I should be super-busy right now, trying to juggle my paying gig & yard work & practice hikes & bike rides. In fact, I should have been headed up to Umtanum Canyon this morning and hiking the Yakima Skyline trail this weekend. But I’m not. I am admitting defeat.

After a second round of gobs of snot & weariness – the most recent of which hit as we were heading out of town for a Memorial Day Weekend camping trip – I finally came to the conclusion that these “colds” I’ve been having probably aren’t rhinoviruses. Based upon my sinuses’ history, I decided it’s more likely I’m getting sinus infections. I went to a doctor yesterday with hopes of coming away with some answers, chiefly a sure-fire way to determine if my symptoms are the result of viruses or bacteria. Alas, there is no easy answer. But I did walk out with a prescription for antibiotics and a new-found dedication to aggressively treating my allergies. No more ‘toughing it out,’ no more ‘living with it’: I need to keep my sinuses unclogged & uninflamed as much as I can.

Over the Memorial Day Weekend, we camped in our favorite spot at Lake Wenatchee State Park – site #87. We love it because it’s protected from the wind. I chatted with a camp host and learned that our favorite site is in what she calls “mosquito alley.” The wind that blows through a lot of the other sites helps to keep the mosquitos at bay, so the still air in our site creates a great atmosphere for them. We brought the canoe, but it was too windy to use it. I brought my mountain bike, but fighting this infection was taking too much out of me; the bike stayed in the truck. I brought along hiking boots & trail running shoes, but nah, I didn’t use those, either. Jim was feeling the effects of a cold, too — at least I now know he didn’t get it from me — so we took it easy most of the weekend.

We did some fishing, although I should probably refer to it as “practicing casting” since we caught nothing. We found a pretty good spot along the Wenatchee River in the park. Jim was impressed with the beauty of my first cast. I was less impressed, because the leader came off the line — that thing flew through the air because it was no longer attached to anything. We both made donations of bait to the river’s fish, and I cleaned up other fishers’ discarded tangles of line. The next day, we found what would have been a good spot along the White River but for the current. The snow melt has been high for weeks now, and pretty much all of the rivers we saw were running really fast, cold, and high. We’re talking about going fishing near home this weekend, and I suspect it will be most “casting practice.”

We treated ourselves to a horseback trail ride last weekend. The trails are the same ones I’ve run and snowshoed & skied on, but it was a treat. We opted for the shorter ride (less than an hour), and that turned out to be the right choice. It’s been a long time since I’ve ridden an animal, but fortunately I recalled what to do when she broke into a trot. Sadly, Jim did not, and his animal took a bit more work than mine. His knees were pretty tired when we got back to the corral. It gave us a better idea of what to expect if we ever follow through with our talk of hiring an outfitter to take us up into the wilderness.

I’m well behind on yard chores. The tart cherry tree needs sprayed & netted to protect it from the flies that want to deposit their young in my pie cherries. I still haven’t run my drip lines to the garden beds, but the weeds are sure doing fine. On the plus side, things are growing. It appears we’ll have kiwis this year. We ended up with eight tomato plants, so I’m hoping for a bumper crop of tomatoes — and lots of fresh tomato pie.

Speaking of pie, I purchased a grain mill. I was pricey, but I pored over product reviews and I believe I got a good deal. I’ve used it several times so far, and I’m delighted. Ohmigosh – this thing ground white spring wheat into cake flour. (I’m still playing with the fineness settings — there are about a dozen!) I used freshly-ground flour for pizza dough & biscuits while we were camping. Biscuits. Made from freshly-ground flour. Ooooohhhhhh yeah! All those nutrients, all whole-grain. I’m a happy gal right now. There will be much baking in my near future!

But for now, I need to get over this damned sinus infection. I really do need to get in more hiking, and I need to get on my bike, and there’s all these chores to be done…