06/20/2026
I live in a small country town in the mountains.
A tiny little house surrounded by pine trees filled with decades of wisdom and stories hidden within their branches.
New trees, plants, flowers, shrubs, vegetables and fruits have been planted and begin to take their rightful established places on the homestead.
A pasture of sheep, with a barn sitting near stacks of hay waiting for it's consumption in the months to come.
Cats and dogs lying lazily under the trees or camouflaged within the plants taking a midday nap during the hottest parts of the day, while keeping an eye on the farm.
They know every bug that crawls across the grass, bird that flies over head, leaf that falls from the trees or the occasional passer by.
Late afternoon arrives and the homestead begins to move again. The cats go back to work ensuring the mouse population has been. cleared for the day.
The dogs roam, starting their afternoon patrol, ensuring the familiar faces returning from their fields or jobs that fill their days, go to their correct homes just as they have on all the days before.
Chores need to be done, there's lawns to mow, weeds to pull, watering to do, sheep to feed, clothes to wash, beds to change, and pastures to be raked. Then comes the anticipated dinner to start for ourselves.
Evening arrives slowly as the sun begins to sink behind the mountain right outside our front door. The air begins to cool and on special nights, the time for a bon fire arrives.
Marshmallows on the end of sticks hanging over the flames above the glowing, red hot coals, as the crisp, cool summer night air engulfs the homes nearby.
The never ending discussion of lightly browned or completely burned as the most preferred way to roast the soft white cylindrical shaped treats continues to take place over decades, is sparked once again.
How different the view is during the warm summer seasons that have gone by, compared to the long, cold, frigid winter months
Witnessing the snow and ice piles sometimes as high as the eaves of the barn on most years, even the wildest of imaginations can't fathom how the sun could ever melt the frozen surroundings, or bring new life from the ground when spring finally comes.
The spring mornings that look deceitfully warm drawing everyone outside finally start peeking through the last of the winter months. The grounds begin to thaw, tiny buds are seen on the brown branches that looked dormant and dead the week before.
Visions of gardens, where to plant the seeds and new tiny plants that have been under the warm lights indoors, fills the discussions of country living folks.
Children come down with spring fever as they count the days until the last school bell of the year rings, representing the beginning of their summer vacations,
Graduation into the next grade up. New adventures to be had as the friends from the next block come over to spend nights on the trampolines, tucked inside of tents or spread out across the backyard lawns.
Ghost stories told while snuggled in sleeping bags with all participants huddled around one glowing flashlight in the middle.
Finally the last set of eyes close sometime after the midnight hour.
Have you ever heard what no sound actually sounds like? The stillness of a mountain at night?
The complete silence of a mountain town can be almost unsettling if you are unfamiliar with what the lack of sound actually is.
This kind of quiet seeps into your soul, filling a part of you, you didn't know you were needing to fill.
It brings a type of peace and calm one must grow accustomed to. On those nights when complete stillness exists you can finally hear your own thoughts as they roll in and take shape. Dreams begin to be formed, wishes come true and miracles happen that nobody else knows about.
No light or sound pollution of any kind, just raw mother nature as she was intended to be. This kind of silence that is not understood by most people, but is the most desired and treasured by the residents, does exist... It's a sound like you've never heard before.
But only in those extra special places tucked inside of this world.
There's a different pace to and a different life when one lives in a place that most others would come to for a camping adventure, or for a week long hunting trip in the fall.
It's the kind of life you soon realize.... you don't need a vacation from.
