A New Adventure: the Future of FemaleSkiBum™

This blog was originally a project designated for me and my Golden Retriever, Vespi.
It was an opportunity for the two of us to turn small daily walks into bigger and bigger adventures. To find interesting and exciting from the mundane life that is every day.
In the beginning, it was amazing.
V and I traveled everywhere, venturing deeper and deeper into the woods beyond our home, as well as the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Adirondacks in New York.

But then Vespi got sick.

What were once multi day adventures turned into 30 minute tours around the pond or up the local ski hill. I took as many photographs of her as I could, cherishing these final moments that we could find ourselves, together, outside. Somedays were amazing and we would venture around like she was a puppy, others she would look at me with eyes that said she would go if she could.

And then, just two weeks after an ascent of Killington Peak,
Vespi was gone.

I hear the adventures calling and I try to find the heart to go.
But I can't.

It is like wandering the woods like a man without all five senses.
I get lost in the dark without her to follow.

We were a team, connected by either an invisible bond or a tethered one.
No more than 6 feet really ever separated us.
She was a medium through which I could communicate with the forest.
I started skinning so she could ski,
And now ...
There is so much more I could say, and so much more that I cannot.

Myself, and the blog, are at a loss.
This was our blog,
Vespi's and mine.

So now FemaleSkiBum™ and I, we must embark on a new adventure,
a new chapter.
As of this moment, I am not really sure
what that means or where it will take me,
Please bear with me as I rediscover both myself and FemaleSkiBum in the weeks and months to come. There will be some drastic changes and some that you will not notice at all :) but I WILL be moving forward. And if you have any suggestions or ideas toward which you would like to see FemaleSkiBum progress, please do not hesitate to share those with me at femaleskibum@gmail.com

I do, however, reaffirm my continued commitment to my basic principles.

1. I will make every day a magical one:
To find adventure, beauty, peace and happiness in the mundane.

2. I will encourage others to discover
peace and happiness through the art of skiing -
nordic, tele, alpine, snowboarding or alpine touring.

3. I will endeavor to play outside every damn day
(and post about it!)

4. I will find the Spirit of the Mountains within myself.