Wildlife watching from the door to my front deck.
I’d been told that there were bighorn sheep in the cliffs up behind my home. And more than once I’ve heard them knocking rocks around up there as they move along the cliff face. And occasionally Penny will bark like a crazy dog at the cliffs, obviously hearing or seeing something I can’t. But despite purchasing and using a set of binoculars last autumn, I haven’t been able to see the animals up on the cliffs.
Until last week. That’s when Penny’s urgent barking caught my attention and I spotted three bighorn sheep — two adults and a yearling — in my neighbor’s front yard. I rushed Penny into the RV to shut her up and grabbed my binoculars.
Unfortunately, I got more of an eyeful than I expected. Not only did I get a close look at one of the animals, but I also got a too close look at my neighbor, who’d come out stark naked to photograph them.
Life’s different out here.
Today, more barking got my attention. And this time, when I rushed Penny into the RV, I grabbed my Nikon, 300mm lens, and monopod. Then I went into my unfinished building, climbed the stairs, and opened the door to my future front deck. I zoomed in on one of the animals grazing in the yard. Her head was down but I waited. No sense taking a picture of her back. After about a minute, I was rewarded. She popped her head up and looked right at me.
Captured in pixels from the door to my future front deck.
This isn’t the only interesting animal we have around here. There are also golden and bald eagles and other birds of prey that I see daily. There are quail — which have youngsters right now — as well as robins, magpies, and hummingbirds. I hear owls but have never seen one here. There are coyotes, which I occasionally see but more often hear at night. There’s elk and deer in the area, but I’m not sure if they ever make appearances near my home. And, of course, there are bull snakes and rattlesnakes.
It’s nice to live in a place that’s remote enough for wildlife viewing out my window without being too remove to take advantage of the conveniences a small city like Wenatchee has to offer. I really like it here — I only wish I’d moved here sooner.
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The rest of your life starts today. My father-in-law was great for living today. Not in the past and only in the future long enough to make plans, but for the most part, just living in the moment. Not a bad philosophy. I’m really glad that you love it there, Maria. You must be doing something right.
I’m really enjoying my freedom and life without guilt.
My wasband tried so hard to make me feel guilty for living the life I’d made for myself. It makes me so sad for him — I gave him every opportunity to let go of the things holding him back to build his own free life doing what he loved but he was too caught up in the security of the 9 to 5 grind. And then it was too late.
As I work on my new home, I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to have him around with me, building this dream together. But I know deep in my heart that the man I used to make dreams into realities with is long gone. And I’m so much better off without him.