I got a job offer last week, and took it.

Looking ahead to leaving Bloomington, I suddenly see very clearly the many wonderful things here, and how deeply I have become involved in certain aspects of this community over the past 6 years. There are of course the university and our colleagues, but there's much more as well: going to church this morning, I realized that I was going to have to say farewell to the church where we got married (and the pastor who married us) and where I was able to help with the winter homeless shelter. Then there are our immediate surroundings--our house, imperfect but comfortable; the garden(s), where we'll miss what look to be bumper crops of squash and fall raspberries; and the neighborhood that we've gone on so many walks through. There are also the broader benefits of living here: proximity to my grandparents, wonderful state parks and forests, an unbeatable (I'm pretty convinced that term should be used literally) concert schedule, and even cheap flights out of Indianapolis.

Several things will make moving easier. First, the knowledge that we'd have to in a year anyway. Also the little unfortunate things here: perhaps I won't find such a thoughtful pastor where we're moving, but at least the services are probably less ridiculously long, and perhaps we'll have to downgrade to a smaller apartment or longer commute, but at least the kitchen floor probably won't give me splinters or be almost impossible to sweep.

So we'll move to Amherst, MA sometime in August, and I start my one-year contract at UMass September 6. The salary dwarfs our combined income here, Sara will be able to work on her dissertation full time, and I'll get to teach some really fun-looking classes and get some great experience. We're also told that the 5 colleges area is beautiful, and it sounds like there are more interesting shops and things to do than perhaps one can find in Indiana. And hey, it's a kind of homecoming for me: I was born in Boston a little over 28 years ago. I didn't get to live there long then--but now I get my chance!

Here are those panoramic pictures, presented with minimal text interference. I reduced the file size to get them uploaded more easily, so you can't zoom in very much, but they'll give you the idea!

First, a view on our backpacking trip in Zion National Park:



Some views of Bryce "Canyon":





And a view of the nearby Red Canyon:

We're back!

The garden had rabbit damage when we returned, which initially I was very upset about. The rabbit ate all of our backyard garden's beets, spinach, and peppers, and a few of our peas, leeks, lettuce, and tomatoes, and a kind of flea beetle has been munching on our eggplants. Since then I've been coming to terms with this. It helps that our community garden plot has some incredible-looking beets and a few surviving peppers. In addition, the beans and squash in the plot are incredibly happy. But the high point is this:



This is the image of perfection.

I imagine Nate's blog is going to take care of the trip report, as his pictures always do the best at capturing scenery and scope. But f I can figure out how, I'll share a few of the panoramic photos I stitched together. Hopefully soon...

In a few days, we leave for a Chenette vacation camping in Utah. Upon our return, we'll almost immediately leave for Canada to celebrate Oma and Opa Bakker's 60th anniversary. This will be a period of changes!

Even by the time we get back from Utah, I imagine our garden will be pretty different. The lettuce may have gone to seed and gotten bitter from this incredible heat; the arugula, spinach, and herbs will certainly run to seed. There probably won't be too many strawberries left. But the the peas should still be going, the raspberries should be in full swing, and we might even be able to harvest a few early beets when we get back from Canada. And if they keep growing as they have been the past week, the squash plants will be huge!

My summer schedule will also have changed. The day after we get back from Canada, I start teaching 90 minutes 5 days a week. I absolutely cannot wait to teach this class again, because I love the music so much, but I have been relishing the past two weeks. I've been teaching myself more web design and coding skills (CSS and HTML5, currently working on Javascript), doing a lot of weeding, and making (I think) some real progress on dissertation-related research. I'm not sure how much of that will be able to continue. But a few raspberries would make up for a lot....