big bend

My family went camping without me.  I couldn't take the time off from the library, and although I was obviously very sad to miss Big Bend this year, I can't say it was exactly a hardship to sleep a full uninterrupted 10 hours every night they were gone.  I barely managed to fill half a dishwasher and half of that was gin and tonic glasses. 

I did get a lot done in their absence -- trees planted, walls and floors painted, clothes washed and folded, sheets changed, dead parakeets buried in shallow graves... With the sheer number of tiny animals buried in our backyard at this point, I would forgive the forensic anthropologists of the future for conjecturing that our dwelling housed a serial killer or two.  Really we've just had bad luck this year. With chickens, fish and now our parakeets, Twig and Sparkle. 

The girls both got their Junior Ranger badges and took their oaths. They climbed the Window Trail, which is no easy hike! Especially with a broken arm and a sling! And they reported that although camping was VERY fun, they were glad to wake up in their own beds this morning.