My winter solstice spirit only goes so far, for I am a summer person (and fall), and as soon as January 1 happens and goes away, I am ready for spring. I’ve composted the old cedar boughs from tabletops around the house and we’re done with the last of the holiday parties. The wreath is down, and I’ve been eyeing the back deck, knowing as soon as it stops raining I need to get out and sweep the leaves away and maybe treat it for all the moisture it’s gotten this fall and winter.
I love this time of year when days get longer and I start thinking about my garden. I start dreaming of bears and blackberries and fresh tomatoes. We start planning the fun things we want to do over the summer. When I leave work at the end of the day, it is now light out.
This year has started excellently. My vegan diet is easier than I thought, and without even really trying I’ve lost five pounds and I am filled with energy. I’m about ready for my first outdoor run through the Deer Park trails, hopefully next week (I have been treadmilling or on the rowing machine in the meantime).
This year, I have nearly a month’s vacation time, so even though we won’t be taking it all at once, our big summer plans are a road trip (we are going to look into renting a hybrid car). We’ll do a loop including the Pacific Coast Highway (from north to south, including Big Sur, Carmel, etc.), Redwoods, Grand Canyon, visiting relatives in Idaho and Washington and California and eastern BC, and hitting the spots from my novel Back to the Garden. I wouldn’t mind heading up to New Denver for a night too–which I’ve blogged about before as one of my favorite places on Earth, ever.
I’m working on the sequel to Back to the Garden now, and my mind is full of thoughts about that particular area of the mountains near Sandpoint, ID–so I want to climb up into the mountains and check out Lake Pend Orielle. I’ve never been to these places, but they feel so real as the characters and trails from my novel feel as real as places I grew up in. Instead of hotels, we want to take our camping gear and camp at night along the way. We’re also talking about a long weekend over on the island, but this time want to visit Sooke, which is south of Tofino, where we usually go if we travel to the west coast.
The featured image of the Grand Canyon is by Drenaline – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0
