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Lately, one of the first things I do when I wake up is check the trail cameras. I might be getting a little obsessed. Over the last month, they've captured fisher cats, bobcats, deer, raccoons, and plenty of other activity around our property. Every morning, I want to see what happened while we were sleeping. We live on 12 wooded acres in Rhode Island, and I spend a lot of time walking these trails. I know the property pretty well. But the cameras have shown me another world that's been happening around us all along. I've been using GardePro trail cameras and recently wrote a separate review about them, including some of the wildlife they've captured. They've become one of my favorite ways to experience the woods when I'm not actually out there. Meanwhile, I've been spending plenty of time outside myself. I've been cutting wood, and there are now piles waiting to be split. Our existing woodpile is getting pretty slim, and we've reached some older wood that's been sitting around for years. It's not exactly ideal for starting a fire. So splitting and stacking wood is definitely on the fall list. I'm also hoping to build a small woodshed and a place to store our kayaks. I'd like to have it done by Thanksgiving. That's the plan, anyway. I've learned that plans have a way of changing. The leaves are already starting to turn. I've been working on the trails, organizing around the house, and having more campfires than I did for much of the summer. I love fall, although there's always a little sadness watching summer disappear. It seems like I was just getting ready for summer, and suddenly I'm preparing for fall and thinking about winter. I've also noticed that my anxiety has been lower lately. Maybe there's something about cutting wood, clearing trails, organizing things, and sitting around a fire that helps. These are simple things, but they give me somewhere to put my attention. In some ways, all this preparation reminds me of producing a project. You plan as much as you can. You think ahead and try to anticipate what you'll need. Then something changes. The weather doesn't cooperate. A schedule moves. Something unexpected becomes more important. Good planning doesn't prevent those things. It gives you a better foundation for adapting when they happen. Maybe I'll get the woodshed built by Thanksgiving. Maybe I won't. For now, I'll keep cutting wood, working on the trails, enjoying a few more campfires, and probably checking those cameras a little too often. It feels like yesterday I was getting ready for summer. Now I'm getting ready for what's next.
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