Photographs of Beautiful Camp Wilson

At the beginning of October I attended a women's church retreat at Bellefountaine, Ohio's Camp Wilson. I had heard a lot about the camp from my son who attended summer camp for a week there; he thought it was fantastic. I was excited to have a bit of time away from the homestead and a bit of time for contemplation and it turned out that this little patch of Ohio was the perfect spot for a mommy time out.

We had our teaching, social times, and camp activities (I learned that with a bit of practice I might be a pretty fair archer), but what I loved the most was the time that I found to walk and wander the property, which was gorgeous. The lake was one of the most peaceful places I have been in a long time. Usually when I attend a retreat I am itching to get home. This time, though, I could have used a bit more time to enjoy this slice of heaven here on earth.

Down on The Farm

We had our annual church Fall Gathering this weekend at Marmon Valley Farm. Will and I didn't stay long as Will has bronchitis (he is much better today), but we did get to have some good church potluck food, play a little, and feed some animals.

Marmon Valley Farm is a wonderful place to take pictures, and I took quite a few to share with you.

Things Change When You Get Older: Camping Edition

I used to Love camping when I was a kid/tween. My cousin Rachael and I would travel around to various state parks and KOA campgrounds. And spend days relaxing, fishing, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows, and just getting to know each other better. There is nothing like camping to get closer to family and friends. My grandfather would usually bring two tents, one for Rachael and I and one for grandma and him, outfitted with camp cots, lanterns, sheets, blankets, pillows and plenty of food and stuff to do. We would sit around the campfire at night doing metaphysical things (grandpa was a Rosicrucian and had to indoctrinate us a little) like changing the color of the fire with our minds (which really worked – one person would change the color and the others would shout out what color it was as soon as they saw it – they were more often right than wrong) and telling stories. Rachael, who was boy crazy, would drag me along as she scoped out the camp for cute boys. It was a blast. I Loved to camp.

This Labor Day weekend my family and I went camping with a group of friends at Mohican Adventures, which is directly connected to Mohican State Park in Loudenville, Ohio. The country in this part of Ohio is beyond beautiful; hundred year old oaks abound, along with conifers, ferns, wildflowers, and all manner of wildlife (we were continually pelted with caterpillars that were falling from the trees which kept the children endlessly fascinated). Directly across route 3 are many canoe liveries where you can rent rafts, canoes, kayaks, and intertubes and spend the day moseying down the Mohican River, which, again, is breathtaking. There are usually a lot of people on the river in the summer and a spirit of fun and friendship abounds. This isn't white water rafting or adrenaline junkie stuff; this is family fun, lazy days, and meandering waters.

If you feel so inclined, there is a treetop tour that involves rappelling, ziplines, and rope bridges, as well as horseback riding, mountain biking, and lots of hiking. Loudenville is a charming little town with boutique stores, one of which carries a huge selection of American Indian crafts, turquoise, vases, etc.

So I used to love camping. And I still enjoyed kicking back with friends, watching the children explore the wilderness and have a Fantastic time, sitting around the fire, all of that stuff. But I gotta tell you that when you are nearing 40, have fibromyalgia, the weather starts off at 100F (37.7C for my metric friends), it rains for an entire day, and then dips to the 60s (15.5C), you spend a day fighting your husband who is in some sort of finish line competition on the canoe trip, camping can be quite sucky. Did you hear the large sucking sound coming from Northeastern Ohio? That was my screaming body which could barely move after trying to sleep on the ground in a sleeping bag that has long since lost its loft.William kept on begging not to sleep in the tent house but the brick house with the beds, which would be our house. By the second night, I had retreated to our car, which at least had some padding, even if it doesn't offer the most ergonomic sleeping environment. By the third night, Collin, William, and I were all sleeping in the car just to get out of the wet air. Which I guess goes to show that I am not a tween anymore. And we desperately need an large air mattress. And a camp site with an electric hookup for a fan. Which Mohican Adventures does not have.

So will I become an intrepid camper? Maybe. As long as the aforementioned air mattress is involved. And good friends and food come with the price of admission.

Walkabout: Churches

While William was at his speech therapy day camp, I decided to grab my camera and take some photos of my walk-about. Delaware is such a picturesque town that it didn't take long to fill my camera with 80 captures. Here are a few of the churches.

The spire of The Delaware First Presbyterian Church

I loved the doorway to the Christian Scientist reading room

St Peter's Episcopal Church had a lovely meditation garden that led to the chapel

Many of the churches had stakes outside that said "May Peace Prosper Here" in English and three other languages.

The red door is one of the doorways of Zion United Church of Christ.

The stained glass is part of the First Baptist Church.

The big stained glass window at the First Baptist Church

An Animal's Soul

Do you believe that animals are capable of compassion? Do they have a soul? One of the many pastors in my life told me that there will be no animals in heaven because they were soulless and this distressed me to no end. My idea of heaven includes every cat I every loved curled up around me. Yesterday I read an interesting article in the Shambhala Sun called Creature Comforts in which the the author talked about animals in her life that had comforted her and others, and I started thinking about two of my favorite cats.

