Return to the Woods

Acclimation to the quiet, no electricity, no modern appliances, no water well--as easy as putting on clean socks. We just cleaned out the kitchen and remade the bed and we were ready for several months of wonderful outside living. The weather greeted us with nights of 50-55 degrees, a wonderful relief from the South's 70 degrees night life.

We brought our cat, Bobbisox, who loves the new woods that contain a myriad of bugs, turkeys, deer and a host of other exciting things of nature she has refused to reveal. She's been a great companion. She unfortunately didn't accompany us to Maine where we celebrated our wedding anniversary with our grown kids, as she wouldn't have wanted to travel that far. We've discovered that she hates riding in the car!

For the third time that we've visited Maine from our NY digs, the Delaware River has flooded! I'm afraid to let anyone know the next time we leave. We've always returned when the waters have subsided, so we have no mental picture of water, water, everywhere.

We think we've got this living in the woods down to a fine routine. We use 6 gallons of water every other day, fill our cooler with 3 bags of ice every three days, and enjoy the other times when we don't have to travel 15 miles to the laundrette or 5 miles to the library, or 20 miles to Home Depot! I have a workshop close by and I'm learning to cook something about every three days. The downsize of this life is leaving high-speed internet to dial-up, which can cause consternation waiting for the connection, only to be interrupted numerous times in a short period. Thank goodness for the library's computers! Other than this stab of pain....

....life is beautiful.