am never fully clean and that my clothes are always damp irritates me. i very badly want to be better at this, but i feel that it will be a work in progress.

while on a canoe day trip we found ourselves in the middle of yet another thunderstorm. at the same time carrying our 80lb canoes on a very rickety bridge over some serious rapids, and on through a long dark, muddy trail in the woods all while wearing improper footwear (sitting in a canoe for 3 hours, who would think to bring anything other than flip-flops?) all culminated in my reaching my limit. sensory overload won and i was brought very near to tears. it seems silly now, but i have concluded that i don't like not being in control of my surroundings. but that's what camping is: putting yourself at the mercy of the elements. it hurts my heart that i have to work so hard to enjoy it.

hiking however, was my salvation. give me sunny day and a destination to reach on foot and i am a happy camper. there is something so reassuring in the act of propelling yourself towards a goal. i love the feeling of putting my foot forward before i know completely where it is going to touch back down. my body moves without need for direction from my mind. i become able and agile and, in a way, graceful. hiking has become a sort of meditation for me. it reminds me that the human body is a very capable machine.

my body is a machine and it propels me up the mountain.
i derive great joy from this statement.

this very simple hike up to the top of bald mountain was the highlight of my trip.

all in all, the trip was good: nature, great friends and a few adventures all made for a memorable experience. and the town of old forge is truly charming in a cheesy, touristy kind of way. i was quite taken by it.

do i love camping? not yet. will i venture out again?
i believe i will.

i'm off...

to set up camp in old forge, ny. hopefully not in the rain! the forecast is not looking so good.
ah well...
see you all next week!

beckoning...

so much to do and so little time.
new projects for myself and second storie. getting ready for my next market day, projects i have promised to others. not to mention the staples of summer: camping and spending afternoons with family and friends. and yet last weekend i simply couldn't resist working in the garden.
it called.
i answered.

aaah, summer...

i had the most perfect july fourth weekend in recent memory. friday was spent celebrating the birthday of a dear friend with mini golf, ice cream and fireworks. the very definition of a summer evening! saturday was spent with family at my grandparents' cottage on blind sodus bay. blue sky, clear water and nothing to do but enjoy them both.

as the dog days roll on by, i will be hoping for more gems like these. it reminds me that i am tremendously lucky to have all that i have and to live the life that i do.

i hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend as well. if not, know that a perfect summer weekend is bound to come your way. there is still two whole months left to enjoy...

this is what i shall do...

i have been consciously absent, friends.
it's been a while since i sat here to write because i have been feeling that this blog could be so much more than what it currently is. when i set out on this venture, i think i had this idea in the back of my mind that it would be a great sounding board for all the things i believe in, the the things that get me mad or inspired. that's why i named it as i did, after a beautiful manifesto.
i have since failed to live up to that expectation, even if it is just my own. i love writing about the simple things that make me happy and that make my life worth living. but i feel that i need to be doing more with this space, perhaps only for the sake that it will mean i spend more time thinking about more important things like global warming, my carbon footprint, the injustices of the world and the future of mankind here on earth.
all that being said, it is summer. it is a time for taking things a little slower, making you own way at your own pace. i still like the idea of my ::summer love:: series and will continue to post about those simple, wonderful things that just embody summer (possibly as early as this week...). i will continue to post those silly little things that have grabbed my attention and held it hostage long enough to label it an obsession. i will strive to post more about my work, even if more of it seems to be in my head than present in this world. and i will try to, as always, do what my heart tells me. for better or for worse...
i thank you for reading.
joAnn