Good morning, y’all.
I’ve learned a few things in my first week living in the mountains. It’s frigid. Feel like temps in the negatives, actual temps not rising above single digits, the old house has a draft both upstairs and downstairs, two sweaters are necessary. I’ve also learned snow storms create a magical winter wonderland, the snow blows around and looks like glitter falling from the sky, this house is most cozy when the snow is falling, and the mountains are filled with so much life from trees, birds, rabbits and most often present, deer.
There has been something rather calming amongst all the chaos of moving a young family to an old mountain home in the coldest month of the year. I can only attribute the calmness to being so close to nature. Waking up each morning and watching the sun rise on the tree tops while sipping coffee, the kids have been playing every morning without having our television hooked up, home cooked meals feel filled with more love and care.
There’s a silence out here that I have never experienced before. I’ve always lived in a city or right on the outskirts of a city. The noises I’m used to are planes, cars, neighbors and hustle and bustle. The noises of a rushed life. While we have neighbors, the only sounds I can hear throughout the day and night are our own. Coming only from our home and the people who are in it.
The forest offers us a reminder that it’s up to us to create our own warmth in these cold winter months. The sun comes up each day and provides warmth but not enough to sustain life if life is not willing to create their own warmth as well. The sun offers so much but cannot carry you to the end.
The calmness comes from feeling like you’re the only one around. Aside from the animals of course. Feeling like you’re surrounded by the forest and being blanketed by Mother Nature. Winter is such a beautiful time to observe animals and the inner workings of the forest. A few days of staring out our big picture windows and I’m slowly learning the habits of some of these woodland creatures.
The mountain chickadees travel in little groups. If you see one, others are not far. They look like little puffed up, grumpy old men. They’ve been testing us out. Getting closer and closer each day on the deck. One actually flew right up to my face and then fluttered off.
The neighbors (the only house we can see from our windows) have bird feeders and a lot of deer show up. In just a week, I’ve noticed the same deer family come to the feeders at almost the same time everyday. The babies are scared and alert while mama always stands guard while they eat. Nature in my mind, equates resilience. There was a small deer limping around 2 days ago. It’s poor leg was just hanging there. We worried the deer wouldn’t make it through the night or be able to keep up with its able-bodied family. To our surprise, we saw the deer yesterday and it was walking and putting pressure on it’s leg! A pleasant sight to see while we all sat down for dinner.
I’ve noticed the rabbits out here are FAT. It’s incredible what being in their natural habitat does to them instead of when they’re roaming around the cities. We’ve seen a ton of rabbits at the townhouse. They weren’t thin but they certainly weren’t this plump. They were always on high alert at the smallest of noises but the ones out here in the mountain are just healthier looking and seem less paranoid.
The goal here is for our family to focus and grow our connection with the Earth, specifically the forest and all her inhabitants. We’re also going to focus on growing our connection with each other. Less technology, more interaction. Less outside influence, more focus on family values. In a world so consumed by television, movies, social media and peer attachment, it’s important we all remember where we came from and how we can still cherish and grow the same knowledge and values our ancestors once did.
-AD
The muffled sounds are incredible and feel energizing to me. The cold makes everything act like a child not wanting to move- just getting as heavy as possible and hoping the world wont overcome the inertia. This morning I laid in bed trying to overcome my own inertia and could hear each piece of gravel moan as our neighbor backed out of their driveway.
It feels like in winter, time slows down almost to a complete stop. You can hear everything, see everything as it moves more slowly and intentionally. Really just a magical thing to experience in the forest.