Middle Earth Ranger Forum

The forum description includes 'far-off places', so this seemed appropriate.

Sorry for my recent abscence. Life is very full, and the only stuff I'm able to work on right now (sporadically) are a few commissions.

In the meantime, it's now come due that I bring you all up to speed.

The growth of our daughters coupled with the distance we live from their grandparents (on either side) has led us to sell our Indiana house and relocate closer to family. Initially, the plan was Northern CA, near to Lori's side, as a few of you have been told, but that has now changed. Apologies for those I intended to meet along the way back home...that road-trip is now out of the picture. Someday, we'll meet up, no question there.

Our house has not sold, nor will it for a short while yet due to some needed improvements and switching realtors, but we will be headed in (hopefully) short order to a destination that looks to be Northern Arkansas.

Now, there ARE some perks to this. It leaves us in a far more reasonable location to attempt meetups with more of you kind folk, as the overall majority on the forum live east of Kansas. Plus. The terrain seems favorable. Plus. I'll still be within drivable distance (albeit further than current) of current trekking partners, notably Odigan and my recent acquaintance, Straelbora. Plus. And, of course, it puts me quite favorably close for meeting up with Wulfgar. Plus.

Then, there's the cost of living, which will move in a much appreciated downward direction, and jobs in my chosen field will be plentiful, allowing me to leave the warehouse behind. I'll be getting back in the saddle (literally) and resuming tree-work, either for the forest service, private tree companies, or a local challenge course somewhere, following up from my last job as a Zipline/Challenge Course technician and guide (Udwin, we seriously need to talk shop) and previous forest service experience, etc. I'll be pursuing my Arborist's certification, and getting going in that department again, which should get me outdoors more, and just might let me take the dog with me to work again. PLUS.

So that's what we've been up to! Still here...just full.

We'll keep you all posted! Cool stuff coming on the forum for everyone, so stay tuned!

Hey Greg, thanks for the update. A bit of a bummer that the roadtrip and meetups are out of the picture, but you will be much closer to me, directly south of Missouri. Hope to see you successfully sell your house, and I wish you luck in the pursuit of your career!

Thanks for the update Greg! You're continuing to be the Ranger's Ranger

Ken

The best of luck to you Greg, busy isn't always bad as long as you can manage it as it comes! I hope you and your family can enjoy all the changes and new experiences and I will bend our thoughts and prayers to your settling in and finding what you need when you get there!

Sorry to have lost you as a 'neighbor,' but hopefully, work and home situations will work out better.

I think that you will really like Arkansas, there are so many places to explore in the Ozarks and Ouachita. Plus there's the Roman site. What town are you looking to move to, or near?

We're looking at Russellville, but AR is small enough that anywhere is 'close enough to visit'. You'll be right across the river...unless a house in Dardanelle piques our interest.

We're visiting for a few days in two weeks to get a feel for the town and do a little house-hunting. I intend to escape to at least the foothills of the Ozarks for an afternoon. When we're there, if I can get away for a few, maybe we can grab a burger or something. We're coming down the 27-30th.

Great, I'll mark it on the calendar. I'm actually going out to explore part of the Ouachita trail this weekend with my dad and a couple of friends. There is a great hiking group out of Russellville that does some really nice outings too. I'll pm you with my phone number.
If you don't have time to get to the hills, I can at least show you some a couple of the state parks we have nearby.

Life continues to be full, but I wanted to throw this out there for you guys specifically.

Here I was, this afternoon, after all of the Easter shenanigans were over and done. The girls were napping, and I was getting ready to do some cleanup in the garage and/or other menial labor, feeling a bit overwhelmed with my current dance card. Then I saw my bow and quiver sitting in the corner of the garage, and said "Aw, heck with it." Went outside and shot for half an hour, something I have long missed doing, and haven't done consistently for over a year until my new arrows arrived.

All the stress melted away, and I once again felt very much more the ranger and very much less the tree-trimming box mover with way too much on his plate.

Thanks, guys!

Glad to read that. It's far too easy for stresses to stack up.

Are you still in IN and transitioning to AR? I'd like your opinion on clearing some trees for a pond site.

Still here, yes.

Transitioning? I wish. House hasn't sold yet.

As for the other...happy to help! Just give me a few weeks to let things calm down...renovating the house this month to (hopefully) attract some buyers.

Greg wrote:Life continues to be full, but I wanted to throw this out there for you guys specifically.

Here I was, this afternoon, after all of the Easter shenanigans were over and done. The girls were napping, and I was getting ready to do some cleanup in the garage and/or other menial labor, feeling a bit overwhelmed with my current dance card. Then I saw my bow and quiver sitting in the corner of the garage, and said "Aw, heck with it." Went outside and shot for half an hour, something I have long missed doing, and haven't done consistently for over a year until my new arrows arrived.

All the stress melted away, and I once again felt very much more the ranger and very much less the tree-trimming box mover with way too much on his plate.

Thanks, guys!

This is great. That's what I love about archery. Some people have golf, we have archery, haha. It's very zen, in a way - just you, the bow, the target. Focus, calm, and stillness. It's almost meditative, really, and when you're doing it outdoors it feels even better, in my experience. Sometimes we all need those "Aw, heck with it" moments. They keep us sane.

Greg I am so happy to hear you are taking some time to feed your own ranger spirit. One needs to recharge the batteries from time to time else we can't be as effective in the other parts of our life.
Keep being an awsome Poppa, Husband and Ranger!