Photo taken this morning 9/21/2009. The sun was beautiful shining through the trees and grasses. It was also the first morning I’ve needed gloves on the morning walk! We are to have a somewhat strange week of warmer than normal daytime temperatures and relatively cold nights. The valley had its first frost last night – at my home it was 36 at its coldest.
Happy Monday and a good week to all.
It is nearly 10:30 p.m. … LATE for this morning person! Typically, I have been in dreamland for over an hour by 10:30 p.m.
I finished most of my work day at 6:30 p.m. and took Karl to Wayfarer’s for a walk. A long day that needed a break – Karl and I both needed fresh air, a long walk and a change of scenery. It has continued to be unusually warm and even at 7-7:45 when we were by the lake, it was above 70 and felt balmy. The walk was wonderful – the low bushes are more red every day, the sun was setting behind the Bitterroots to the west and the lake was barely ruffled by a bit of a breeze. We dawdled around the mid-range path I chose for this evening.
A quick stop for a few items and we headed for home as the sky was turning gold and pink with the last of the sun.
Dinner, a bit more work day and then time to wind down.
I knew I had photos from our Wednesday morning walk…
Sun on the grass, the rising sun – funny to be looking at them this night when it is late for me – but, it brings back that soft, beautiful morning… Crazy Time.
…I feel strangely exhilarated to be up this late!
Just before 7:00 this morning, the waning crescent Moon next to Venus in a lightening sky.
Crescent in mauve.
Slightly less than a week from the Fall equinox and sunset is now at 7:45 or thereabouts – 2 hours later than mid-summer. And it goes from light to dusk to dark faster with the lower sun angle. While the temperatures have been trying to imitate summer reaching into the low to mid-80’s, it takes all day to get there and about the time it does, it starts back down.
The days and evenings have been very pleasant and the nights wonderfully cool.
Our last walk tonight started at 7:30 and by the time we dawdled around the loop it was nearly 8 and on the dark side of dusk as we came back through the woods.
The work day, unlike the daylight, is lasting a bit longer. But, a dinner break, an evening walk and I get a bit of a second wind.
Karl is not a fan of evening work hours as those are typically his time. He prefers me to be on the floor with him, tossing a toy or just being near while he chews on a bone. Tonight, after a bit of that, I snuck back to my chair and all was companionable for a little late work…
..including Bob.
A walk by the lake just before sunset.
Echo Lake, 9/13/2009
I was sitting on the front porch with my morning coffee thinking as I often do, how fortunate I am to live in this funny little house that I love, with a quiet woods surrounding me, views of the mountains through the trees, my dog and my cat for companionship, work that I love, wonderful neighbors…the list goes on as one thing led to another in my mind. And then I remembered, September 13 – 3 years ago on September 13 I closed the purchase of this house and moved on to the property.
I “camped” the first night as I had arranged for the movers to deliver my household goods on the 14th. Prior to buying this little place Karl, Bob and I had been living in Wild Thing for seven months as we travelled the U.S. Those travels are chronicled in a log and photos via the link on the right: RV Log Feb-Aug-06 – here.
The longer story of how I came to find this place has been told twice on this blog: here and here.
I remember that first night on the property. I have never felt that the confines of Wild Thing were too small. If there is anything I get tired of when travelling in her, it is the proximity of other people and the need to be vigilant about noise and light in the early hours when we are up and about and others are not. So, this first night – to leave all of the blinds open, windows open and not worry if Karl barked, to be able to step out in the morning and let both boys out without leashes, to hear nothing but the sound of the woods – it was wonderful.
It was, however, raining on moving day morning. But the movers were not deterred and by the time they arrived the rain was very light. They were happy to be able to back the truck nearly to the front porch with the ramp hitting the ground practically at the front door. No stairs, a one floor house, a person who travels VERY light – they were unloaded and on their way in less than 3 hours and Karl, Bob and I had our quiet back. Also a lot of boxes!
After living in a space of approximately 300 square feet for 7 months, even my little 1200 square foot house felt roomy. Opening boxes with things that I had not seen in 7 months – some even longer as my previous move into a small rental house I knew was temporary and I left as much packed as possible – it was a bit like Christmas. In fairly short order, all was unpacked and put away, pictures hung and chairs set out on the front porch!
It looked a bit different then: peeling paint on the porch boards, blue trim, falling apart porch rails, the 6 foot high fence WITH electric wire to keep the deer out of the yard and garden.
My neighbor, Nancy, stopped over last night bringing me tomatoes and green onions from her garden which is surrounded by this same fence minus the electric wire. In a wonderful trade almost 2 years ago, she and her husband Mike, removed the garden fence and graded the area in return for the fencing material for their garden. You can read about that here and here.
We were talking about my fresh paint, and their current project: expanding their dining room, and home improvement stuff in general…mainly about how much we would like to do and yet how much we’ve done and remembering to not forget the progress made. And remembering to enjoy what we have and how much nicer things are each time a project is completed. It was nice to talk and laugh and acknowledge with another how grateful we are for where we are.
The garden has moved and in its place is a grassy spot that is peaceful and easy. I enjoyed the front porch from that first day I moved in but I do have to admit that I am very happy with its current look.
From the front porch: 3 years.