6th Anniversary - Watoga Arboretum

With Sunday morning's breakfast, Julian prayed the rain would hold off until we got everything packed. It did just that... and then it let loose. We had planned to visit the arboretum on our way out and we figured, what's the use worrying about rain, everything we own is a damp, humid mess already. So when it started sprinkling at the start of the two mile hike, we pressed onward. About a quarter of the way in, we were anxious for the shelter, as the sprinkle had turned into an all-out pour. We reached it (about five minutes later than we needed to but for the sake of the story, I'll say...) just in the nick of time.

We played a card game in the shelter to wait out the storm [cause I'm good like that on the packing cards]. Then forged a 1/4 mile sea of stinging nettles, the likes of which I've never seen. It made me glad for my ankle length skirt despite looking like a plain person with my tennis shoes on. Oh, I was so thankful.

The trail had many beautiful stone stairwells.

Rhododendrons were our makeshift shelter - thanks to the climate/elevation, some of them were still in bloom. 

The long awaited shelter

Sea of stinging nettles

I was not very happy with the person at Watoga who is supposed to look in on the arboretum and manage the trails. Some of them were impassable, and the nettles were downright miserable. Then we came upon the part of the park that had obviously had derecho damage and I was much more sympathetic. Whole swaths of mature forest were destroyed. Come to find out, this part of WV is still putting life back together after both the derecho and Hurricane Sandy. 

This tree had fallen and taken the stones with it.

Obvious devastation of forest and trail

A section about as big as a football field had been basically leveled.

My favorite things about this hike: the incredible moss, which I didn't photograph because it was pouring; the stone steps; the shelter; my new found knowledge of stinging nettles. 

Next up: Beartown...

{Humble Pie} Our Anniversary

This past Saturday was our fifth anniversary. Despite being a nice milestone, we have had lots of travel and busy-ness so far this summer so I was expecting that it would stay "low key". We hadn't made any plans except for a "fancy" dinner for which we'd splurge on ribeye steaks and drink cheap champagne. Oh... and eat at the Mediterranean restaurant on Friday for lunch because I was able to snag a gift certificate through one of those online discount deals. Yeah... super fancy.

This was our anniversary gift from Ivy last year,
in lovely bloom for the occasion this year.

So I was quite surprised to wake up on Saturday morning, make our "gourmet" breakfast of a nectarine and some cinnamon toast, and come back into the bedroom to find a gift. Not just any gift but a brown paper package, tied up with string. What's not to love about that? (And someone's been practicing his package knot.)

The Backyard Homestead Guide to Raising Farm Animals
By Gail Damerow

It was this book, which I've daydreamed about for a while now. These past two years in Morgantown have been a bit rough. We have so much to be thankful for and all is going well but its hard to be so far away from family, in what is so obviously "the North," living on a postage stamp, were the stress never ends. We carry on all the time about having a small holding in our next season of life... not a farm, per se, but just enough land to have just enough stuff to keep us good and busy while having fresh, homegrown food. Even though this book seems quite random for anyone else, it hit me hard because it was the first step towards that future we talk about so often. It took the plan out of imaginary-land and into reality, just a bit. I cried. It didn't help my case that the book was accompanied by one of Julian's signature homemade cards which induce sidesplitting laughter, except when I'm already crying.

We did some yardsale-ing since it was Saturday morning and scored a $50 auto timer sprinkler set for the yard for $6, a triumph for Julian. We did other shopping that is outside of the normal realm of "shopping day" and when Julian asked if I wanted to go to Chili's for lunch (we've put the kebash on eating out for a bit) I cried again! For heaven's sake! What is wrong with me?

So we had a great time at Chili's and ate so much we took home the rest in boxes. But alas, that meant that the one sweet thing I HAD planned wouldn't even go off, because there was no way we would have a steak dinner after eating out. So out came the heart shaped pancake tins, it was the very least I could do.

Anniversary pancakes

Throughout the day I just kept thinking, "I've got nothing to give, I don't deserve this." It was a very humbling experience to realize that Julian loves me because he is my groom, the one for whom I was chosen as helpmeet (good thing he didn't need much help on Saturday, cause I wasn't it!) It seemed a perfect picture of the Gospel because we do not deserve anything but God's wrath and yet through Jesus, the groom of the church, we know God's love. 

So the weekend was calm with no great hoo-rah, yet it was full of precious moments I won't soon forget. It was a perfect way to commemorate our happy marriage. How blessed am I!

We finally landed two fish from the Mon River.

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure.