Summer homeland.
I am a west coast boy with east coast roots. I grow in the soil of my worn and broken- in boots.
I’ve been hesitant to call this place my home for some time. Being almost 53 now I’ve lived away from here longer . Still there is something that feels like home everytime I return here. I’ve lived away from here longer than than all the time I ever spent here. The hills and the haunts of this finger lake region of NY holds so many memories of those formidable years for me. This is the first time in a while I’ve been here in this season. The green and lushness. The lakes and the hills. The farms and the pastures. The creeks and the waterfalls. All hold a special place in my being. And I notice over time the freshness of the place can get stale. The weather, so unpredictable, especially after spending the winter in AZ where the sun is ever present. Here sunny days are few and short lived this time of year. Depressing almost. My body so used to basking and absorbing the light now aches for 2 sunny days in a row! The cloud cover here can be heavy.
Our plan is to be here for the month of June. Then head back to the pacific northwest for the rest of the summer. I have commited to painting my brothers house, my nieces’ house and my mother’s kitchen. So its gonna be busy for me but nice to be working again after so much time driving. Up and down ladders will help get me back into reasonable shape and help to lose some of my extra body fat after being on the road with hardly any cosistent exercise. I will see some old friends and close family these weeks and we will park at their places and let the kids feel the embrace of their kin.
Mona will get some lovin as well. We bought some flooring to re-do the floor in the bus. And I located a mechanic that will install new pins and bushings in the front suspension. I might get a chance to re paint some areas that are showing some rust and caulk a few seams that are leaking…
Not any craft shows to do for the month but Aura will do her first solo art show in Penn Yan. She has printed up some of her photographs onto cards and she has a bunch of art cards that she will sell over a weekend. So not much money coming in trhese days. Inanna has finished her online teaching class so that income stream has dried up. She had a great run but it was a lot of work, especially travelling and with all the logistics that go along with trying to hold that rythym! Were all glad that is over for now. So its time to re focus our sights on whats next. Were still holding out for an income sharing style community and we’ve been feeling excited about visiting BreitenBush hot springs in Oregon this summer. They are income sharing and have been around for a long time running a resort centered around hot pools. There is another spot here outside of Ithaca that we are going to explore soon. A income sharing farm based around dairy production, so we will see. Time here is going fast . A month seems to short and anything more seems too long. I can already feel the pull of the road calling. My gypsy is getting restless and my heart needs more time here. All in all its so good to be living in a bus right now. And its good to be among this place.