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Matthew was a lover. He had a purr as big as a lion, and all 18 pounds of him was muscle - he was a BIG cat. He used to eat yogurt with me in the morning and greet me at the door when I came home - some of my friends said he was a puppy-kitty because he acted so much like a dog. I am a frequent migraine sufferer as many of you know, and the first time I had a migraine after adopting Matthew he did something that no cat had done before or since. He carefully positioned all 18 pounds of himself around the top of my head and started purring. It was a softer purring than he usually did. Occasionally, seemingly right after a surge of pain, he'd lick my cheek. Every time I had a migraine he was there, even if he had been missing all day. And you know, I think he helped me; my headaches always seemed to go away faster with less medication. I miss that sweet cat.

If any animal ever had a soul, it was Ollie. He was a scruffy mix of every sort of cat imaginable and not the prettiest cat you'd ever see, but the first time I opened his cage at the Humane Society he jumped right into my arms, looked in my eyes, and became one of the great loves of my life. He would frequently sit with me and respond to me with chirps and meows when I was talking to myself, joined in the conversations that I had with my friends, and liked to put his paw on your hand and just sit, quiet and contemplative. He slept on my chest every night and unlike Matthew, he weighed nothing, so I barely even noticed he was there. However, the day that I had the auto accident that bruised all of my ribs and left me limping from a severely sprained hip joint he found the one spot on my body that didn't hurt to snuggle up against, my right shoulder. When the pain meds made me have nightmares and I woke disoriented, he put his paw on my forehead and chirped and talked until I was aware again. He made it his job to watch over me, even walking beside me as I carefully hobbled about, meowing if it seemed I would lose my footing. And the day that my chest felt better, he resumed his normal position, head by mine, softly purring through the night.

What are your animal compassion stories? I know that there are hundreds, if not millions, out there; please share them!

Yellow Makes Me Happy

When I moved into my current abode 10 years ago, I painted every wall in every room yellow. Very pale yellow, and all kinds of different shades. Yellow makes me happy. I feel like I am living in eternal spring, my favorite season. I love yellow.

William talks about "lellow" frequently, and seemingly for no reason other than he loves it. He would wear his yellow robot shirt every day for the rest of his life if that were possible. His Hot Wheels are the greatest toy ever invented, but the yellow ones trump all. He is a compulsive dandelion picker, and seems to consider them the greatest gift he can give me. He won't let me check to see if he likes butter.

Roam if You Want To

ridiculously picturesque vista found during a roam

I was the classic overachiever in college. TA, LA, taking beyond my required credits, student council, biology club, straight A's. You know the type. I was also a complete stress-case; I was very close to losing my mind. On the advice of my advisor I went to see the school psychologist, a shaggy haired man in a patched elbow corduroy jacket. The very image of a psychologist. After patiently listening to me for a long time, he gave me this piece of advice: "You are caught in a rut of over achievement. I want you to get in your car and roam. Go down streets that you have never been down. Get out of your life for a while." I left shaking my head, thinking that he was the biggest crackpot I had ever met. But I followed his advice, and to this day, I think it is one of the best pieces of advice anyone has ever given me.

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Roaming about takes you out of the ordinary and thrusts you into worlds that you never knew existed. I've found covered barns, gorgeous farms, fantastic restaurants and book stores, and have just taken amazingly picturesque or pleasing drives. One must never roam without a camera; some of the best pictures that I have ever take were on roads that I didn't know existed until I ventured off of my beaten path. Oh, and if you are prone to getting lost, make sure you have a GPS - getting lost is sort of the point.

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When I was in medical school a group of friends and I attended a conference at The Opreyland Hotel. It's an amazing place and we were quite taken with it. Nonetheless, we were bored out of our minds one night and needed something to do. I suggested that we roam. We ran around the hotel like children, going down hallways that we hadn't seen before, opening every door we could. We found a conference room and took pictures of each other pounding on tables looking as CEO-like as possible. In a bathroom with the largest floor to ceiling mirror I have ever seen we made up a line dance. Somehow we ended up in an employee locker room. And in the Grand Atrium we found a group of darling SMU boys to teach our line dance to. To this day, it is one of the most fun vacation days I have ever had.

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So get outta here! Get lost! Go down that country lane that you've always wondered about. Venture into that Ethiopian restaurant that you just aren't so sure of. Be brave, get in the car, and discover the world around you. You will never see it the same again.

Pandorus Box

My daughter ran into my room and got me out of bed this morning; she's a budding photographer and knows a photo op when she sees one. Apparently there was an amazing green moth on the breezeway.

I was hoping for a Luna moth, something which I have never seen in person, but was greeted by the beauty above. The Pandorus Sphinx moth (or Hawk moth) isn't incredibly common in Ohio but is seen in other parts of the US. She easily the size of a hummingbird and had a wingspan of around 6 inches. God's creation never ceases to amaze me.

She was a very patient model and stood still for around 45 minutes while I took picture after picture. Her wings were so gorgeous, the way the scales shimmered. She was also very soft and tolerated me petting her - for a little while. When she flew, her wings were loud and sounded like a helicopter. She looked like and had the heft of a hummingbird. She was too big for me to get a full close-up photo, so the picture below is a photo merge that I did on photobucket. Look at how large her eye is!

I am an insect lover (silverfish and earwigs creep me out, but that's about it). Miss Pandorus took me over the top.

Kendall's capture

Recherche

- of studied refinement or elegance; sought out with care