Challenges

Big Mama the Green Winged Macaw

Since finishing the last of the hikes on the 18th, I’ve spent the past few weeks facing multiple challenges. In addition to writing up the final parks and hikes, we also took on, temporarily, the care of two large birds (a green winged macaw and an umbrella cockatoo), closing on a new home and moving from the rental, and caring for my daughter’s German Shepherd, Lyra.

57 parks, 111 hikes and 94,000 words.

Moving from the rental

But, I managed to finish the last of the hikes on deadline day, August 1, and now only face final edits for the Spring 2015 book. Big Mama and Bugsy no longer inhabit our dining room. They are on their way to Phoenix with their owner, TJ, where he will soon begin a graduate program in photography at Arizona State.

Bugsy loved lots of attention

Lyra keeps me company while I am writing.

Lyra is a handful, but much more quiet than the birds. She has matured a lot since the first time we cared for her as a 5-month old puppy in May of 2013. When her mother returns from Phoenix to begin her final semester of college next week, I imagine the stillness that follows all this activity will be hard to get accustomed to. But, now that we have our dining room back, the 1925 bungalow we bought is starting to feel like a home.

Gabriel relaxes in the dining room.