"Summer Projects"

Do you recognize the man on the left? His name is Don Converse and I recognize him because he in on the City of Dunwoody Zoning and Planning Commission. The farmers market issue came up before that group back in April. Don then attended our Sustainability Commission meeting, and then made a comment in support of our board at a City Council meeting. I had left before he spoke and listened to his comment on the audio that John always posts on his blog.

Don said that although we were bigger "tree huggers" than his taste, he thought we were doing a great job. The comment made me laugh because if you knew our group, you would never call us tree huggers, if being called tree huggers is considered a derogatory comment. We're moms and dads and business owners and community volunteers. I have yet to see any of us hug a tree (although, perhaps Claire might since she's the executive director of the Dunwoody Nature Center and she is surrounded by them all day!) Don himself, in fact, emailed me the next to say he didn't mean the comment to be negative. He then told me that he, in fact, was heading out on a five-week hike on the Appalachian Trail!

I have been getting updates of Don's hike from his wife, Karen. Here is a picture of the hiking group from a hike they took together last fall, plus brief descriptions of each person, according to Karen:

Don: retired scalawag from Georgia

Lorraine: from near Clearwater, FL

Tom: the organizer, retired salesman from Columbus, Ohio

Carol: retired nurse, from N. Carolina

Dale: retired Superintendent of Schools, from Kentucky

An additional member this year, not in this pictures, is Jesse, Vietman vet, gregarious retired Postal worker and a gardener, from Alabama.

Don plans to hike from Daleville, Virginia to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. While I was mowing my lawn yesterday and thinking how much more challenging the push reel mower seems this year than last, here is what Don did:

Today was a 13 mile day and the trail was rocky again, creating some pressure on Don's blister from rolling around on the rocks. After awhile, he decided to do some "road walking" on the Blueridge Parkway instead of the trail, to take some of the pressure off. Unfortunately, about that time there was a 2-hour downpour so his shoes got pretty wet and of course that didn't help matters. By the time he arrived at Rock Mountain Shelter, the tape had slipped off and it was not pretty! Hopefully, his shoes will dry out overnight. Don has decided to sleep in the 1941-era shelter tonight because there's not much level ground nor convenient trees to hang his hammock on.

A nice surprise happened around lunchtime at a road crossing, another incidence of "trail magic". A group of about 5 people had set up their grill and were cooking cheeseburgers for the hikers who were passing through. They were also handing out baby carrots, nectarines, bananas, and softdrinks. Apparently the group performs this service every Memorial Day, a much appreciated treat!

Tomorrow's hike will be only about 7 miles to the Loft Mtn Campground where there are showers and a store that sells hamburgers and milkshakes! Don's looking forward to that!

I like thinking about Don out there because I've never been on the Appalachian Trail, although my older daughter spent three tentless nights on it last year and my neighbor spent five months hiking the entire length of it from Georgia to Maine a few years ago. I like thinking about it because I was surprised to find this out about him, and that reminds me how important it is to get to know people, especially because having a sense of community connection is a large component of sustainability. I like to think about Don and his group out there also because it challenges me to come up with my own "summer projects."

This summer, in addition to my work (editorial and corporate writing deadlines), civic volunteering (Sustainability Commission and the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee), family, and garden, I am:

* Learning how to cook with a solar cooker (here's why)
* Mowing that darn lawn
* Working on a new book proposal
* Reading a pile of books in the hammock, as usual! (Here are more.)
* Learning how to make natural dyes

What's your summer project? And what do you want to bet that Don might hug a tree or two in his travels?!