It’s been a while since I’ve written here, but a recent outing with my friend Laura felt like a lovely reason to return. We hiked the Lighthouse Loop near Deception Pass in Washington, leaving about eight of my hand-painted rocks tucked into trees along the trail. A little hide-and-seek for passing hikers—and perhaps a small, unexpected joy to take home. I love painting these rocks, and sharing them makes it even more fun. On such a popular trail, they may already have found

My day usually starts before 5:00 am when we have puppies living in the house. At 13 weeks old they are crate and potty trained and have...