On nice weather days, my focus has been outside. There are still projects to do but I have pulled enough weeds and trimmed enough branches that I can now see the end in sight. Well, not the end, but a shift into maintenance mode instead of catch up mode. Another week of nice weather and we will be firmly into maintenance mode.
With that, focus is shifting to inside the house. I bought those light fixtures I wanted. I still haven’t changed them out…baby steps. Unfortunately, with the weather nice, I don’t want to work on these indoor projects. I would rather be doing fun things outside. Not more “work”.
I have started exploring things to do. Recreational things to do. Because of the covid, I have pretty much spent my first month and a half just working on projects around the house. There was a need and I couldn’t do much else because of the social distancing. Well, we still have the social distancing but I am branching out!
Now…what to do? Hiking, biking, beach combing, camping (though that might be too popular this year to find much peace and quiet), rockhounding, gold prospecting, etc. Over the years I have done plenty of hiking, biking, and camping. What is new is the beach combing, rock hounding, and gold prospecting. These are all things I was interested in but never had the time to devote to it. I like the idea of coupling something physical like hiking with collecting rocks and minerals. It requires me to learn a new skill, learn about geology, and get some exercise. Probably get some great photos too!
Because I am a complete newbie when it comes to the prospecting, combing, hounding…I have been doing some research. Watching you tube videos, reading DNR notices, buying small amounts of pay dirt to practice with, etc. I have found some gold and silver as well as some garnets and crystals in the pay dirt that I bought. That is pretty exciting. There are places within a half hours drive from my home where I can go and get my own pay dirt. Next week I plan to go try my hand at it. Surely I have learned something actionable from all those videos! Wish me luck
A note about the Covid-19. Cases are on the rise again, many states have seen spikes in new cases. WA is seeing rising cases but not so many as to be considered a “spike”. People have Covid-fatigue and have been out doing things that cause more spread. US-Canada border is still closed. They will review again on or around July 21.