Week 4.Day 3.It’s how I refer to my time here these days. I really need to cut to the chase this morning. Work in a few minutes and another busy day ahead. The totally lost words of the August 16th post titled The Return has been frustrating to say the least! I started piecing it back together but have decided to table it for now. It was a two part story anyway. If you’ve read some of my introductions then you are familiar with my attempts to write raw and honestly as I put it. Driving in this morning I realized something. It hit me with a sudden clarity. What triggered it actually was the rising daylight coming through the trees as I sped along the mostly empty highway headed towards Lake Placid. I snatch views as possible ever vigilant for the deer who love to feed on the roadside grass.They ultimately place themselves in my path. But I am trying to respect that the Adirondacks are their home and slowing down is the best way to coexist. So the trees! Solid and silent. Their branches and needles so finely detailed it was breathtakingly beautiful! There never seems to be a good place to park the car for a photo in these moments along the narrow highways of the Adirondacks. What’s this got with words on a blog post? Triggering. The title of this post was triggered. It’s a borrow on a Foo Fighters song I recently heard on satellite radio. It fits the mood and tone of my daily routine these days. There’s no internet service at my campsite so I do very little writing at night. 10 hours a day on the job site and the 1 hour plus daily commute leaves me somewhat drained I suppose. I truly do enjoy my work outdoors on the Olympic Center skating oval. It’s as raw and honest as my words. I show up clean and leave dirty. Wet sometimes after a day in the rain. After spending much of my career inside of buildings I relish the big skies overhead with the high peaks in the background. They shore me up with positivity. Always there if I needed to escape for some mountain therapy as a friend of mine calls it. There’s a lot going on in my life right now. It was my choice to be here in the first place. I came for a new experience. A story. Dollars and cents. Benefits of all sorts. It plays out like a movie script. Life is never perfect nor without challenge. How you embrace the challenge defines you I like to think. I strive to be a solid presence here. Much like the trees along the highway. I have been busy getting people’s stories. At the campsites and on the job. Many thanks to everyone who takes time to chat with me! You are all part of the MOONTABS In Motion project! I’d like to acknowledge several people from the last few weeks! Ron and Nancy.Jason and Darlene. David and Kelly. Mike and Sammi.Just to name a few. We find common ground in nature,camping,and in life. That’s the heartbeat of this project! Don’t get lost in “Taz-mania”!This story is far from over!
Category Archives: Welcome
Welcome to Moontabs
MOONTABS In Motion
I love creating words and phrases! Titles especially! One of the benefits of writing a personal blog is not needing to hand my work over to a supervisor for permission to post! One of my long term goals for the blog is simplicity. I desire to keep my work honest and raw. I’ve touched on this before. I dislike editing my own entries quite honestly. I don’t really worry about criticism of my misuse of the English language and sentence structure. If I bring you something edited to the point of being artificial then I lose something in the process. This too has been mentioned. It’s that sense of living in the “now” that I try to capture and get launched in a post. Quite honestly I feel some of my best work dwells in some of my short Facebook posts as we live our day to day lives. My “A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words” posts have been well received. It’s shortened to “APIWATW” if you happen to run across it. The title of today’s post is a phrase that I recently created to describe a future lifestyle choice I hope we can embrace shortly. If you’re following our story then you know about our recent purchase of an Airstream travel coach and pickup truck. These will be taking the place of a permanent home eventually for an unknown amount of time. I haven’t worked out all the details as we get accustomed to the proposed transition. But such answers will often appear to me suddenly while driving. The phrase MOONTABS In Motion occurred to me suddenly one day while driving around wiping out a myriad of small details. There’s a hazy destination in the term that I have yet to fully understand. Call it a feeling of gut instinct. It’s connected to nature and migration. Perhaps it’s just my desire to travel and explore. The imaginative side of me believes different. As does the romantic adventurer side. If you’ve ever read my Facebook profile then you know my simple quote: The answers to all questions in nature can be found. Never to have asked them, uncertain future bound. My true spirit energy is connected to the natural world. It’s where my stories originate most of the time and always have mainly. Sometimes writing can take a turn down pensive and pragmatic pathways that I risk getting lost on myself at times. I consider this a continuing introduction. MOONTABS In Motion is going to take a little work to fine tune. It’s travel. Adventure.The mundane days of trying to get it right and still stay positive. It’s about the unexpected and the unknown that hits you right between the eyes sometimes. It’s about getting knocked down and staggering back up. It’s about giving and sharing. Taking the time to say I can wait for a minute. I need to help someone today. I still have tomorrow.Motion is the key word. As in forward. That place you always wanted