Camp Ponderful

Welcome to Camp Ponderful!

Four years ago my husband Gary and I took a leap of faith, packed up the fur babies along with all of our belongings and left Naperville, Illinois for a quieter and simpler life in fabulous Union Pier, Michigan.  It was one of the best decisions we ever made and to this day, we've not looked backwards into the rear view mirror even once!

We found ourselves a fixer upper and the rest, as they say, is history! Since landing in this amazing place, we've spent the last couple of years settling in, getting to know our home and making changes as we go....turning a lot of life filled bricks and mortar into our home one new paint color at a time.

When we bought our house, there were no flowers, no landscaping, just a big blank canvas waiting to be filled with whatever our imaginations could conjure up for us.  We had always built small ponds at our prior homes and decided that a big brush filled pit left in our backyard where the former owners had once kept their above ground pool would be the perfect spot for a large pond.  

One of my favorite views of our fabulous garbage picked statues; "Our Lady of the Pond." 

Last year we had the pond built and before the last drop of water could even be put into the beautiful new space, we were already out collecting beautiful plants, tadpoles, flowers, fish and art that would all become part of our amazing new living canvas and eco-system....  I am proud to tell you that we literally picked and planted every plant, placed every back breaking boulder and stone, and dumped every single shovel full of pea gravel ourselves.  From the sound of flowing water to the fish gliding effortlessly under the water, this little aquatic Mecca we were creating had soon, with a lot of hard work, become our own little slice  of Paradise.

Say hello to Roy, one of the four tad poles we originally "adopted,"  and certainly the most photogenic!

My husband came up with the idea to name the pond literally because we had garbage picked a fabulous old headboard that he wanted to put in front of the house as a sign and so
CAMP PONDERFUL was born.  A place to de-compress, to create, to celebrate nature, to pause after a long day and to dream about what is yet to come.

The view as I'm standing above the waterfall!  

Since putting in the pond, I am never outside without my camera so that I can capture the constantly changing scenery and wildlife that is literally right in our own backyard.  From the thousands of tadpole eggs we got to keep close watch over to Roy, and BlackBart, our frog friends that were among 4 of the tad poles we originally introduced to the pond, there is never a shortage of something to photograph, enjoy and share!  Baby fish show up when we least expect it, flowers are always blooming and changing and the quiet moments spent just being still and enjoying what we have built is never anything short of mesmerizing.

Life is good here at Camp Ponderful.  The projects are never finished, the work is never done, but I have loved being a part of this evolution and I am proud of the life that we are slowly creating here. This space that once was just a house has now become our home and it is a part of me now.  

My husband Gary!

This year as I was capturing what felt like my one millionth pond photo, I decided that the pictures I was taking were, for me, much more than just a cute frog (thank you Roy) letting me get close enough to take his photo.  This place had finally gotten me to be still, to slow down for a moment and to intentionally LOOK and actually SEE all the beauty that was literally under my feet right in my own backyard.  I didn't have to go searching for it anymore, the beauty was right here as it had been all along.

Somehow while I wasn't paying attention, this home of ours had become a metaphor for everything that had ever been missing in my life.  I am not sure exactly when it happened but one morning while sipping a cup of coffee and watching the fish on just another ordinary day, I realized for the first time in my life that I truly was home in every sense of the word.  I had never actually understood what that meant until I was able to feel it within the context of all that we had created.  This magical place is truly and finally, my home.

Me and our adopted rescue, Sammy....still not sure to this day who rescued who...

I decided to create a blog because from the pond to the projects to my own art work and all things in between, I wanted a place to share my ever-evolving story with you.  Building a home and creating a life are about much more than mere geography and to be honest with you, at 47 years old, I feel like I am just beginning to truly understand this.  I hope that through my blog, my experiences and my story, I can inspire you to celebrate the beauty of your own life too!  Thank you so much for being here! 

If you're ever in Union Pier Michigan, you'll soon be able to stop and say hello, visit my Ruby Slippers art studio here at home and if the weather permits, join us for a glass of lemonade by the pond!

Until then, I wish you an abundance of bliss and blessings!

Heather

Our fur babies.  Sammy on the left and Max on the right.