The Hike
There is a lot to be said for people who spend countless hours outdoors.
There is more to be said for those who hike for days on end over terrain I only want to see in pictures and videos.
Except this year, I was hiking in places I never dreamt I would go. The only thing I am sorry for is that we didn’t do more of it.
There are two places we visited on vacation that I can only describe as places of wonder.
One was Avalanche Lake in Glacier National Park. The hike was uphill to a mountain lake, and only a couple of miles out. But it was dense forest and at times unnervingly quiet. There was the anticipation of running into the wildlife that was much larger than you, and of course, it was physically exerting.
The hike wasn’t too steep or cliffside- we didn’t have to cross any water and there was a well-worn trail for us to follow. But, it was still out of my comfort zone.
The mental game in my head was really something I had to overcome. Unrealistic fears and not giving my body enough credit were continuous fights.
At one point I considered quitting. I thought- we could turn around and just be done. Who would know? Nobody on planet earth had any idea where we were or what we were doing.
But, I would. And I know my husband, (who plans these trips for an entire year), woud be mortally disappointed.
We have always said “Where you go, I go”. That includes vacation, serious life events, my mother-in-laws house and now mountain hikes.
Even after stepping out of my comfort zone, praying hard, fighting with my own insecurities and mental health and even a bit of tired exaustion, I never quit!
And my husband never quit on me, and that was the catalyst for me to keep moving my legs, climbing the trail and wandering deeper into the forest than I have ever been.
When we finally cleared the trees and the trail, I saw the most breathtaking scene. As hubs approached the water, I sat on a bench and started to cry.
It was not only breathtaking, but I made it, and that meant something.
I thanked God for allowing me to have the stamina, the endurance. I thanked him for giving me the strength to continue and finish what I started.
Sometimes we quit too soon- right before the finish line- and we miss out on the mountain lake that awaits us.
I hope you enjoy these pictures.
It was worth every second. It was absolutely stunning,
Xoxo,
Marriage Therapy: Building a Chicken Tractor
The chicken tractor is complete!
It took us a while, but we managed to buckle down and through a lot of research, looking at a lot of options, we designed and settled on this option.
Let’s take a tour.
The entire thing is wood framed. We used hardware cloth, not chicken wire. (Better security)
We already owned a set of vintage nesting boxes, so we used those as our guide for measuring the house part, raising it off the ground so the chickens will have space underneath.
We repurposed metal roofing from a building we tore down.
The food and water are now inside the tractor, but we are considering moving them outside because chickens are messy, and I am tired of cleaning off the lids.
The food and water containers are buckets, and each has unique dispensers, which I will link at the bottom of this post.
The wheels on the back are actually trailer jacks, and the front hitch is used to move the whole unit with a trailer dolly.
We crank it up and roll it around the yard every 5 days or so, ensuring we don’t leave it sit too long to create a bare spot in the grass.
We still let them out to free range when we are home, but when we are not here, its nice to know they are safe from predators and won’t get out on the road.
At the end of the day, we are happy with how this project turned out. We completed it before vacation and it made it much easier for our house-sitter to care for the animals.
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