to head off for but just couldn’t for some reason. I don’t expect words will capture what I hope this simple term brings to life. It will express itself in deeds. Ones that say I want to make a difference. Not just for myself but for many. I recently had a meet and greet with Patrick Bourcy. He’s the creator of the Facebook group Just Go Outside. We shared a lot that day talking for several hours. It was nice to know that others shared the same hopes that I did when I began to put my ideas in motion. If you’re not familiar with Just Go Outside I think you’ll like it’s positive energy! I may be posting there more frequently soon in a somewhat different capacity. There’s a strength in a group of positive individuals that can truly make a difference to someone who might be struggling. Most of us have struggled at some point in our lives in some capacity. Some struggle everyday. MOONTABS is where I chose to count my blessings. To honor the simple gifts of nature and what they mean to me. It’s a journey underway. Decades in the making. It’s recognizing when ordinary is extraordinary. I hope you find yourself in the journey. You have your own MOONTABS. “Memories Once Ours Never To Be Stolen”.
Stalled Out
April 23rd. Life here at the cottage at Black Lake has been a little chilly lately! It seems that spring has stalled out for the moment!Not in the calendar sense but certainly in a weather sense. The cottage is small and I needed to declutter the place we now call Camp Chaos. The warm weather around the ninth of April lured me into a false and foolhardy place of security. I packed up my winter clothes and jackets. Moved them to the storage conex at the farm. Pulled out totes of shorts,swimwear, and water shoes. The weather turned in a fickle twist of fate. The warm, sunny days turned cool and cloudy. Rain and gray skies. The winds blew and the lake outside Camp Chaos rolled with dark and ominous waves. Cold in all manner of vocabulary and totally uninviting. The pellet stove that heats the camp didn’t stand a chance against the north born arctic winds that plagued us during sugaring season. The pellet stove ran 24/7 and demands a constant daily infusion of fuel. I modified my daily tasks and focused on a hand written list on my kitchen counter of things that I needed to accomplish.It numbered 35 items and I placed a Hi-Lighter next to it intending to attack it with coffee fueled vigor. But progress has been slow and despite my efforts the list still numbers 15. Yes I added a few things along the way but nothing serious. Mornings find me stalled out sometimes.As stalled out as these days of spring. Where does the energy go sometimes? Or the time? Such thoughts are as deep and mysterious as an unknown body of water we venture out upon. They keep me up late and wake me early. It came to me last night well before dawn. The pellet stove’s steady rumble of white noise had lulled me into sleep at some point. I don’t keep a clock nearby to remind me of the time these days. I try to sync with the natural order a non-nocturnal species. Gone are the days of morning commutes. Packing lunches and racing off to a busy day.Afternoon commutes home. Also gone was all the snow and frozen waterways. I suddenly realized that nothing had truly stalled but my attitude. The trees were still growing their leaves. Wild flowers still poked their heads up despite their blanket of recent snow. Nothing was stalled. Nature hadn’t. All the season had done was slow down a little. I then realized that perhaps what I had begun to perceive as a stalling out was not failure but simply a slowing of energy. I sip my morning coffee today with a fresh mindset. The energy I seek still surrounds me in nature. I will head out the door today searching for connections in nature. I won’t pressure myself to find words to describe this journey of spirit. They must arrive as a free flowing energy. What’s been the problem here? This seemingly lack of words and a stalled out mental engine of creativity?The silent and blank pages of a blog site recently?Nothing is truly blank. My stories live in my blog description. Connections with nature. Here lies your ultimate discovery. And mine. We control what we can and must adapt to everything else. Nature teaches us that. So today I won’t worry about the cool temperatures and cloudy skies. I’ll dig out winter clothes and quit whining about the stalled out spring. I will look for the power and magic of nature. Strutting turkeys and feeding whitetail embracing a new day of survival. Busy beaver and nest building birds. They took the stalled out spring as just another series of days. It’s a positive way to start any day I feel. Energy flows like waves. It takes the winds of change to stir them up sometimes. Things have indeed changed immensely these past few months. For the better. I seek to present a real time story of life. Not edited with false illusions of positivity and a perfect life. Instead a portrayal of something very real and honest. Perhaps the readers will find themselves in these passages of a real and ongoing journey of survival. That is the writer’s goal. To share emotion and passion. To make you feel something and take you somewhere. Your journey so very different than mine but maybe containing similarities. I can’t tell you everything but I can tell you something more. I dedicate this page and post to all who struggled yesterday and will struggle today. Health issues.Cancer. Indecision and choices that must be made. Employment and financial issues. I know far too many in these circles I travel who need our prayers of positivity. My blessings are many and I humbly acknowledge my good fortune. May all find peace today. It’s time to rise with the invisible sun.
