Friends of a Long Year is a weekly, private mailing list bringing stories to your inbox like the olden days. It's written in the spirit of Mary Austin. It was once called Place Without a Postcard, which neatly summarizes what I like to write about.
Hundred Acre Wood, South Carolina, U.S. – I once had the opportunity to float for a while in the confluence of two great rivers. It was hot, the middle of summer in the Utah desert. I waded out into the cold water and floated along for a while, half my body in the Yampa River, half in the Green River.
Athens, Georgia, U.S. – Three years on the road.
Hunting Island State Park, South Carolina, U.S. – Just keep driving. You'll get there. Eventually
Hunting Island State Park, South Carolina, U.S. – There is nothing like a good storm by the sea. The smell of salt on the wind, the slash and clatter of palms as the wind comes ashore.
Edisto River, South Carolina, U.S. – Sand, sky, birds, and water everywhere
Watson Mill State Park, Georgia, U.S. – Anyone living north of Georgia will probably chuckle at this amount of snow, but it was enough to put smiles on everyone's faces.
Watson Mill State Park, Georgia, U.S. – The quiet winter forest, full of that cold naked, dazzling light, is the perfect place to remain still and watch, learn.
Newport Beach, California, U.S. – The peculiar habit of leaving home for fun.
Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. – The world is large, feet are small, better get started.
Edisto Island, South Carolina, U.S. – Christmas at the beach in Edisto, South Carolina. The real Santa Claus is the ocean.
Edisto Island, South Carolina, U.S. – Last year we promised Elliott that he and I would have our birthday at the beach. This year we made it happen.
Watson Mill State Park, Georgia, U.S. – Land reciprocates. The deeper you go, the more it reaches out to you, into you. The more you become part of the land, the world, the more it becomes part of you.
Athens, Georgia, U.S. – Civilization is overrated, but it does have candy. And we sure do like waterproof clothes that allow us to play outside in the rain.
Richard B Russell State Park, Georgia, U.S. – Stumbling onto the Elberton 12-county fair with its rides, snow cones, horses, and the banana derby.
Raysville, Georgia, U.S. – Heading back to Raysville, our first stop after leaving Athens nearly three years ago
Fort Yargo State Park, Georgia, U.S. – Most mornings I am up early to hear the signature sound of whippoorwills and the occasional owl. By the time I'm having coffee the forest has shift to morning sounds: the song birds warbling, red-bellied woodpeckers drumming, the shrieks of a red-tailed hawk.
Watson Mill State Park, Georgia, U.S. – Reconnecting the dots under the forest canopy. We talk about the world as if it were some separate thing. We say "ecosystem" as if this were something other than the world we live in.
Athens, Georgia, U.S. – An opportunity came up to hang around Athens GA for a while and we thought, why not? But Athens has changed a lot in three years. Things are always changing, but this time things changed more than usual. The California disease came to Athens.
Athens, Georgia, U.S. – No oven? No problem. Grab your waffle iron.
Athens, Georgia, U.S. – The America family road trip is a pretty miserable experience in my view. Pack the kids in the car to drive all day and half the night to Disney World? No thanks. Still, it was time to get out of Texas, a road trip to Athens, GA fit the bill.
Tool, Texas, U.S. – Summer in Texas, what could go wrong? Thanks to friends and family, we had plenty of fun and beat the heat by staying in the water most of the summer.
Tool, Texas, U.S. – Birthday! We were stuck in Texas this year, but we managed to get a piñata. We found some papel picado at the bottom of a bag. We bought way too many balloons. As you do. We made do with what we had, where we were.
Plano, Texas, U.S. – We came to Mexico planning hang out, visit family, live cheap, save money, get some projects done. But sawdust in a hurricane has more permanence than our plans, so none of that actually happened.
Around San Miguel de Allende, Mexico – There's horses everywhere in San Miguel, but finding one the kids could ride was a little challenging. In the end, as always, it was all about finding people.