Relative Something

I have no idea how far back into the archive folks explore when they discover Relative Something for the first time, but for me, as much as anyone, something has inspired me to do a little summarization. If you are new, let it be an aide to fill you in on the background that has led to the latest saga appearing in current posts.

Back in the fall of 2008, I began planning for a trek in the Himalayan mountains of Nepal. My son encouraged me to create a blog to write about the trip, and share pictures with all my friends and family. That is the origin of Relative Something.

I was happy to suddenly have this vehicle to also publish some of my poetry and creative non-fiction, as well as some of my photography. My wife suggested I put some of my poetry on my photographs, and the series, “Words on Images” was born.

I wanted to add content on a daily basis, and that commitment has proved valuable to me in more ways than I imagined. I have chosen to manage depression without medications, and thus, have developed a variety of healthy habits that I must practice daily. Writing to the world is a good exercise for me. Being able to write and share my experience with depression is healthy for me, and hopefully of value to others. It’s a win/win!

In the fall of 2010, Cyndie and I traveled to Portugal for, what turned out to be, an experience of a lifetime. A life-changing experience for the both of us. We went to meet Ian Rowcliffe and his family, whom we only knew online. He and I had met in the online discussion community, “Brainstorms.” The story and pictures of that amazing adventure became easy content for me to post to the blog.

There is also (usually) my annual week of biking and camping that happens in June with a large gathering of wonderful and amazing people, many of whom have become precious friends. I love describing those adventures for the blog.

Finally, with our kids grown, and the seeds of possibility planted by our experience with Ian and family in Portugal, we decided to put our suburban home of 25-years up for sale and hunt for rural property where we could have horses. Cyndie had always been fond of horses, but they were not really her primary focus. After reading Linda Kohanov’s book, “The Tao of Equus,” which explores the mystical nature of horses and the magical connection between them and humans, and after spending 2-weeks with Ian’s horses, Cyndie enrolled in an apprenticeship program with Linda’s Eponaquest Worldwide.

For the last year I have be posting chronicles of our adventure to sell our home, to discover the property beyond our dreams, then move in and make the transition from the suburbs to the country, and now achieving upgrades and modifications in preparation for the addition of horses.

We have dreams of creating a space where we can host workshops to share the things Cyndie and I have learned. The horses will be integral to the whole operation, but we envision the future addition of a dog, or dogs, and probably chickens.

If I had no other new adventures in my future to write about, the simple story of our daily experiences with this place we have named, Wintervale Ranch, will provide content that easily fills my goal of posting something daily.

Yesterday, we did chores around the house. Cyndie hung laundry out to dry on the line. I cleaned off the covered gutters.

I’m honored to have you all reading and following along.