Wednesday on the Homestead

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Good morning friends! I hope you are having a good week. I've been busy since I checked in with you last Wednesday. 

I've gotten several things done around my house which always makes me feel good. I was out hiking again with my son, which I'll share about below. 

We had a crazy thing happen on Sunday evening. Hubby and I were sitting in the living room chatting and all of a sudden we hear a big THUD and then the sound of shattering glass coming from our bedroom. We both jumped up and went to see what happened. The window above our bed had been broken by a large bird. 



We didn't see the bird but he left a lot of feathers behind. Maybe it was the glare out at that moment that caused the bird not to see the window? I'm not sure. But it left broken and shattered glass all over the bed. We carefully removed the sheets and bedding, moved the mattress out of the way and then hubby removed the pieces of glass, one by one. 


We got it all cleaned up and fresh sheets on the bed all before it was time to go to sleep. He put up a temporary cover over the window and the next day went into town to replace the glass and we are now back in business. Hopefully no more birds will do the same thing again! 


Monday was my birthday. We didn't do anything special just enjoyed an easy going day around the house. It was rainy and cool out and neither of us felt the motivation to do a lot.  I was still recovering from my hike the day before, ha ha! :D  I heard from all my children giving me birthday wishes and the simple day, hearing from my kids, and keeping the fire going made for a cozy sweet day for me. 

On Tuesday my motivation returned and I attacked my house with energy. I cleaned, organized and did extra spring cleaning in needed areas. I love the feel of my home after some spring cleaning. 

The day was a beautiful sunny day so I also took advantage of the day and got out and walked a couple miles. I would have walked more, but my house was calling my name so I put my energy there. 

Today is grocery shopping and errand day. I'm getting a late start, but have been enjoying my morning coffee, and chatting with my hubby. 
Goals
Aside from time in town I need to finish up some laundry and do a little vacuuming and mopping of my floors. I have more items on my spring cleaning list but I think I'll wait until the weekend to dive into that.

For the Love of Books!
With all the other things I have going on and the improved weather, I've made very little progress on my reading. I usually read before bed, but lately have fallen into bed tired and ready for sleep instead.


Projects
The dining room hutch project is done and I have a box of misc items to take in for donation. I have begun to think I have a few hoarding tendencies. :) Sometimes I find it hard to let go of things.  

Anybody else like that? 
My goal is to not spend so much time thinking about small items, just put them in the giveaway box. I see things that I haven't used, didn't remember I had until I came across them and then spend time trying to decide if I want to keep or give.  The Marie Kondo method.. does it spark joy? Has helped me a lot! 


Fitness and Health
I think I've found my newest hobby, hiking! I'm not good at it, I'm ridiculously slow, and I have a long ways to go before I'm ready to hike any major big trails. But that is ok! It's not about any of that. It's about getting out, moving my body, taking each step as it comes, stopping to marvel at and enjoy God's amazingly beautiful creation. 

A friend of mine quoted a book (which I don't know the name of but need to find out so I can read it), find your soul mate of exercise so you will want to do it. I've always loved to walk and the next logical step for me, especially considering the area I live in, was to hike. I've hiked with my daughter and grandchildren, but those have always been short easy hikes that are simple enough for the little ones to do. But now, beyond those hikes, I'm pushing myself in a healthy way to do more. 

This last Sunday my oldest son came again and we set out on another hike. I have to say this hike was extremely challenging for me! Probably a little too challenging. My body still feels it.  

We headed over to an area that is on the east side of the Gorge (I live in the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area).  The terrain changes a lot on that side. The hike was not long in terms of miles, but it was difficult in that we climbed 1300 feet up a hillside. It was full of rocks making each step challenging at times and in some areas it the trail skirted cliffs and drop offs.

Here is a picture I took when we stopped for a break (the reward in all the labor of hiking was that spectacular view!). You can see we're pretty high up from river level and you can see the rocky trail as well..

 
We finally made it to the top of trail and then had the challenging trip back down.  Before heading down we stopped and had some granola bars and drank water and simply sat amazed at how far we'd climbed (well maybe it was just me that was amazed because my son is in MUCH better shape than I am! :D)...

While the above picture looks like a nice grassy field, it was actually very shallow and full of rocks.  At one point we lost the trail, but weren't to worried as you know the route is downhill. But so many areas came to steep cliffs that we had to retrace our steps a few times to find a way down. We eventually found the trail again. An example of the steep cliffs.... 


We stopped to take these pictures on our way down (at the point we had found the trail again)..

In all we figured the hike was about 3 to 3 1/2 miles, but the difficulty level was much greater than our hike the week before. 
Regardless of the challenges that moment when we got back to the car and the hike was over, was amazing. You feel like you just conquered something huge in life. 
Even though I'm still sore it hasn't stopped me from researching and preparing for our next hike! 


View from my Deck
After yesterdays amazing beautiful day, today is overcast and rain is in the forecast. Spring in the PNW means days of clouds and rain frequently and the improved sunny days tucked in between them..



Today's weather: High: 52   Low:38



That's all for this week my friends,
Crystal

Comments

  1. VivianMarch 27, 2019 at 12:31 PM

    beautiful country! thanks for sharing the pictures.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CrystalMarch 27, 2019 at 3:10 PM

      Than you Vivian 😊 I've lived in this area for about 23 years now and I never cease to be amazed by the beauty.
      Crystal 😊

      Delete
  2. AnonymousMarch 31, 2019 at 9:52 AM

    Love your pictures of your hike. In regards to the bird hitting your window, the glass reflects back the sky and birds do not know what glass is and try to fly through. I have had a number of birds hit my windows, I ended up having to put something on my mine to break up the reflection area.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CrystalMarch 31, 2019 at 10:43 AM

      That must have been what happened with the bird.. my hubby put a strip of purple duct tape across the window.. hopefully that will do the trick..
      Crystal 😊

      Delete

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