My Year of Living Beautifully

It has been over a year now that I have been living here in the cabin. I have never been so satisfied with life. Sometimes the work is hard. Sometimes the inconveniences are irksome. But the peace and beauty here raise a wild joy in me that I have no words to adequately describe. I always wonder if I will grow jaded - if the changing light on the Absarokas or the sound of wind rushing down the valley through the forest canopy or the smell of rain on the shrubs of the understory will ever stop stunning me with their sudden sensory gifts. So far, nothing mutes the wonder and gratitude I feel every time I turn around and realize this is my life, my home.

Autumn has come again. The blazing colors and crystal clear light of this season are magnificent. The doe and her fawn visit regularly. I often spend the morning sitting on the deck listening to the elk bugle from the ridge across the valley. The other night I had a visit from a bear that tore a bag of peat moss to shreds, tipped over a garbage can that I use for construction trash (random bits of insulation and soggy sheet rock and empty plastic bags) and pried both access lids off the septic tank. He did not find anything to eat, so he wandered on, leaving his mess for me to clean up as well as a few paw prints. I have about four cords of firewood split and have cleaned the chimneys and stoves. I have only a few more important tasks to get ready for winter. Last night was the first hard frost of the season.

It has been a wonderful year. I look forward to many more.