Sunday, February 14, 2021

My Valentine Adventure

 If you celebrate Valentine’s Day, I hope that you were showered with attention and gifts. In our household, I am in the Jane Laverick camp and Henning is of the opinion that he’s my Valentine every day, so he doesn’t need to make a special effort on someone else’s say-so. None the less, we had a peaceful and mutual be-kind-to-each-other day. Mostly because we were exhausted after our adventure yesterday. But first today:

I glued together a batch of gorgeous little 1/12 scale boxes for storing miniature treasures. It is the perfect project if you need to sit quietly and not move too many muscles. They are made from a printy by Sandra Morris from Tower House Dolls. She has just published a book, Making Miniature Mignonette Toy Dolls. If you buy the book, you will be invited to the Facebook Mignonette Doll Club where we have hilarious fun. If you are into tiny dolls, I highly recommend it.

So, what happened yesterday? Henning said, won’t you be my Valentine on a bicycle? Let’s cycle to the river. It will be fun, he said. This is a man who loves anything on wheels and obviously I wanted to be loved on Valentine's day. That is how the adventure started.

The river is about 10km from our home. When we are fit and healthy, we can do the round trip in our lunch hour and it’s just the right distance to feel the breeze in your hair. Sadly, Henning has not been well lately, and we hadn’t cycled in a long while, so I was happy when he suggested the outing.

We hopped on our mountain bikes at lunchtime and set off at a leisurely pace. When we reached the river, we had a short break as we always do, then turned back for home. It was a lovely day. A few clouds high in the sky and just enough of a breeze to rustle the soybeans in the fields beside the road. On a whim, Henning said, let’s turn off the road and cycle on the sand track through the fields. It runs parallel to the main road and it will be an adventure, he said. So we did.

The soybeans were about knee high and brilliant green after the recent rains. They were also in glowing health because they’d recently been fertilized with the stuff that comes out the back end of farm animals. Soon, we were surrounded by a revolting pong and a black cloud of flies. We sped up to get rid of the flies and to our relief, the soybean fields gave way to corn and we left the pesky insects behind.

This late in summer, the corn is fully grown and more than two meters tall. By now we had traveled quite a bit further than we intended and the breeze was picking up but the track through the fields was level and sandy, ideal for off-road cycling. We knew that we were traveling in the general direction of home and although we had lost sight of the main road a while ago, our GPS said that it was just on the other side of the ridge running parallel to our course. I didn’t want to turn back for a second encounter with the flies and Henning reckoned that sooner or later the farm track would meet up with the road again, so we continued through the corn fields.

After another three kilometres, there was still no sign of the road, the skies had darkened with clouds, and the breeze had become a tremendous roar in the corn. I had no idea that corn could be so noisy. We realized that we would have to turn around or risk being on the road after nightfall.

Just as we turned to go back, the skies opened. We were caught in a downpour in the middle of an endless cornfield and the rain was coming down like bullets. Not only did it sting on the way down, but every drop seemed to ricochet and hit us from beneath with a lukewarm splash. We were drenched and muddy within moments but not only that, the rain instantly washed away our tracks in the path. We took a wrong turn, turned around when we realized our mistake, could not figure out where we had come from, and then we were properly lost. With corn taller than our heads on all sides and no sun to guide us we could only keep heading in what we hoped was the right general direction. It felt like hours later when we finally washed out on to the road like two drowned rats.

We were back at the river at sunset, bedraggled and tired, and still had to face a ten-kilometre trek home. It drizzled all the way and after dark it became quite cold in our wet clothes. I was ever so relieved when we finally heard the welcoming bark of the dogs at our gate at 8pm. Our lunchtime jaunt turned into a 50km ordeal and today, we can feel it in every muscle.

The story does not end here though. Just in case you are thinking of going on an adventure of your own, let me tell you the things the explorers do not warn you about.

Fifty million mosquito bites itch like crazy, and I washed a sand dune out of my ears. But the worst part is this; splashing mud seeps into every crevice. Cycling with sand in your butt crack is abrasive. It will be a few days before I stop my bandy-legged sailor walk.

If you are looking for me, I will be sitting quietly making miniatures.

 

24 comments:

  1. Oh no! Butt mud! I’m glad you made it home safe.

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    1. Butt mud indeed! Fortunately, we were never really worried, just wearied.

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  2. That was quite an adventure. Until you got to the cloudburst it was reminding me of an adventure I had with my granddaughter. We have cornfields outside our city and some farmers make a corn maze in the fall. My granddaughter was about 8 years old and we decided to try it. The paths seemed pretty straightforward and we did fine until we left milestone number three. We walked along making what we thought was good progress, but ended up at milestone three again. This happened two more times before we opted for the escape path 😂. I’m sorry for your discomfort, but glad you eventually got home safely. The boxes are lovely.

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    1. Sherrill, until yesterday I think I would have loved the idea of a corn maze. I grew up in a region where they farm corn and we were often told stories of children who got lost in the fields and were never found again. Thinking back, I realize that it was probably just that, stories to keep us from wandering. I know I certainly never ventured there on my own.
      Still thinking of the maze, I wonder if a GPS would have been allowed, and if it would help you to find your direction to negotiate the maze. Probably not much more than a good old-fashioned compass. Our GPS was certainly worth nothing in the fields. If there isn't a road, it can't tell you where to go.

