Work!

As they say: all good things must come to an end. Better put, all things come to an end, considering the sun is going to obliterate the earth in a couple of billion years, wiping out everything humans have ever done. This is getting way too deep though. More immediately, after 16,000 miles driving, 680 miles of hiking, 6 countries and 8 states our sabbatical journey came to an end today with my re-entry into normal American life. Yes, today, I went back to work, and Lauren will be back next week.

This may come as a bit of a surprise to some of you. We had planned to be on sabbatical through the end of August, and I imagine some of you may have believed that we were never going back. Being the complete networking professional (read: I show up at happy hours), I had been in touch with those at Lutjen on and off throughout this last year. I talked to Scott, the President, in mid June about whether they would need my help again this fall. Turns out, they needed some help a little sooner--like by today. I reflected on the last year and thought--Ok, I've had it way too good, and Lutjen has been too good to me--how can I turn the offer down for a few extra weeks of time off? In a similar turn of fate, Lauren's company asked her back as well starting next week.

I've been thinking for a while about our re-introduction to Corporate America. I had some plan a while back to shave my head, burn my clothes and emerge from the ashes wearing a polo shirt and khakis--a born-again engineer after our year off. However, the closer the time came to the date, the more I realized that there is no such thing as being reborn in the span of a few minutes in some sort of ritual. Much like at the end of the Camino, lots of us said--well, so what? We all thought that upon arrival in front of the cathedral in Santiago we would have some sort of moment where some great epiphany of thought or feeling would shine upon us. The moment was rather anti-climactic though. How can the experience of 500 miles of walking be condensed into an instant? It was only through a long process of reflection afterwards that we were able to see the ways the Camino had changed our lives.

I feel the same way about the rest of the sabbatical. I came back to work--it was as if I had never left. Nothing had changed, save for a few new employees and some new projects. I fell back into the rhythm of work immediately as if I had just taken a week vacation. On the flip side, it's as if our sabbatical hasn't ended. We're going to be back at Lake Kahola this weekend, and most likely the rest of the weekends this year. I'll be back to brewing beer and making cheese. We've got plans to do more camping, and backpacking--being out in nature and being more active as we were on our sabbatical.

However, I can already start to see the ways in which this year has changed me. The biggest change must be that I don't have the same cynical and fatalist mindset that most corporate worker-bees have--what I used to have. I've always liked the work that I do, and I like the company I work for. I've been lucky in that regard. However, if I didn't like it here, I wouldn't be back. Some people are stuck in their position in life, due to unfortunate circumstances or poor decisions. However, I believe that most people have much more control over their destiny than they believe.

Sabbaticals should take place every seven years (its a corollary to the Sabbath day every 7 days). What the year 2020 will bring, I know not. I do know that we will still be blogging. There are exciting things on the horizon, which we will be updating everyone on shortly!

4 Days and Nights of the 4th of July

Happy 4th of July! We had an awesome four night long celebration with all the coolest people in the world (at least those within reasonable driving distance who didn't already have other commitments and who also don't mind using an out-house for a toilet). It was an epic four days of grilling, swimming, sailing, drinking, and fireworks. It was a bit taxing though, and I can say with certainty that I'm glad its all over. We're most definitely getting too old for this stuff.

The other part about having awesome friends over for a four day long party is that when they leave, instead of leaving you with a huge mess, they leave you with a awesome new limestone pathway. I literally could not have done it without them, considering some of those stones weigh 200+ lbs. The limestone blocks came from the same quarry up the hill where the stones for the cabin were quarried. How awesome is that?

He's swedish-american, get it?

The Weather

There are certain small joys in life that come from living closer to nature. One of those things that I have come to embrace is the feeling of weather. In all my travels I haven't met a one that doesn't enjoy discussing the peculiarities of the weather. What happened yesterday or yesteryear, how much rain or how little rain has been or would to be. The heat, the cold, the dryness or humidity.

But we've distanced ourselves from actually experiencing the weather we love to discuss. We're removed from the weather inside our climate controlled and weatherproofed houses and cars. There is nary a moment when the sound, wind, or moisture punctures this shell and reaches our senses. Obviously this is a good thing and a hallmark of our society. It's not pleasant to be in a tent during a Kansas thunderstorm--its actually terrifying. But there is something primal and exhilarating about being in the thick of it.

Before the thunderstorm last night, the sultry air was thick and oppressive. The light wind served only to wash the hot, humid air over us without providing any respite from the heat. All was quiet as the storm clouds silently slipped in front of the dipping sun. All went steel grey and blue as the sun was obscured behind the thunderhead. As the sun dipped lower, it passed under the storm clouds and lit the sky ablaze with the green-golden colors of tornadoes. Traveling below the horizon, the sliver of clear sky turned to the deep orange of dying embers in a fire. All the while, the storm clouds loomed ever greater yet remained silent sentinels, flickering with the electric warning of the coming storm.

The air became more stifling and the wind died to nothing up to the the moment that the storm squall hit. A noticeable chill ran through the air as the wind shifted 180 degrees, now coming out of the North and started whipping up the surf. Spray off the white capped waves reached us on the dock as the wind increased to 40 and 50 mile per hour gusts. The thunder and rain followed shortly after, causing us to make a hasty retreat into our stone and wood cocoon.

I think that we all have some innate yearning for the outdoors. Sometimes it seems uncomfortable making the transition from urban environment to the harsher and more raw natural environment. After a time though, I have come to wish that I could spend ever more of my time outdoors. Experiencing nature first hand, rather than vicariously through weather forecasters and documentaries of the natural world.

Some Pictures

Just thought I would upload some of my fluffy pretty pictures...

 

Last night. 

This morning.

And the most beautiful view, saved for last!

Home on the Range - Now In Color!

Just a quick follow up to that last post--shiny color pictures of some of the projects going on out there.

Old sickle, new edge. 

Mowing the lawn...pioneer style. Except for the hair, I guess.

Our water purification operation. The bucket in the front catches the spring water coming from a buried pipe, and the orange buckets in the back are the biosand filter, found here in its native habitat. In this picture I'm filling the solar water heater with filtered water. Sure beats showering in dirty lake water!  

Bucket getting the spring water. 

Hi-tech water heater. Works surprisingly well based on the low expectations set by its appearance. 

Solar shower. 

Yep, that's a rubbermaid cooler with a valve installed on it. That hose leads down to the shower head. If I fill the cooler the night before with ~115 deg F water, it will be around ~90 deg F in the morning. We usually shower at night anyway though because getting into bed after sweating for 15 hours isn't very pleasant.