The past week and a half post-COVID, my wife and I have been staying down in Boise. There are several reasons for this… One, we wanted to be closer to doctors in case our daughter had any COVID complications, and two, we are nearing the birth of our second child… As such, it makes it more complicated to live fully off grid during this time.
Sadly for us, that means that our mountain way of life is on hold for the moment… which means that we will (and are) dealing with fits of depression as we temporarily readjust to city life. To cope, we are doing as much as we can in the local area to stay outdoors and keep our feet firmly planted in the dirt as much as we can.
Thankfully, where we are staying is near the Boise greenbelt… A long paved pathway that runs the length of the Boise river through the city and its many suburbs. Daily walks and ventures into the foothills are helping to keep our sanity, and we even take time to find as many wild animals as we can. This past week, my daughter and I started to explore a woodpile near the banks of the river and were treated to a wet mink running us off from its den! Though I couldn’t trap it, it’s still cool to know that wildlife still finds a way even when it’s right on the peripheries of the city.
Over the coming week’s I will try to log what it’s like to be trapped in the city and how we manage to infuse our mountain roots into our every day city livin’ — Figuring out how to stay sharp shooting my bow, cooking game meats that we brought with us, and making sure our daughter spends most of her time outdoors!