Quick journey south

It's getting late again--for some reason it always seems to do that this time of night--but I just wanted to write briefly about my Saturday trip.

It was an "earth keepers" event at the site in southern Wisconsin, devoted to planting trees and flowers and just getting the site looking nice.

It went pretty well for the most part. I left later than I had planned--about 7:30 a.m.--and get there about 1:15. Brought along a shovel and rake and used both of them.

Alas, I am not as energetic as I used to be, so after a while I discarded the shovel and focused on planting the baby trees instead of digging the holes. There were white pines, plum trees and hawthorns. Later on, I did some raking at some of the campsites, collecting the branches and twigs that had fallen during the winter and putting them in big piles.

While rounding up supplies for the one-day trip, I couldn't find my sunscreen, so I bought a bottle on one of my stops along the way. You know what happened next: Once I arrived there, it clouded over, got a little cooler and breezy. Never had to reach for the sunscreen. If I hadn't gotten any, of course ...

I'm a little disappointed that I didn't have the energy to keep going all afternoon. But hey, I'm not in my 30s any more. On the other hand, I did help (assuming my tree-planting efforts were adequate), so my visit was a net positive.

There were about 10 to 12 people, including a few who just made brief visits. I met some of the people and had a little time to talk and renew acquaintances, but the day was focused on working at the site. About eight of us gathered for a supper (one of them made "hobo wraps") and then (because of the cool breeze) we went down to the circle. No wind there, so we talked, had a water-sharing (Church of All Worlds ceremony) and then sat down and talked again. I left for home at about 7:30.

Long, long drive home. Got back about 1:30 a.m. Next time, I'll stop at a motel on the way back and not try to make the entire second leg of the trip on the same day. Too many miles in one day. I shouldn't push myself too much.

Anyway, I slept a little late (9:30 a.m.) on Sunday and just relaxed with my wife and David the rest of the day--watched a movie at night ("Caddyshack").

Spring sports starts on Tuesday--I'm driving to Marquette for a track meet inside the Superior Dome. On Thursday, I take my wife to Iron Mountain for her pap test and a visit to my mom.

I've got a few pictures that I've been planning to post. Once I get back home tomorrow night, I'll try to work on them.