First Night On Our Land

Tuesday, August 18th, 2015

The beginnings of a driveway

Last night I slept on our land for the first time.  My bride’s brother and his buddy came out to help with some of the manual labor.  We arrived later than I had hoped but made fantastic progress once we got to it.  In approximately 1 hour they were able to clear the mouth of the drive of several large, downed logs and the bulk of the quartered logs.  They are sleeping now (611 am) but I suspect they will be awake soon.  Something about the sound of a chain saw running right outside one’s tent has a stimulating effect.

A word about last night, after the sun went down is in order.  I remember fireflies as a boy growing up in northern Ohio.  But they are other worldly here.  The night sky was literally popping with green bursts of light everywhere.  Those insects were brilliant against the backdrop of untold thousands of stars.  The nights are fantastically dark here.  So the contrast of the fireflies and the stars are breath taking.

I was awoken at 230 by the sound of something alive and moving around my tent.  It took me several minutes to find my flashlight, which seemed like an eternity with that unknown beast marauding around outside.  In the end, it managed to escape unseen.  In a related story, I was awake and covered in sweat for the next 20 minutes.  One last observation, My back is not the same as it was 10 years ago.  I woke stiff and sore.  I know exercise is in order.  Let’s see how it feels after a day of hauling saws and dragging logs.