By mid-September, we were starting to feel like locals. We had our preferred grocery store and could get there without using GPS. Even Michael was starting to be able to identify all the invasive plants because I pointed them out along the roadside everywhere we went. The weather was more enjoyable and there was an explosion of yellow with all the Tickseed, Crownbeard, and Golden Rod blooming. On the Refuge, my main tasks were new ones – mowing (not just mowing, but also driving the mower around) and water sealing a massive amount of woodwork at the most visited tract with John and Ivy. Lauren and I also started doing…

Yeah, we had never heard of it either. However, this peninsula, bordered by the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers in northeastern VA is a great example of the kinds of new places that we hope to get to know during our US travels. We arrived at the beginning of August and were welcomed by Hurricane Isaias. Thank you, 2020, for continuing to induce anxiety about our decision to live in a structure not secured to the ground. Our NOAA weather radio (I knew we would need one of those) waking and alerting us that we needed to seek shelter from a tornado in the area. Our home…