My Happy Place

When my sister and I were little, we spent every single summer in Spearfish living with our grandparents. Now, at 20, I am back for the summer. I am once again living with my grandparents while I complete an internship at the D.C. Booth Fish Hatchery. I have had lots of experience already explaining what my internship is and that I don't do anything with fish despite the name. I am the marketing and tourism intern. One aspect of my internship that is absolutely delightful is wedding coordination. The Hatchery has a beautiful area called Ruby's Garden that is a lovely spot for a private wedding. I have the task of setting up white chairs and basically being an uninvited guest to a total of eight weddings this summer! 

The gazebo I enter everyday to go to work. How whimsical!

Spearfish, South Dakota may seem like an odd choice for a favorite spot in the entire world but I am sticking to it! Everything about this quaint city is peaceful, especially my grandparent's house. They live about a mile outside of town on one acre of land. My grandpa defines the cliche "jack-of-all-trades" perfectly. He has 33 chickens that he collects eggs from. Everyday my grandpa, Roger brings eggs into the kitchen for my grandma, Jeanne to wash, she marvels at the complexities of a chicken laying such an incredible feat.

In addition to the flock of chickens, my grandparents have two ducks named Joey and Campbell. Within the first week of living here for the summer, I helped my grandpa build quite an elaborate duck house that became an addition to his workshop in the backyard. While my fingers were jammed into chicken wire, holding it taught as my grandpa nailed it to old wood that had sat behind the shop for who knows how long, he looked up at me and said, "And you thought we were just going to be building a simple duck house." I responded with, "No I didn't because you don't make anything simple." The duck house was constructed with nails that my grandpa has had for nearly fifty years and have been in a red metal Folger's coffee can for just as long and a wire cutter that was his dad's, my great-grandpa's. Lucky ducks!

Strips of lilac bushes line what seems like every neighborhood in Spearfish. There are a few bushes surrounding my grandparent's house and the sweet aroma drifts in through the kitchen windows. What might be so appealing about Spearfish to me is how it seems more colorful than any other place on earth. The Black Hills surround the town with a curtain of lush greens.

I am utilizing my summer out here for relaxation (most of which will occur as I sway in a hammock) and to accomplish what my goal for every summer always is: learn more about myself. What better way to spend a summer when you have just turned 20?!