A Winter Wonderland

Over Christmas Liz and I got the pleasure of meeting her family in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. From five different states we converged on a cabin on Lake Superior. Everything was beautifully snow-covered, and generally untouched until we made our way across it. Tubes were ridden down hills, and snowmobiles were driven down the beach.

It was amazing to see Superior’s surface constantly changing. One morning it would be full of gently undulating chunks of ice, and another it would be still and snow-covered as if it was a white, open field. It seemed to be trying to get comfortable before it froze over, and settled in for the colder months. And to think I was kayaking in that white, open field six moths prior.

Ultimately, it was a treat to spend the holiday around family, sitting in front of a fire, and forgetting what day it was because at the moment it really did not matter. 

Colin Meloy

A couple months ago Liz gave me one of my birthday gifts. Two tickets to see Colin Meloy of The Decemberists. Front row. Center. My initial, pure excitement that took place in September upon receiving the gift soon gave way to focusing on other priorities. At the time November was so far away.

November came. I found myself getting both excited and anxious. Would my admiration and love for The Deceberists result in uncontrollable giggling? It has happened before. Would I be reduced to tears? It has also happened before. I didn’t know.

The night began in our favorite Rigsbee Ave area. We had dinner at Geer Street before drinks at  Fullsteam. We continued with a walk to the Carolina Theatre.

Allow me to take a moment to express how much I love seeing anything at the Carolina Theatre. It is a beautiful setting to watch anything. A Clockwork Orange (first visit to Durham). The Godfather (first Easter in Durham). Moonrise Kingdom. The list goes on. In short, the Carolina Theatre sets the stage for whatever is being placed on your visual and/or audible plate at the time. 

Colin Meloy took the stage. A glass of red wine in hand. You had me a hello, Colin. 

His humor made me shed tears of laughter. He even engaged Liz on a few occasions, asking her in a playful manner, “What are you laughing at?” before prompting her to start singing so that the audience would follow suit. As the evening progressed, laughter turned to reflection, then… turned to joyful tears.

The night was extremely memorable, and one of the best postponed birthday gifts that a guy could have.

Coop Du Jour

The last couple of months have been full of the hustle and bustle of searching for a house of our own. While patiently searching for the right home, I took a stab at my first chicken coop. I say first because I began with the intention of giving it a new home once complete. It was one of those things that you do, just to see if you can do it.

While the finished product wasn’t all that attractive, it was a good springboard for similar undertakings in the future. In the end, the finished product was just what a kind Chapel Hill police officer needed to house her bullied pullets.

To see how others in the area house their chickens Liz and I happily took part in the Bull City Coop Tour this weekend – a self-guided tour of chicken coops in, and around, Downtown Durham. We started with our regular trip to the farmer’s market, but this time with an added purpose. We wanted to add to our OKC emblazoned bag – already half full of squash, tomatoes, peppers and beans – a treasure map. It might as well been a treasure map as it held the locations of the 9 coops on the tour.

While we didn’t make it to each of the 9 locations, we did enjoy seeing how others approached housing their hens. We were surprised to find ourselves visiting a coop at the historic Duke Homestead. Another location, just blocks from the house we moved from two weeks ago, housed a pair of very social/humorous hens, raised by a young girl as a school project. At one stop we even got an education on aquaponics, which couples plants and fish in a re-circulating system to cultivate the crops. In this particular case the result was an excellent mint tea provided by the owner. It was a nice way to spend the morning.

Now to check with the HOA to make sure we can have chickens of our own in our new neighborhood. If all goes well maybe we'll be a stop on next year’s tour. 

The Next Fall Garden

This time last year I was planting a Fall garden. Peas, radishes, etc. I remember being most excited about the peas. I had never grown them before as the OK weather was a bit too extreme to for peas to be regularly successful. As a kid, the only time that I had previously seen peas in a garden was at my Grandpa’s, in Pennsylvania. They were quite novel to me and always a treat.

This year I refrained from planting a Fall garden for one reason. I didn’t think I would be at the same property long enough to reap the fruits of my labor. I was correct. Last week, Liz and I got the keys to our new house!

I can’t wait to turn over the backyard soil of our new yard and build new beds.

Summer, Was That You?

Summer was a whirlwind. Vacations were taken. Families were visited. The chicken coop was finished. Whole30 was attempted and successfully completed. All in all, adventures were had.

Above are images from Pennsylvania, Michigan and my home-sweet-home, Durham.

I am still not over how much of a season Fall actually is in North Carolina. Realizing that the last sentence sounds ridiculous to most, those from Oklahoma know that Fall happens in between Summer and Winter when the green leaves are hit by an abrupt frost and wake up on the ground the next morning.

Here in Durham, the invigorating crisp, fall weather has arrived and the leaves are waiting to burst into flames. As they do, I anxiously await with rake in hand.