In early spring of 2007 I decided to quit my job, sell my house along with nearly everything else that I owned, and to live out of my car while traveling the country. These are my stories (and pictures) of life on the road.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Update

Things are still going fine here in Lester with Grandma. Not too much to report. Lot's of going out at night for hamburgers and lots of card playing.

You may remember a month ago when I announced the arrival of spring. Well, since then we've been snowed on a few times and had some miserable weather. I'm happy to report though that as of today spring is here for good. It was over 70 degrees, it was really windy (45+MPH; a sure sign of spring), the snakes are out (saw a red bellied and garter), the butterflies are out (Mourning Cloak), and the carp have moved up into the creeks from the river. It's about time!

I did pick up a new hobby: bird watching. Who knew it could be so much fun!? It adds a whole new dimension to my hikes and I'm really enjoying it so far. Here's a Snipe I spotted the other day and even got close enough for a decent picture.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

In like a Lion out like a Tiger

You know what they say about March; in like a lion and out like a lamb. Well, I don't think that quite held true this year.

The first day of March Sarah and I were out for a hike where we slogged through waist deep snow in places and then yesterday, the last day of March, we got about 5 inches of snow. Thankfully the temperature was right at freezing so most of it melted in short order but it made for a really sloppy day and we've still got a few inches sticking around.

That being said spring did arrive this past month. The robins returned in force along with the ducks and geese; though they do look a little confused as they sit on the ice of frozen ponds. The majority of our snow melted off revealing the dirt, dead plants, refuse, and dead animals that have been buried all winter which makes the beginning of spring the ugliest season of the year. The most disgusting part is how the dead animals insulate the snow underneath themselves and protect it from the sun; causing the surrounding snow to melt away and leaving them atop a snow pedestal, like they're on display or something. It's actually a relief to get a few inches of clean white snow to cover all that up a couple more days.

While out for a hike a couple weeks ago I saw my first fly (the only time of the year I'm happy to see them) and also stumbled across some water bugs dragging themselves from the icy creek and onto a sunny log to dry off before flying up into the trees, presumably to mate. The kestrels are back in position along the telephone lines and hovering over the ditches and the the northern harriers are back to gliding over the prairies and empty fields. The meadowlarks are singing on the fence posts again and the killdeer, my favorite bird as a child, can be seen flitting around. The red-winged blackbird has returned to the marshes and rooster pheasants are carousing around looking for some lovin'. The mornings belong to the birds once again as they tweet tweet their little hearts out singing the praises of spring, searching for a mate, and building nests for their new family. Even after the little joke mother nature played on them yesterday and overnight I'm listening to them sing their hearts out right now.

We're all looking forward to the snow to finally melting, the ice leaving the lakes, the frost going out, the ground drying off, and the return of all things green. Just a couple more weeks!

You've reached the end of the page but that's not the end of the stories. If you want to read more (and who wouldn't!?) then click on the archive links to the right hand side of the page. They're listed by month; the adventure starts in May.

The February archives aren't actually from this trip but are previous adventures I've had, which are worth reading as well.