Surprises!

On Wednesday morning, the 24th of June, I received a phone call at 6:30 from Jack. He asked me about this and that, then eventually said he had to put the phone down because he needed to park his car. "Where are you?" I asked. "Crescent City!" he said, before hanging up the phone. The next sound that met my ears was the loud fan of his engine as he reversed into the driveway.

I gave him about fifteen minutes before I told him that I had figured out he was coming about a month ago. But it was still a great, albeit inevitably short, visit. We got some important things done, but as always there was too much to do. He left feeling slightly stressed and neither of us was eager for the long drive. He made it back to the park, and will be going into the backcountry tomorrow (after being forced to stay frontcountry by several thunderstorms). Only about 10 weeks remain, now. The summer is definitely going by quickly.

After he left, I worked my butt off on Monday so that on Tuesday I could take most of the day to hike - the first time I've hiked on my weekend since I started work! The toils of being sole inhabitant of a two-bedroom home with a large-ish yard and a garden to care for... Anyway, I hiked the entirety of the Mill Creek Trail (not to be confused with the Mill Creek Horse Trail that Jack and I hiked over the winter), ending with a swim in the river, and the hiked the entirety back. On the way I caught up with Janice and Ron (coworkers) and had a pleasant time hiking a mile or so with them. Overall, I put in 9 miles, and then had derby practice that night to boot! It was a great day, to say the least.

Tree tunnel on the trail. :)

Another surprise: I was actually able to get a very small window of time off for Michael and Mimi's wedding!

Dad paid for the ticket (which I would have never been able to afford at this point in my financial life) and I flew red-eye to Michigan on Thursday, arriving on Friday morning, got measured and chose fabric for my own wedding dress, hung out with my parents and sister, went out for ice cream!!!, rode Gregory around the airport (I LOVE that bike!), and then went to the wedding on Saturday, flew home Saturday evening, and drove from the airport to arrive at our house a little after 1 o'clock in the morning. Sunday I had to work, but I survived. Today I have been kicking back and taking it easy - working on tasks for a little bit at a time, then kicking back some more.

I've been checking in on my garden, since I didn't pay it much attention while Jack was here or during the few days before I left for the wedding, or while I was (briefly) gone. There are pea pods growing large, there are cabbage heads that are firm to the touch, there are little sprouts of carrots and swiss chard taking root where I planted a couple weeks ago. I did some research on my various plants - particularly those I hadn't grown before. The potatoes mysteriously lost all their leaves a couple weeks back, and since they haven't come back, I've gathered that I ought to just dig them up since they won't be growing anymore.... I thought I'd try digging in one section of the mound and see what I came up with, and surprise!!

Pearl Potatoes!

They're tiny, some of them are the size of pinto beans. But I think this is reason enough to dig up the rest of the mound. I have a few more potatoes that have grown roots in my home and I think I will transfer the mound to the garden (within the relative safety of the fence) and plant those there. Perhaps there will be more potato success in my future. This is the first time I've ever grown potatoes, though, and I have to say that it's probably the most remarkable-seeming thing. I dug in a pile of dirt with no plants in it and found a handful of little edibles!

Until next time!