Wonderful Weekend

There is nothing better than spending time outdoors with some of your closest friends. I was so excited to be given the green light to go to BOW (Becoming an Outdoors Woman) last weekend, I was practically bouncing off the walls. The weekend was great. The accommodations were a little more rustic than other weekends, the food basic but plentiful, but the workshops were fun and the company couldn't be better.

For me the whole weekend helps put everything into perspective and allows me to get in touch with myself. I took the photography and birding workshops, as well as wilderness survival and trout fishing. The wilderness survival module was really interesting and the hands-on component had us creating a shelter in the woods using only what we had in our pack. I was lucky enough to have an uprooted tree in my quadrant, the perfect place to hunker down if rain and nightfall are approaching. One of the participants built her shelter near a hornet or wasp nest (I don't know the difference) and a couple of us (including me) got stung when the leader was critiquing the shelter. The hornets got so upset they wouldn't let one girl pick up her backpack, she had to leave until they settled down again. Fortunately I'm not allergic to stings.

The trout fishing workshop was the only event all weekend with all of us together. Kelly, Marion, Kelly's mom Lindy and sister Andrea (plus our two cabin mates) all took trout fishing on Sunday morning. We fished at a private pond stocked with rainbow and brook trout. I think the best part is watching your friends get a fish hooked. Kelly had one of the large rainbows on briefly and I thought she was going to jump into the water with the fish. We're definitely going fishing next spring. Our cabin mate, Dawn, did land one of the rainbows...it was one of the largest fish I've ever seen anyone catch. It had to weigh in around five pounds. I'm not sure, if in the excitement, anyone thought to weigh or measure it.

I'm already looking forward to the next BOW, I may even try the winter one in February if I get myself geared up with some warm clothing before then.

I received a card from Lois and Del, I think they must have been visiting Rob's parents for the annual sauerkraut supper.