Mountain Views

Today was a beautiful day in the mountains. It's been cold, rainy and chilly since we came back from vacation and we've had the wood stove going almost daily. Yesterday, the temperatures went up to 60 and we spent some time outdoors and didn't need to fire up the wood stove. Today, we had more of the milder weather and it actually warmed up to the high 60s! We took the girls outside for a photo session and yard work and I managed to sneak away for some pictures around the property.

This is the mountain we can see from our living room window when the trees are bare. When the trees are in full bloom, we can't see the mountain unless we walk to the driveway or walk to the upper part of our property and we can look over our house to the mountain. A beautiful sight and one we are thankful to be able to have.

I love the way this woodpile looks. The warm colors of the freshly cut wood, the cool greys of the bark and the colors of the fallen leaves. I posed the girls on the logs for a photo session and I can't show them because then it would give away the surprise to certain people that read this blog. The woodpile is a work in progress: they have been cut, but not split.

This is on the western part of our property. There is an easement through our land so neighbors can get through, but they never use this road. The easement was put in place when there was some sort of feud between neighbors and these neighbors asked the previous owners if they could put a road through so they wouldn't have to go on the shared driveway with the other neighbors. They have since moved and the new people use the main drive and this one is left alone, mostly. I wish I could remove the easement, but I'm not sure how to go about doing so. This photo makes me think of that poem.. you know the one.

I love this view of the trees. It's so peaceful to see and to see nothing but trees, trees and trees. It's very calming walking along the road and being surrounded by trees, tall and strong. Need to keep my eyes on the road and not so much in the trees because there are plenty of deer droppings and I have to caution the girls not to step in them!

This just fills my soul! This poor tree fell over and died, but it left a beautiful arch for us to walk under. Just tall enough for a truck to drive under. If I can, I will leave it and let it fall on it's own. I will enjoy it for as long as it is there. If I was a kid, I would beg mom for an old sheet and drape it over and get some rope to make a tent and play under it for days and days. I'm tempted to do it for my girls now, but I am not ready to let them play alone so far from the house where I can't see or hear them. If it is still there 2 or 3 years from now, then I'll put the idea in their heads on making a fort and offer them some old sheets and rope. I'll put a chair nearby so I can watch them play but not intrude on their fun, and do some crocheting or reading.

We're happy here, among the trees, living on a mountain with views of another mountain, driving on winding roads and the neighbors out of sight. I hope you are happy where you are, too.