46 times 2
Christmas Day draws near.A time of year where pensive thoughts seem to take root in my mind more so than usual. It’s tied to the end of the present year. A time of year where happiness and sadness can engage in a tug of war sometimes. I simply acknowledge that today as a part of my journey.MOONTABS is a journey of memories. Dreams and hope. That place where darkness that frightens can enlighten. For we can only see the stars when we step out into the dark of night. Happy moments can become the stars in our night skies. They shine there forever.As this year of many changes,challenges,and decisions winds down I must tally up all that went well. Subtract all that didn’t. I find myself with a solid total on the plus side! For that I know I am truly thankful and blessed!Those who love me made all this possible walking this journey with me!My son Zane recently asked me if I mentioned him in the blog. “Yes!I have!” I replied. I also mentioned that I jumped right into the blog and strangers might find it confusing! I further explained that as part of the evolution of the blog we would introduce the people of my journey under a welcome category. Today I introduce my 16 year old son Zane Alvin James Washburn. My only child. 42 years separate us yet we share a special bond. I could write a post dedicated to him everyday easily!Let’s jump well into his 15th year for now!He received his Adirondack 46er climber number in a letter last week. September 1st he finished his final mountain!I was with him and photographed his happy face!A 46er at age fifteen!His feet had summited all 46 of the ADK high peaks!A goal we set two years ago. One that seemed impossible at times given the ever changing circumstances of life. Stories live within stories of that journey.For his goal was also my goal! I would become a 46er beside him.It was a proud moment for me as we stood soaked and muddy on the summit of Allen Mt. We had begun our adventure in October of 2016. That June a much smaller boy had climbed the “Saranac 6”mountain Ambersand on a dark and rainy day while on our annual camping trip. There would be no views to greet us there. Rolling rain burdened clouds surrounded us in all directions. His happy, excited face foretold of larger destinations! He was hooked!Intrigued by the bare rock surfaces of the small summit.A dream was born then. We’d plan to start hiking the ADK 46 high peaks!Our quest began slowly.Cascade and Porter the first bundle for us.The peak of autumn foliage was our reward that day. School,work,and unforeseen consequences would slow our mission. We’d grab only two more in the autumn of 2017. Another day of rain to greet us. We’d hike regardless.It became our motto of sorts!Make the plans and follow through without question.We were a well matched pair.The mornings belonged to his youthful energy.The afternoons were mine from pacing myself.2018 would find me retired and the hikes ramped up!We’d take a High Peaks workshop class in June to gain knowledge of our quest. We’d hike 13 peaks that summer. Engaging in a tough man challenge between the two of us. Zane was growing and his tenacity would challenge me!His rock scrambling antics amazed me!We were still well matched.Neither winning or losing the challenge.It became a subject that seemed to worry him.Always asking who won the day.I relished the competition but conceded the game. “You are the winner” I told him! “It’s your time to be the leader.Time to accept the responsibility that comes with it!”. I took my place behind him with fatherly pride!That was a priceless reward!2018 was full of happy memories!Camping.Planning hikes while driving.Sharing in favorite moments.My boy continued to grow in so many ways.As did I.We began 2019 with a goal of peaks to summit. More camping.More weather. More driving. Zane now firmly the leader. His approach to hiking tenacious as never before. I would accept the role of follower but would push him hard.We set new personal peak bagging records. I’d learn to enter a mental state that would enable me to go that extra mile somehow. Zane would patiently wait for me to catch up many times. But he’d learn not to underestimate my own tenacity.Our bonds were strengthened on those mountain trails. We’d finish 2019 ahead of our goal.16 peaks completed by October. Christmas Day 2019 would find me in the hospital in Vermont awaiting surgery. Broken and in pain from my own carelessness riding a horse. My trail tested son had manned up that December 23rd afternoon.Faced his fears and got me into the truck.Another story within a story. In my hospital bed unable to walk I would face sleepless nights there alone. Haunted by fear.Would I even be Zane’s hiking companion to reach our goal?Fast forward. My challenge to overcome my injury is a different story. June 2020 plans for the final 