Karyn Johnson
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A woman in the great outdoors, part 2
If you haven’t read part 1, click here. Ohio Women’s Outdoor Adventure, Day 2 I am up on Saturday morning before dawn, as I am most mornings. Breakfast isn’t until 7:00, so I wander around the lodge grounds, hoping to catch the sunrise. From the terrace behind the lodge, I can see the harvest moon…
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A woman in the great outdoors, part 1
Ohio Women’s Outdoor Adventure, Day 1 The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has a weekend program every year called Ohio Women’s Outdoor Adventure (OWOA). Women from all walks of life spend the weekend at a state park lodge learning outdoor skills. Activities include fishing, boating, shooting, archery, Dutch oven cooking, orienteering, geocaching … the list…
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Island Weekend
We just got back from a long weekend in Put-in-Bay. It was my husband’s first time visiting Lake Erie, and he loved it. I haven’t been to Put-in-Bay in more than 20 years, so it was nice to go back. We decided to take the Casita and camp at South Bass Island State Park. In…
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Tomatoes, Cheese, and Memories
It’s finally tomato season. This year, I’m growing a variety called Cherokee Purple, which become a deep rose color when ripe. They are glorious. Juicy and delicious. (They have also been resistant to pests and rot, unlike the Better Boys I grew for the past two summers.) I’m eating a lot of tomato and cheese…
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My First Summer as a Grown-up
Twenty years ago at this time, I was in England, studying abroad for the summer in Bath. It was my first time outside the U.S. My flight from Columbus to St. Louis (and then to London) was the first time in my life I’d even flown on a plane. (TWA, and that airline hasn’t…
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Grit and Determination: On Ultrarunning and Life
My brother, Marcus, is an ultrarunner. He has finished (and not finished) several long-distance trail runs over the past decade or so, with the maximum distance being 100 miles. Two weeks ago, he came back to Ohio to run the Mohican Trail 100. Mohican is a special place for us. We went there frequently as…
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Meet The Eggscape Pod!
We picked it up Monday morning in Texas and spent three days/two nights driving it back to Ohio. The first night was at Sunrise RV Park in Texarkana, Arkansas. It’s next to a truck stop and literally right off the freeway, so it’s a great place to spend a night. We had full hook-up and…
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The Nest
For me, one of the great joys of spring is when birds choose to nest in my yard. We had robins and mourning doves last year, and we did again this year. The robins decided to nest in my weeping cherry tree, low enough that I could photograph it fairly easily. The babies just left…
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Evolution
I’ve been keeping some form of a journal or diary since elementary school. It all started with a little diary that locked with a key – perfect for writing third grade secrets. As I got older, I would use spiral-bound notebooks or the nice journals you buy at Barnes & Noble. (I often got them…
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Garden 2019
Last summer, when I wrote The Accidental Gardener, I was in the middle of my second successful growing season. My stepdad helped me, insofar as choosing the plants or seeds and planting/sowing them. I took over from there. I decided this year would be different. I would choose my own plants and seeds and plant…
Karyn Johnson 