What do you mean it’s summer?

Is it seriously June already?

Is it summer already?  Yes? When did that happen? Oh yeah, the 21…

Wait! It’s almost July!!?? What?

Where have I been?

Oh ya- work. 

I thought once I’d return to work, after the shutdown, I would get my new boss, we’d get all caught up and go into the summer ready to go.

That didn’t happen.

I think a lot of things. I’m a procrastinator- I will gladly admit it- but this time around that flaw in my character didn’t play into why my blog got left by the wayside. 

I was a one-person team, in a division that needs two to cover the basics (perfect for the “off-season), three for a skeleton crew, and four if you want quality work, until about two weeks ago. However, on a positive note I have enough compensatory time to take nearly a month off… if they would let me… 

Eventually, I’ll supposedly have days off again… I get the occasional day off here and there but no “weekends” yet. By weekends, I mean two days off in a roll during the week.* 

I’m hoping that is true- I keep longingly looking at visitors and friends who get to go do fun stuff, like camping, hiking, and kayaking in other places. While I get to work. However, in all fairness I get to canoe and hike most days with my job… just not for “fun.”

*However, I would have more free time if I didn’t keep taking hours on the ambulance as an EMT and turned in my notice to the restaurant I started working at to keep boredom from drowning me earlier in the year. For what it’s worth, I like keeping my hours up for NREMT and two nights at the restaurant is giving me some extra money that’s helped pay off some stuff… Plus the odds for another shutdown seem to be well established on the horizon anymore and I’m keeping my lifeline from going down the rabbit hole again. Oddly enough, I’m currently doing two nights at both *side* jobs but it doesn’t seem like to much added to my workload. I find waiting tables hosting relaxing, and most nights on the ambulance I can read a book start to finish without being interrupted. 

 

I’m also finishing up the long awaited “Honeymoon Blog.” Sadly, I just forgot about it after we came back to work after the shutdown- I finally got to looking at stuff and noticed I didn’t finish the last section of it. I think I need an editor or a hammer wielding assistant to keep me on track. 

I will say that when I get to point I have days off I think I’m going to be lazy for my first “weekend.” I do plan to get out to either the Badlands or the Black Hills for a hike.  

I did use one of my days off this week to go wander around in the wilderness area of Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge.

It’s my go to place to relax and unwind. 

I spent most of the morning out hiking on the ridges and into some of the valleys. I found a spot that reminds me of home. If I look east and use tunnel vision I can, for a moment, image I’m back at a view of the river overlooks on the Current River. Plus the few rocky outcroppings help sell the illusion. 

I took some time and smelled (and photographed) the flowers, did a little writing (poetry mainly), and cleared my mind. 

All in all, it was a good day.