13 were made but questionable. A test hike to Ambersand Mt. A 5.4 miles round trip that I struggled to complete.Time to reboot the plans. We’d need to camp the backcountry for any chance of success. Miles were my adversary now. We’d shoulder the heaviest packs we’d ever carried. Zane would wait for me patiently on the trail.He’d take his role as leader into the camp site. Setting things up. Helping filter our water. Offering encouragement when he knew that I was tapped. I’d fail him for the first time on the trail.Tap out in a col below Seward forcing a stop for the night.It was a rough night! Nicknamed Hell Camp we hit the tent before dark. Yet another story within the story. We survived that first backcountry trip with the four Seward Range mountains part of our total.A Saturday day trip to Santanoni Mt. would bring me to a mental state I call the Zombie walk. Success once again. A second backcountry trip would finish the Santanoni’s.The next backcountry trip would see us in the Great range cleaning up the remaining few mountains there. Gray would bring us to number 45. We were close!Not just in mountain peaks but as father and son. I’d leave for Pennslyvania for a work adventure to raise funds for my writing plans soon after. I’d return home to hike that final peak with Zane. It was an epic journey!One a short blog post can’t even begin to describe!So now you have been introduced to Zane!Yes in a more recent sense but that was my intention.There are many lessons here in this quest for the ADK 46. My son who has become my teacher in a full circle journey that continues! The words that wait on summits yet to hike! I am very proud of my son! His love of adventure and nature will continue to push me! As we drove home from our final mountain I asked him what he thought his most successful accomplish in life was to date. “Becoming a 46er Dad!”he replied. “Want to hear mine?” I asked. “You are my greatest accomplishment!” I replied as I fought back tears. Pondering your answer to that question is where I leave you today.
Beaver Sticks Build Beaver Dams
It’s interesting how simple outings in nature inspire a “flow” of words. As the blog develops I realize that flowing words could possibly become white water rapids for someone who just decided to jump in! Tossed around in a confused state not knowing where the stream was headed! Anyone who knows me very well knows my fascination with beaver ponds. My Facebook followers know my obsession with collecting beaver sticks! Jennifer knows better than anyone! My muddy collections messing up her car constantly!They’re the ultimate natural walking stick! A subject of future posts! There’s a much larger connection to nature however that my large furry friends have taught me!It’s nothing new really. It’s going to be a little tricky to follow perhaps! Don’t step out onto those slippery rocks just trying to get a better look! If you get wet you may decide to go home! There’s a path around the white water.When you see it follow it!These rapids of confusion slow eventually! How do I know this? That’s easy! I released the white water! Constantly poking holes in a large manmade dam of negativity upstream! The result was a flood headed downstream! I decided to jump right in and start swimming! Now you must be totally confused! Let’s get nature to slow down that white water! The beaver I mentioned? That’s where they fit in! Anyone who has ever wandered the north country has come across beaver ponds. They can transform the landscape very quickly! They can turn the tiniest trickle into a large sanctuary for themselves. (I always call the beaver in large lakes and rivers “lazy”! They don’t build dams).Beaver dams start small in wisely chosen locations most of the time. It starts with that one stick. Some mud. More sticks. Sometimes the work of one at first. With hard work and determination the beaver dam grows larger. The sticks and mud intertwined make it strong yet flexible.Another Beaver joins the first. A family group forms. More workers with a mission. Behind this dam a sanctuary forms.Calm water. Deep and protecting. A safe home for the beaver. Other species arrive and call it home. Often in time multiple smaller dams are created above and below the original dam. Relief dams they’re called. The waters of the stream have been tamed at this point. The white water rapids may not even exist anymore. Flooding no longer occurs in this habitat. The strong dams control the flow. They need constant maintenance and improvement. The transformation is amazing and inspiring! Enter the blog now! It’s that first tiny dam that has been created with the sticks and mud of life. We’ll add to it. You’ll find flat water to paddle behind the dam as it gets larger and deeper. We’ll build more dams. Call them “categories”. More ponds for you to paddle. They’ll all be connected with channels. Ones of words. You chose your destination. Don’t want to paddle today? Wade in one of the warm,shallower ponds.Your reflection awaits your arrival. Storms of negativity will threaten our dams. But they were built to bend.Adapting to seasons and circumstances.We’ll attend to the weak spots and shore them up.In time we’ll invite you to add your sticks to our dams. This is my vision for the blog .A sanctuary for all to find calm water and enjoy nature! This post inspired by all who say they enjoy my words! Also by my recent adventures with the Adk Girl! 🌲⛰✍️
