there's no place like gnome.

I bought gardening overalls and it has changed my life.

Okay. Dramatic much. It has changed my GARDENING life.

Here’s how it happened: I saw a facebook photo with my sister-in-law in overalls. She and my Alaskan brother recently bought a farm in WI and she’s out pruning her fruit trees and planting Christmas trees in her overalls. And I thought to myself: huh. Overalls. I forgot about overalls. They make complete sense.

Facebook obviously read my thoughts because suddenly there were overall ads all over my feed. Duluth Trading Company sells gardening overalls. And I was sold.

Loads of pockets. Space to insert knee pads (haven’t gone that extreme yet). Snaps to roll them up to capris. A fabric that mulch or dirt doesn’t cling to.

They’ve seen me through a lot of hours outside already this season. Tearing up hostas, planting a new cut flower garden, spreading twelve yards of mulch. Gamechanger.

Game. changer. I now better understand what my Dad and Grandpa Sid saw in their blue-and-white-striped wardrobe all those years on the farm.

It was the (nearly) perfect weather weekend to book a non-electric site at Hartman Creek State Park in Waupaca.

We’ve been hiking here once and knew it was a place we’d like to land for a long weekend. State parks are our favorite for camping but do require some advance planning. We booked this weekend back in January to make sure we could make it happen.

The weekend was filled with ticks, carbon monoxide, and lovely moments.

… did I get your attention with carbon monoxide?

We set up camp Thursday evening, went for a short hike, and ate supper. We sat around the campfire on this still night, making the dogs lay on towels – instead of the ground – at my feet so as not to encourage ticks to jump on board.

The fire was diminishing when Emmett tried to get up. But couldn’t. His hips failed him and he went back to the ground. Soon his head was on the ground; he seemed unable to lift it.

Here’s what you need to know: Dave listens to podcasts constantly when driving. One of his favorites is Stuff You Should Know. He quickly realized – thanks to a podcast he’d heard – that Emmett was possibly suffering from an excess of carbon monoxide. It’s a heavy gas; Emmett was laying on the ground. It was a still night; no wind to blow the smoke.

Dave carried Emmett to fresh air, away from the fire, and slowly, he returned to his old self. He lifted his head, tail started to wag, and he rolled to his back for a belly rub. A scary welcome to Camping Season 2023.

Other than that and the ticks (ew), the weekend was glorious. Dave did some extensive hiking on the Ice Age Trail that runs through the park. We spent some time on the patio at our favorite little brewery, HH Hinder. Many games of Farkle, naps, and coffee outside in the morning.

Dave had plans to make a quick trip to Sturgeon Bay to pick up a pinball machine (Is anyone surprised? I’m not.) and the dogs and I rode along. We stopped at Potawatomi State Park for a couple hours of hiking along the bay, and had a delicious lunch at a bistro/dairy along the route.

We stopped at Dave’s sister’s for a couple hours. I brought some cookies to decorate; Elizabeth’s a pro and three-year old Abby loved the piping bag!

Next up: Bong – a state recreation area that’s 45 minutes from home (and within my work territory so I can work from the camper) – in two weeks. We have camping reservations sprinkled through the summer and into fall; here’s to a fun camping season.