Blood, Sweat, & Tears

I believe Joel and I have become accustomed to the ebbs and flows of country life and being acreage owners. We've had some interesting and challenging things thrown our way over the past few weeks, but here we are, still going strong!

To summarize what we've learned recently:

• No AC during a heat wave is not fun (thanks mom and dad for letting us savor your AC for a few nights), but nothing beats a cool breeze through the windows on quiet summer nights.
• Dehumidifiers in the basement of an almost 100 year old home are necessary, and when yours breaks down, it can create quite the nasty environment.
• Mother Nature is boss and will remind you of that constantly (R.I.P. one tree and too many large branches to count).
• She also doesn't give a shit about your outdoor projects, "Oh, you wanted to get that done in one weekend? Ha! You're cute. I'll let you get that other part done in about 2 weeks from today." This was not a funny joke...
• Hacksaws come in real handy when your "repaired" chainsaw gives up. We are also the number one supporters of whoever invented wheel barrows and skid loaders!

All in all, it's been just fine. Like I said, we're getting used to the flow of things, but it has been a learning curve. 

The wonderful thing about all of these "adventures" is that it has kept our life interesting, our attitudes about what's important in check, and we're more active than ever. Gone are the days when we come home from work and lounge for an entire night. We have both been outside every night doing something for a few hours before we wind down. 

I've probably mentioned before that Teddy Roosevelt is my #1 hero and is a huge inspiration to me. He was very physically active and encouraged others to be physically active as a way to live a better life. He was also a big outdoorsman. Loved nature. I think about him often when I'm dragging branches from the front to the back of our 2 acre property. When I'm scraping paint from various nooks and crannies with sweat dripping from my brow. And especially when I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and give thanks for the beautiful habitat we've surrounded ourselves with.

I've observed a growing sense of pride, accomplishment, and gratitude within each of us after we end a long day at work with a long evening outside. It's amazing and new and so lovely. Something we can share. Another way we are growing together on our journey.

I snapped a few pics of our recent work outside. Below you'll see Joel at work clearing (a lot) of  brush after the last big (surprise) storm we had. And along with it, my work on our porches. This was the project Mother Nature interrupted. But it's still coming along  nicely.