The Look Ahead and Behind
It’s been a busy past few days! Working on last minute details as winter approaches in these last days of autumn. The Grand Harvest of collecting firewood continues but we reach a milestone of accomplishment. It’s like that with the blog as well. I still continue my introduction of myself for the moment. Most people who know me on social media will remember it was in 2018 when I first joined Facebook. Retirement in 2017 would see me finding more time to write.New beginnings and a ramping up of adventures. The works of that year and every year after continue to pile up! Unpublished but not forgotten. Facebook has been the ultimate practice writing site! Consider it an experiment of sorts! Several people suggested that I begin a blog. Thx!The message today dwells in the simple word “now “. My now is that place I choose to exist these days. It’s that place where I try to sync in with nature in seasonal harmony. Nothing new for me honestly. Only in a greater sense of appreciation and perception. I find strength and positivity as I dive deeper into nature. It’s something I wish to share at a deep emotional level while keeping it fun at the same time!Another experiment! My best writing I feel is in the emotion of the now.Day to day. Nothing staged.Not processed and prepackaged with artificial ingredients.Best served raw with minimal editing. Nature taught me valuable lessons in the raw honesty of hard truths. Very real at a primitive level. It’s about life and death.Everything in between. Diving deep is fine but it’s the stories I’ve learned that people seem to enjoy most! I’ve been experimenting on other individuals sites. In fact I’ve been kicked off one for crossing manmade boundaries! Gently kicked I’d have to add! They were patient!Nature exists everywhere on earth. That’s where the stories can get interesting! I fear my continued introduction may bore you to tears! Patience! Remember this quote! “In nature there is no hurry yet all is accomplished “! There’s time and plenty of stories! The now will trigger memories. New ones are made each day. It all ties together! That’s a promise I can honestly make. It’s time for me to pack for our next adventure! Consider this the end of formal introductions. Don’t worry comments will be accepted in time! I’ll jump right into it next time! But first we must live those moments! Taz
A Journey Begins With The First Step
My journeys in nature started some 58 years ago. I can’t remember my first steps as a baby.Who does? I do remember the need I felt to spend time outside in my earliest recollections. Journeys are the stories of our lives. All beginning with that first step. My first step into writing a blog might be best compared to a leap. Writing down my observations certainly not new to me. The story of the origins of the energy that would drive my hand must wait for now. It’s as winding and twisting as the vines of the forest bittersweet. Round and round the tree they grow headed for the canopy where the sunlight is the most intense. The tiny berries beautiful to some if they spot them.If I am the bittersweet at 58 my vine enters the canopy in its continued push for the sunlight. You have entered the “spin”! That place where I will begin to stray from my original message! I offer my personal invitation to follow the growth of my vine in the forest. My vine doesn’t grow in a flawless forest. Groomed and trimmed into something artificial. Nature is very real. Full of life and death. Struggles and survival.A balance of connection. My connections to nature are real.Grounded in the past and present. This vine thrives in the elements. That is the simple message. I thank those who have nurtured my vine. Family,friends,and the special lady I know as Adk Girl. My Facebook followers of the past two years. My administrator Gerry (my cousin and friend!) who patiently works with me. I must also thank my late father. For he raised me in a rural farm setting here in the St.Law. Valley. Encouraged and taught me the ways of nature. I also thank my son Zane! His love of nature and adventure fuels my energy. I ask everyone to leap into the forest of blogging with me!Why wait? The words can’t once the spin begins.🌲✍️