I had a really hard time falling asleep last night. I suspected that would be the case so I took a sleep aid, but it didn’t help. I was still wakeful lying in bed, suddenly restless when I would have loved nothing more but to go to sleep for most of the day. I eventually got out of bed to read on the couch for a bit until I felt sleepy.
I got up at the 6 am alarm because I wanted to get back to walking. I walked a mile and then I got in my car and powered up so I could connect to the dashcam and download the footage of my moose race from Saturday. I’m glad I was able to connect and get it. The whole episode spread through 5 one minute segments. I’m going to make them into a shorter video and post it to my YouTube.
Then I got on with the normal morning routine. Shower, breakfast, go to work. I felt stressed enough that I decided to take half a clonazepam. That helped quiet the panicky feeling that was making it extra hard to focus. I blame the period for the extra spice to my emotions this week. I started spotting today. Maybe bleeding. It’s being a bit weird, which I guess is going to be “normal” until they stop.
After dinner, I took out the post-puller so I could make a video to show my dad. He was interested last time we talked in if I had tried it or not and how well it worked. The answer to that is that it works really well, but not on every post. I’m not sure why some of the posts won’t budge. I’m going to have to dig them up or try and loosen them with some push-pull. I tried hitting one with a sledgehammer, but it just vibrated, it didn’t really move the post. I managed to pull 7 in less than 30 minutes, including the time spent getting video.
I showed the video at family zoom. Unfortunately, the one where I couldn’t pull the post didn’t come out because the phone fell over in the wind. I should have brought out the tripod, but I was being lazy. I had my full bodyweight on that lever and the post wouldn’t budge a bit. I told my parents that I had decided to change my backpacking destination from a new one to an old familiar one. I realized today that I’ve been thinking a lot about the new trail and not in an excited way. In a worried way. And I also realized that I could relieve myself of that burden by going to Stump Lake or Blackmare Lake instead. The trailhead is about the same travel time from my home, and I know that trail so well. That decision reduces the demands that I’m putting on myself.
After the zoom, I did some more outdoor chores. I found some more thistle that needed pulling. I watered the baby tree. I tried using the sledgehammer to loosen not just posts, but also some random metal spikes that are driven into the ground to no purpose that I can see. Well, one might be helping to brace a railroad tie, but the other two aren’t near anything. I also rearranged my shed, because the wind had spilled the tools and they were poking at the walls. I put away the trike and the mower since I won’t be mowing again until Sunday at the very earliest. Most likely next Tuesday. Maybe Monday after family zoom. Maybe.
When I was going back inside to rinse off and get ready for bed, I saw a lizard dart under one of my camp chairs. The old ones are flat on the porch after getting blown around in one of the big wind storms. I went inside to get my phone, and I got lucky because the lizard was still there and I got a few pictures.
I hope that I sleep better tonight. My goal for tomorrow morning is to do exercises so that I’m all done with those for the day. And I’ll be packing for the trip throughout the day tomorrow and Thursday.
I’ve been crying a lot lately. I’m not upset about that. I’m just glad I stocked up on tissues recently. I ordered matting for the photos that I’m going to enter in the fair. I’m going to have to take some time to do a quick review of the ICT hike from last year and see if there are any fair worthy photos to consider. And then I’ll need to get those photos ordered. I want to be ahead of time on this. Maybe I should take a photography class and learn a bit more about the things that I’ve kind of felt my way to instinctually.
