So here I am, on the starting line of a new chapter of my life. It will end up being a very important and very big change, but at the moment, very little seems to be different. It’s all very explainable and does not worry me that things don’t seem different. After all, my last day was on a Friday and ended the usual way. Send out my midday update, secure any loose ends and then head over to the house to wait for Nora and G to get home.
We actually met up at the school so that we could all go to dinner and celebrate my last day or work. But other than what we were celebrating, it is not unusual for us to all go out to dinner especially on a Friday. Yesterday was not unusual in the least. A regular day off for me. Today has had one twist. I did not have to do my usual Sunday work, but here I am writing a journal.
Tomorrow will really be my first day where the usual routine is not followed and the first hints of the freedoms that lie ahead of me for the rest of my life will be experienced. For now though, it’s much like a new pair of shoes. Something is different, but not radically. There is a bit of a new feel, but if the shoes fit right, the feel is not that different. Also like a new pair of shoes, given time, they will break in, some areas will stretch and make room for the unique shapes of your feet. Other areas will become worn and no longer fight the movements of your feet as you walk. In time, my new life will be “broken in”, will feel natural, as if it was made custom for me. Funny that this comparison came to mind, as I actually got a new pair of shoes this past week.
I suppose the main reasons why my final day “at work” was a miraculously uneventful event is that I had no desk or office to pack up. No co-workers that had become friends to say good bye to. I did receive congratulations and well wishes from most of my customers, but they were by phone or Email, not hand shakes or hugs. No golden watches or plaques of appreciation, my boss was just too cheap for that!
None the less, I am feeling great about it. Nora has said that all last week I had a spring in my step that she has not seen in a long time. I know all of my stress has melted away like an ice cube sitting in the hot sun. I do feel a lightness, no more worrying about tomorrow. No more stressing about having to get it right, or as right as I could! Just a beautiful feeling of floating down the river of life, letting it take me where it wishes to. In time the most important benefit will come, spending more time, way more time, with my two beautiful women! Just thinking of it brings a smile to my face.
Besides the week being my final one for work, it was somewhat typical for April in the Keweenaw. The grass has been trying to green up, but the temps have been a bit below average and in reality, it is also a bit early to have things turning green. It is about as likely that we have snow on the ground this time of the year that we have green grass. Mother Nature decided to make that fact clear when she coated the ground with a layer of white. Thursday was cold and cloudy, but then on Friday we did hit 50 under mostly sunny skies and today we warmed to 60 degrees under filtered sunshine, that was all it took for the grass to deepen it’s green pigmenting.
While Nora was on a walk with her friend, Bleau, Kashi and her friends dog Dave, Huck and I took to the woods to do a little exploring. One of my goals was to head to the game cam and bring it in so that we could get new batteries for it. On the way to the cam, we both spotted some bones from a deer. I cannot say exactly when the deer was killed or by what. We have at least one wolf roaming the property and there could be more. I know we have a pretty large pack of coyotes and they can be heard just about every night. Last night was a particularly interesting sound display. There seemed to be some kind of screeching or crying along with their typical howls. The bones were actually only around 20 feet from the cam and while I took the camera down off the tree, Huck decided to help himself to a femur bone. I did not let him chew on it long, as it was breaking up pretty easily and I did not want him to ingest any of it. It is so fascinating to me how he can be so domesticated, yet still have that wild animal side to him.
With the weather being so nice, Nora, Grace and I headed to a friends place on the big lake. I brought along the drone to fly and take some pictures. It has been a LONG time since I few the drone, so it was almost like starting from scratch. Two of my three batteries have gone bad, but otherwise all was good. I really am love aerial pictures. Here is a shot of the shoreline in the vicinity of where we were. Towards the top, you can see the Jacobsville Lighthouse. It is privately owned and actually for sale. I believe the owner has a Facebook page for it’s sale. Here is another shot, taken from a little further up the shoreline, showing the south entry light, or as many call it, the Jacobsville light. White City beach stretches from the breakwater towards the drone for around 1/4 mile. An absolutely beautiful beach and just a short walk from our house.
Rotating the drone towards the north, the view takes in the south end of the Portage waterway and leads to the south end of Portage Lake. The light colored building in the far lower right is my shop. Here is a shot from near the same position, only a little closer to our property and the buildings on it. If you follow the road where it takes a 90 degree turn to the left in the direction of the waterway, the light colored building in the center of the photo is the shop and just to the right of it is the house.
I plan to do a lot of flying of the drone and with a little luck, purchase a new one in the future. The technology has really increased in them and it would be fun to have some of the new capabilities the current models provide. For now, I will be happy flying “Snowflake 1”, as Grace and I named it when we got it.
So that covers it for this one. I still have not gotten any news on the heart remodeling, but do plan to call the Mayo tomorrow to make sure the ball is still rolling. Until next time…
Good Night from the Keweenaw..
–JD
