Daily life for most of us involves some seemingly mundane tasks.  Housework, shopping for groceries, yard work and other similar chores are part of simply living from day to day.  There is also a commute of some sort to work for most of us–mine is now one hour each way–but many of us have known even longer.  It is just a part of adult life on this planet for most.  None of that has changed for me since our move home to the mountains, but there are definitely chores and events in my life now that I could never imagined!  So let me share some of them with all of you.

1. 1.  Going to the local home improvement store to buy No trespassing and No Hunting signs.  The next day I hiked from tree to tree with a hammer and nails to put them up before hunting season began.  I got the plastic ones this year as the paper ones just don’t last.
6. 2.  Avoiding the bird seed and squirrel feeding areas of the same home improvement store because of the attraction it would be to the bears.
8. 3.  Watching my dog Riley chase a bear again just yesterday morning.  This bear just happened to be wandering across the road and Riley decided she would chase him until the bear turned on her and she luckily ran the other way.
10. 4.  Writing this blog–yes I truly had no idea that I would ever be sitting, writing, and sharing my life in such a public forum–but I just truly felt I had to share.
12. 5.  Waking up every morning and seeing things that make me want to immediately reach for my phone camera to try and capture it.  This of course is soon a disappointment when I return to load them on my computer to view and realize there is just no comparison to the immense color and nature of the scene I see and the small image on the screen.

6.  Becoming addicted to researching the history of the Appalachian people, crafts, and lifestyle.

7.  Taking Riley out at night and listening for sounds of coyotes, owls, and the occassional buck snorting.

8.  Sweeping my porches and seeing an occasional animal dropping.  I then find myself wondering if it is a raccoon, or possum?  Then I find myself thinking–perhaps I should have a gun–just in case?

9.  Seeing a huge wood spider on the deck pillar and immediately grabbing my phone to take a picture instead of killing it.

7.  Relishing silence and solitude.  As often and as deeply as I can!