John Beaudet has had a lot going on in the past few months. The biggest news is that we decided to go ahead and get married January 1. You can see all the pictures and read the full story on my blog at this link.

Back in early December, John drove to West Palm Beach, Florida, to work at the PGA’s Web.com Tour Qualifying School. As he did for 17 years, Bodhi (as he’s called there) was creating the hand-drawn scoreboard for this tournament. This photo shows the Canadian champion with scoreboard in the background.

Another of John’s big commitments is to his Appalachian Trail maintenance work. As a member of the all-volunteer Tennessee Eastman Hiking and Canoeing Club, Bo spent the past several months replacing the old Koonford Bridge with a new 66-foot bridge in the Laurel Fork Gorge, Carter County, Tennessee. At 54, he is one of the youngest of this group of dedicated and amazingly skilled workers. (photos by club member Kim Peters)

Back in late summer, John got his new puppy, naming her Ivy to correspond to The Laurel of Asheville, the magazine where I work. After we’d had her just one week, our bigger dog, Dukkha, accidentally broke her metacarpal bone and Ivy had to be in a cast for four weeks. She’s finally healed, growing stronger every day and made her first trek onto the AT recently.

Ivy’s first day home, at 8 weeks old.

Bo holding Ivy at our vet during one of the splint-change visits, about 10 weeks.

Ivy’s first time on the Appalachian Trail at about 18 weeks old.

Dukkha “protecting” Ivy now that she is well.

And finally, the progress continues on Beaugarts, the addition John is building onto his existing house, in which the newlyweds will live together. Pictures tell the story here, and you can always call John to learn more details.

All for now,
frances