[not2shygrrl]

Here, where I live in the woods is NW Pennsylvania. During the summer there is a lot of hub-bub as this area is known for the forestry, camping, canoeing, fishing, hunting and so on for the mostly city dwellers we call "mupheres" as they come when the weather breaks. Its not really bothersome as they bring life and busyness with them, thinking they need all the comforts and running about to get them. Us locals tend to stay put on weekends or use the back roads!

The forest is really thick here, and in my heart there are no trees as beautiful as what we have around here in Cook Forest. Though all places are unique, this one has captured me even having been raised a city girl! In all that is good here, the natural life around me in the plants and trees, wildflowers, wild animals, seeing a momma turkey and her chicks, all six of them.....only to see them 3 weeks later all still alive and peeping at momma who crossed the road wanting them to follow. Then there was the 4 baby raccoons who lost their momma and hung around here for a few weeks then moved on. When I pass the cemetery just past the church is a stretch of road that I often see foxes running across to the other side, lately its been baby foxes. I am convinced they have found caves or something to burrow in during the winters here. Baby deer with their spots on their coats and running fast to keep up with mom or dad. Bunnies, groundhogs, owls and the bears scampering about breaking tree limbs or rummaging thru garbage cans. The wildflowers add to the beauty of it all with the colors and scents they send out. I feel closer to the sky here, the heavens as i refer to. The blue is so blue and those clouds seem so close, so beautiful. the night sky is unaffected by any light as it is pitch black at night here which makes for a beautiful view when looking skyward and all those stars so bright! When the moon is at half or more the lands light up enough that you can see where you are walking. My kitchen has 4 windows, one of them is wide and when the moon is full it lights up my whole kitchen!

If I have to pick a downfall, or a negative for me being here.....it is the extreme limit of encounters with other lesbians. That part surely is lonely!

But there is so much beyond that, and I can't say I would change any of this. My slice of heaven! It is cozy, I have everything I need and some of what I want. My place is clean, and well taken care of. I had an addition to the kitchen built this past winter/early spring along with siding, gutters, soffit and fascia around the whole house. I think my favorite part is the stream on my property just beside my house that runs heavy until July, then trickles and gets heavy again in October thru to the end of June. When I open my bedroom window on that same side of the house its like I am sleeping right there by the stream. It lulls me to sleep. Even in the winter, I will open my window for a bit... the rushing sound is soothing, and the air is cold....when I crawl under the covers and get warm.....I am out so fast sleeping soundly.

Winters here are brutally beautiful. Even the fall prior to winter is such a delight to see. Once the cold hits, and the snow falls......its breathtakingly beautiful. To see the snow lay on the tree branches, or the ice clinging to them making them all glisten. A winter wonderland when born overnight is such a spiritual sight to wake up to. The snow on the ground where the only life moving about is wild and leaving tracks to be seen. There is something good to be said for the virgin snow fall even while it is still falling, in big flakes that you can actually track to its landing spot! The crunch of the snow, and that strong desire to touch it, make a snow ball....or to just move the snow with your hand from a porch railing feeling the icy coldness on my warm skin.

I hope you all have a slice of heaven that is yours, even if just in heart ...mind....and spirit!