Fly

#1 - We rarely have dessert with meals here (you can buy ice cream at a separate building), so tonight it was a special treat to have both a delicious orange poke cake and cherries!

#2 - How spending a bit of time in the creek cools down your body temperature in a way that lasts for a while afterwards, and having a fellow staff member who enthusiastically said, "Yes!" when I asked if she'd walk a mile down to the spot where it's deep enough to briefly swim.

#3 - I don't know if I made the "right" decision to skip my camping trip tonight/tomorrow night.  First it looked the hottest it has been this summer.  Then I thought with the 40% thunderstorms for tomorrow night, maybe I could just camp 1 night.  But then there is a "red flag" warning until 9pm for potential fire conditions etc.  So far, it looks like it would have been fine to go today, but even if I made the "wrong" decision, I'm glad these types of "wrong" decisions really do not matter.

#4 - I requested an "out" (basically vacation) day for the above.  So now I have 3 days off in a row, which on one hand I kind of wasted, but on the other hand I wouldn't have taken a day off beyond my weekends otherwise.

#5 - These photos are the result of me sitting outside for a brief amount of time this afternoon and swatting the flies that landed on me.  I am very grateful to have indoor spaces to go when I can't take it anymore (like at dinner today, even though I usually eat outside). I am watching some people walk by my window as I write this and slap the air around their heads.

 

Lake Chelan

#1 - Today I started at 6:45AM leading a Morning Walk with Gentle Stretching class, a 2 mile round trip with a stretching break in the middle.  The class was "full" and I had to turn a couple people away because it was on a forest service trail that limits group sizes to 12.

#2 - Later in the morning one of the directors contacted me to put up some signage about a trail closure, so I did that walk again.  4 miles of beautiful walking during my "work day."

#3 - Then a thru hiker came by and asked if there was a food box like is used on the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail).  He said he's been eating more than he planned.  I said, "No, but..." and then I got this random vacuum sealed package that said, "red beans" on it that has sat in my office and I didn't know what to do with, "I have this."

"Great!" he, "I will add this to my food tonight!"

#4 - My 4th gratitude is for the U.S. Government.  

Yes at this precise moment I'm feeling incredibly grateful for the government.

Last summer, when I arrived at this retreat center there was a fire burning across the lake in the top photo.  I thought we should evacuate immediately, because the only ways out of this village are:

A. That road down to a ferry

B. A long ass hike

C. A helicopter 

By the time I left the end of the summer the fire had only reached the top of this lake and was never anywhere near a threat to us, how ridiculous it would have been to follow my advice and evacuate the village.

So this summer when a lightning strike fire started 10 miles south, 2 days after my arrival, I reserved judgement.

Since we are the closest inhabitants to the fire, after a few weeks of spread a reconnaissance fire crew arrived by helicopter to access our situation.  And after that a bunch of hot shots to clear brush and trees around the village. This is why I had to post a trail closed sign today.

I feel so grateful and so safe with them here.

They are not here to fight the current fire in any way, but rather to make the village safer to protect now and in the future. And they are doing hard work. 

In fact it is the 10 year anniversary of when a fire last swept thru this valley. The current fire chief (?) here is the one that directed the back burn etc. that saved the village (after the people were evacuated).

When I mentioned this to my supervisor today, who grew up in this area and is more familiar and comfortable with fire, she said, "Who knows what would happen if this were next year though," because the state department/forest service budget is slashed.

#5 - Finally I almost deleted this photo from my camping trip last week, because after I took it I immediately saw it was too dark and took another.  This is the first time I opened it up on a computer and the energy I get from myself in it is the same energy I get from myself when standing next to someone I love.

I have practiced a love for trees and nature for a long time, and looking at this I feel it.  So much so that it eliminated (for now) my frustration that Microsoft wouldn't let me into my email today and said to try on a different device or network.  I have used this device and network multiple times since arriving here so that made zero sense and was frustrating...but look at this.