@tishtoshnm: Oh hun, I don't split the wood with a maul, I use a 3-ton, PTO hydraulic woodsplitter! We burn 5 to 6 full cords every year and if I had to use a maul we'd have frozen to death years ago! Remember, the very first thing on my list of DH's jobs was keeping the d*** cars and machines running, and that includes the woodsplitter and its power supply. I probably glossed over it a bit in my post above, but we had some really hard times over chores in our early years, too. I blush to remember quite how grumpy, cranky and just plain, b**chy I was about it. Sometimes (but more often not, I fear) with justification. Like when the above-mentioned woodsplitter was often on the fritz for months on end preventing me from getting the wood done in time for good seasoning. Of course, I could have hired someone to either bring the wood (not split the way I would have wanted it) or to fix the wretched machine (not done the way he would have done it) but instead we squabbled over it, endlessly. Ex: When we married we were both wood-burners. I was horrified to discover that my DH was content to dig wet wood out of the snow and throw it hissing and dripping on to a smoldering fire. I need to have wood stacked up two or three years in advance to feel secure. I needed to have wood separated by species so I could match the BTU-load to the heating demand of the day's weather. Because I have small hands, I needed to have the wood split into relatively small sizes so I could pick up a log in one hand and load it safely. I needed to have dry kindling in the house every morning to re-kindle the fire. I am terrified of chimney fires so I need the chimney swept regularly (multiple times per burning season). I get great psychic comfort from neatly filled woodricks. I also was at home all day in a house heated ONLY with wood, while he was away in an overheated office. (Once he began working at home, the need for dry wood seem to be driven home to him for some reason. Hah!) Finally, it dawned on me, or maybe desperation took over, and I took command of the fuel issues. (Except for maintenance of the machines.) And Peace finally reigned in our household on this topic. But I really did have to get over my own embarrassment that I had taken over this "masculine" task. I used to be quite cagey about revealing who actually did the wood work in my family. What I learned from this was that I could get it all done, alone, and done in the way that made me happy. (Except for fixing the machines, which is still an issue.) And it taught me that I would be able to continue to live here if I was left living here alone. (Except for fixing the machines, of course.) We gradually started to practice a regime of "whoever is bugged the most about something, does it. And for the rest, who cares?" Not elegant, but practical and it certainly makes for a calmer, more generous and loving household. And that, over multiple decades, is pure gold. L. PS: There are different weights of splitting mauls, you should try more than one if you have to do it by hand, as I did before I married Machine-Man. Handle lengths also make a big difference, too.

I'm taking a new approach. I had a weightlifting set with a weight bench, but it was taking up half of a room and in my tiny house that was just too much room. So it is gone and in its place I have 3 sets of dumbbells in a large basket (light, medium, heavy) and an exercise program called Stack 52, a set of cards that illustrate and give info on a total body workout using only dumbbell weights. Less space, and the card method is kind of fun, keeps it interesting, you can shuffle the cards and deal yourself a new set of exercises every day. The weights, along with dog walking and bicycling, make the road to fitness fun. I think the reason many people start and then stop exercise is that it gets boring, but if you have several things you like to do, you have the opportunity to choose what you feel like doing that day, and adjusting for bad weather/extreme heat or other reasons you may not want to do outdoor exercise.

Curious about what you mean by hoping it prepares him for a job working in a resort-do you mean as a college side job or as a career? I think any program that helps a kid learn responsibility is a good one. While this sounds like it's all fun & games, it really does teach skills that translate into real world skills. It's not all about white water rafting, it's about learning to work as a team and knowing what your skills can bring to the successful outcome of the trip. There are many careers that focus on outdoor adventures, and not everything requires a college degree. I know of many successful people who didn't go the education path, instead went the technical/vocational path and are making 6 figure incomes without any college debt. On the other hand, my kids who went into social sciences (social worker and early education instructor) needed the minimum of their BS and still only make $40K/yr. But my son who is a self taught chef makes more than his social worker sister. In light of the recent scandal of the parents paying for their kids to get into school by faking it, it goes to show that not all kids are college material. I didn't push my kids to go, but helped those that did (I was not able to fully fund my daughters education so she had to get loans-oddly I made too much for her to qualify for grants, but not enough to fund her schooling and scholarships were out of the question even though she tried hard to get them). The other two who didn't go, and who also struggled with HS, ended up doing well on their own. They're smart and learned a lot of life experience working for DH and I that helped them to succeed without college. I wish the best for your son. I think this NOLS program sounds like something he could get something out of. Might wake him up and realize he's going to have to actually WORK to make his way in the world. I'm afraid too many kids think they're just going to be able to go out and land a job and make $80K/yr with no problem. I know of kids who went to college who think that way and the reality of the situation was that since they just got liberal arts degrees didn't guarantee them a job.

I live in NYC and had been staying in my apartment up until a few days ago when I finally ventured out to get some fresh air and walk through a park near my apt. I was surprised to see many people without masks. Even tonight, after Cuomo said people must wear masks if they can't socially distance themselves, I saw people without masks. There is no way to socially distance yourself in the city. I'm wearing a mask but my glasses fog up. IDK how to solve that problem. But to answer the question, I was going out onto my fire escape for fresh air before this and there are many more birds in the area behind my building. I was thrilled to see cardinals, bluejays and robins. Before I lived in the city I was a backyard birdwatcher, so this made me very happy. They are probably always there, but with the new silence in the city they are more noticeable, you can hear them singing. I had a sparrow peeking in my window checking out my parakeet the other day, so funny! More creatures are comfortable coming out in the city with less people around. This is Riverside Park. Before this, the raccoons would just peek their heads out of those stones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhLitqe60Jw