lake

June
has been beautiful this year.  Normally it’s breath-suckingly hot in
June in Arizona.  We’ve been camping and canoeing, working in the yard,
and eating outside at every chance. Being outdoors with my family more
than usual this month has put me in a good place for the Fourth of
July.  Something about the lush cornfields that surround us, the
well-groomed campsites we’ve visited, and driving along the Mogollon Rim has me feeling patriotic. 
 
In
the last month, I’ve seen a bald eagle nesting on top of a dead pine
tree, 200 feet up, I’ve picniced in a field of wild strawberries and
I’ve watched hundreds of Great Blue Herons dive for fish to feed to their hatchlings. 

If you ever camp in Arizona, make a point to visit the movie-perfect Woods Canyon Lake.  It’s looks almost fake, it’s so beautiful.

We
have a few more campouts planned for the summer.  In prep, I’ve been
working on some fun camping crafts, recipes and whatnot.  We whipped up
a perfect blackberry grunt in our dutch oven that turned our teeth
black — as though we didn’t feel mucky enough without black teeth. 
But it sure was delicious.

I’m
almost to the crest of the mountain with my design work too.  That
place where things begin to glide.  Several projects now have enough
stored, potential energy to self-propel when released.  Like a stretched spring. 

First, a little more stretching to do.  Burn baby burn.

It’s looking like a great summer.