Adjusting to home life

I don't often get a chance to knap during the summer, but
 towards the end of the season this year, a geologist friend
brought me some Missouri chert that I couldn't resist trying.

The transition between the summer field season and the rest of the year can be challenging.  I don't know whether its more jarring to step out of my regular life in the spring or to be thrown back into it in the fall.  I'm not exactly sure how to explain what it feels like to be gone into the field for three or four months.  Its like taking all of your working hours in a year and lining them up end-to-end and then living them all in a row from June to September.  For those months, the only people you see are colleagues, the only places you go are to your workplace, and all conversations are work related.  The rest of the year is your home-life.  Fortunately, I like my summer work, so I look forward to it and miss it when its gone, but I also like my routines.  It takes time to settle back into my fall/winter patterns and judging by the backlog of e-mails and phone messages it should be a busy winter in the workshop.

Photo Credit: Tim Rast