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  3. Oh Megan! con lo bien que se leía el apacible y tranquilo paseo en bicicleta disfrutando del día, del paisaje, del crujido de la soja....y luego se convirtió en pesadilla atrapados por la lluvia, el barro y teniendo que deshacer el camino andado, cuanto lo lamento, aunque fue una aventura con final feliz, llegasteis a casa sanos y salvos, bueno con picaduras y esa grieta molestísima en el trasero! Desde luego os convendrá descansar unos días hasta que los músculos vuelvan a ser los mismos!
    Besos.

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    1. Ha, Pilar, as I grow older I develop an aversion to discomfort. We were never really in danger and we were laughing the next morning. I also realize how much of a city dweller I've become when a cornfield feels foreign and scary.

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  4. Oh Megan, I am sorry but I had to laugh about the words: mud butt!! But oh my, what a story, no, what an adventure!! What started as a peaceful bike ride ended up in a nightmare, I feel sorry for you and I hope your body will reocver soon of all this pain. This Valentine's Day surely won't be forgotten ;).
    Take care, dear Megan.
    Hugs, Ilona

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    1. Thank you, Ilona! I'm not too much worse for wear. It certainly is a story to tell for years to come.

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  5. An adventure indeed! Just what I needed.... a good laugh on a miserable, grey Monday! We had a similar experience many years ago when Small Dog was just a puppy. On a caravanning trip we wanted to walk to a nearby pub for lunch on midsummer's day. Crossing the fields we got completely lost and ended up on a marathon walk in the blazing sun.... for hours. I was ready to call out search and rescue and even SD was dragging her paws. We finally staggered back to the site late afternoon and each drank a gallon of water. It's so easily done, even in relatively familiar territory. Glad you both made it back in one piece. Also, thanks for the mention!

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    1. Happy if I could put a smile on your face, Sandra. I have no idea where all those corn fields came from. We have become too used to travelling everywhere by car. A pleasure to give your book a mention, I hope that sales are going really well!

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  6. LOL - I know a muddy butt is not really funny, but what an outing and what a hilarious tale! I am just so relieved that Adrian and I are not the only ones to a take curious looking detours like that. I guess, even if you are not a Valentines Day kind of person - this was a Valentines day you will likely never forget.
    XX

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    1. Anna, normally I would say it's because a man won't ask for directions but we discovered thoroughly how useless a GPS is in the wilderness, and how deceptive distances can be. Still, we got to see a different bit of the world and if it didn't start raining, it would not have been a remarkable and amusing experience.

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  7. Megan, I can't help it, but I haven't laughed so hard for a long time. If I only lived a little closer to you I'd send you leaves from my aloe plant.
    At least a bunch of boxes resulted out of this adventure.
    Hugs, Drora

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    1. Happy to oblige with some humour, Drora! And thanks for the offer of aloe. We have several varieties of aloe in our garden, but not aloe vera. I'm not sure if all species work for itchy skin. I'm going to read up about it.

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  8. And they wonder why us old farts are content to sit in our chairs and craft. Too many adventures and a lifelong quota of rough substances in places they don't belong! Glad you are home safe and that you will stick to the well traveled paths on future jaunts! 😊
    The boxes are lovely and Valentines Day is for those who have not yet discovered that love is a verb and a fleeting thing that must be invested in every day!

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    1. Jodi, you made me laugh out loud. Yes, there definitely comes a time in life when one starts to feel less reckless. I don't think I will ever outgrow a good adventure, but I prefer to have it on my own terms.
      Have you read Life is a Verb by Patti Digh? One of my favorite books.

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  9. Haha... eh... oooops... my, I'm glad that your adventure trip ended safe and well... except for the insect bites, the sand dunes (which you hopefully saved and dried for future crafting purposes *grin*) and the sailor walk. But these are the days meant to become treasured memories - thanks for taking us along with you... without the side effects. Happy silent and almoust movingless crafting during the next days!

    Hugs
    Birgit (who at the moment feels every muscle without having experienced an adventure... only fighting masses of that da*n cold white stuff I dislike so much *wink*)

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    1. Birgit, I didn't think to save my sand dunes! Such a pity, it would have been good to have some craft sand with a story. But I can tell you I'm not going out there to gather some more :P
      Winter is coming here in South Africa. I was watching the sun in the bay window this morning and thinking, soon it will be time to sit there during the day and quietly work. You're just about to head into spring in Germany, so I'm sure you're looking forward to gardening and possibly some outings. Have you been vaccinated yet? I'm dreaming of a time when we can be with others freely again.

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  10. Hehehe! At least you have a great story to tell!! I am glad you retained your sense of humour and had a big adventure with your beloved, one to remember for sure. Take care of yourself and your chaffing - I hope it eases soon!

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    1. Thank you, Shannon. The fondest memories are made from ordinary ingredients, like sand, ha ha!

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  11. oh my goodness........you have me chuckling and feeling bad for you all at the same time!

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    1. Thank you, Kathleen. I feel sorry for myself when my body reminds me that I'm not sixteen anymore but I think I'm more than compensated with the depth of enjoyment I get from still being able to do crazy things once in a while.

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  12. wonderful story.... love it.

    Have a great day

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    1. Thank you Tanza! I had a quick look at your blog. Seems like you write about important stuff. Following.

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