marriage can be tough, and sometimes things just don't work out. it has always been just the two of us for the past twelve years, but it looks like that will no longer be the case. i will keep this going by myself, the same ol' spirit will still be captured but with a shift of focus to traveling and enjoying life with friends, new and old. bear with me as i try to sort through all this. i mulled over just deleting this thing altogether, but i'd hate to lose touch with the amazing community of people this simple little blog has put me in the midst of. to all those who have supported me and sent inspiring messages over the past year of this project, i thank you. keep on keepin' on. jeremy.


Buffalo Farm - Gilford, New Hampshire

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as a kid, my parents would drive a few miles out of the way so we could pass this one gorgeous pasture filled with buffalo in the town we lived in. fast forward to teenage years, your mind is consumed with your high school sweetheart, finding sweet skate spots or dance dance revolution. you forget about those exciting car rides and the beautiful lands your home offers.

oddly enough, the owners of this farm are now family through marriage; i suppose it may not be that strange when you grow up in a small town like laconia, new hampshire.

bolduc farm was built in 1776 and is the oldest continuously running sap house in the united states, first tapping the maple trees the year they built the farm. they also raise the aforementioned buffalo because (in the words of ernie bolduc, the owner) “There is nothing more American than the buffalo!” 

 

White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire

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"holy shit, i can't believe this is where we grew up."  

as we roar north on highway ninety three night leaves us in my rearview mirror. the white mountains in the distance, a range so big it seems to stay the same size even as we get closer. what seemed like an all day trip as a kid in the back of my mom's mini-van turns out to be only an hours drive from my childhood home. 

the last time i was in these mountains was nine years ago for a high school field trip, i was a senior and there was one week left of class. the only thing on my mind was getting out of this podunk place, now i'm trying to jam as much into one morning as i can because i don't want to leave. 

it's cold up here. the last days of april and there is still snow on the side of the road and the mountain tops, the rivers and lakes are frigid. the freezing temperatures that we hated growing up actually turned out to be what shaped our character; tough, independent.

footloose, always on the go chasing that feeling of freedom, seeking to be anywhere but where we are. it's the reason we left new hampshire in the first place, the reason we moved to philadelphia, the reason we rode our bikes across the country, the reason we moved to austin and the reason we are constantly on the go. i'm glad i left, i believe getting away from the familiarity of your childhood is important, but making it back up north a little older, and maybe a little wiser, a feeling of gratitude washes over me; "this is where i grew up". 

"All the past we leave behind,

We debouch upon a newer mightier world, varied world,

Fresh and strong the world we seize, world of labor and the march,

Pioneers! O pioneers!"  Walt Whitman 1865