THE LAND CLAIMED US!

“The earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.” — Chief Seattle

This month the land chose us (Russ and me).  We know we belong to it, the land by the Allegheny River. It is really an amazing story.

Three weeks ago we finally articulated our common wish to live by the water as we entered into empty nest life – a few years out.

Two weeks ago, Russ saw land along the Allegheny River near East Brady that was being developed.  We hadn’t known about it.  He called around until he learned of the developer.

Only one lot was left, no view of the river, but river access.  We decided to see it and met Angie.  We instantly knew she is special.

As we talked with Angie about the land in her development she was excited to tell us that two other lots had come available.

Together they were perfect and claimed us immediately.  I don’t know how to explain it.  We visited 5 days in a row, trying to understand what we felt deep within.

Each visit, each touch, each walk around the trees (oak, maple, sassafrass, birch, cherry and tulip), near the river, and along the property lines roots us deeper.

Now we ask the Universe to support us to claim the land with monetary exchange, because we know we belong to it, but there is the current societal norms to adhere too.

In deepest gratitude for us and the generations that follow us.

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity…” 
— John Muir

Green Roof Cabin

When less than 5 of us are together, we always include the missing Dudek in our conversation, our social media connections, and our hearts.  Our recent trip to the GREEN ROOF CABIN near Raystown Lake at Raystown Country Cabins was one of those experiences.  We made sure Casey, who was not in attendance, was honored and remembered by

• having an Snapchat Blitz Session.  Chris and Jenny were even snapchatting each other while sitting right next to one another, I think that is a Casey and Jenny pasttime too.
• lamenting that our photos would not be the same without her,  and certainly the quantity of pictures is about 1/100 of normal quantity:) 
• watching Duke play into the Elite 8 at the beginning of the weekend and then lose to Louisville for the Final Four at the end of the weekend.  Go Duke!
• hanging out on Google+ with Casey on our last day.  She had to watch all 4 of us try to stay within the camera view:)

We also spent time

• visiting the outside of Raystown Lake Visitors Center which is hosted by the US Army Corps of Engineers and Huntingdon County Visitors Bureau.  I say outside because it is not open on weekends or holidays — does anyone else find that funny?

• parking and walking by the Marina and Boat launch.  It was beautiful and there was still some ice on the lake.  When a few boats launched they disturbed the ice and it crackled and made the most amazingly beautiful sound.

• noticing silt socks all along the lake edge where some walkways were added.  Dad said it was over $50,000 of protection and there was no silt that was against them.  Hmmmmm, money well spent?
• listening to lots and lots of frogs, spring peepers maybe, during our walk on the Riverwalk trail along the Juaniata River.  We also saw a hooded merganser and a couple of chain saw statues along the river.
• dining at Kelly’s Corner in Huntingdon.  Dad and I wanted to share a dinner so I suggested he get the Salad Wedge while I ate from the salad bar.  I got my salad then sat down. THEN I SAW the wedge salad with blue cheese, dressing, candied walnuts….my mouth started watering.  I thought Dad probably wouldn’t like all that blue cheese so I offered to eat it,  when he said he was ok,  I asked for a bite. Well,  I didn’t give that salad back. He had to eat the salad I made at the salad bar. Dang.
• making Swiss Meringue to top off the butterscotch pie we made earlier in the day, courtesy of Paula Deen’s Recipe.  That Swiss Meringue is tenacious, once it touches any surface it stays.  It even migrates without anyone looking.  It was everywhere. And it was oh so sweet,  just skip the butterscotch pie part (well Chris preferred butterscotch but Jen and I preferred Meringue).

Looking forward to the next time the 5 of us are together,  the Pontiac Lake Cottage perhaps?

 

 

Nostalgic for Nature Walks

Penny, the dog, found an Imperial Moth Caterpillar today, I saved it from being eaten.

This caterpillar is so BIG, and hairy, and cool looking.  Makes me think of all the time we spent outside together looking at natural wonders.  I thought I was doing it to teach you, but I grew to love the finding, identifying and categorizing of natural things; you were my audience and avid participants.  Some good stuff happened

• Hiking and staying in cabins at Brown County State Park, Brown County, Indiana, when we saw super size walking sticks and a very unique snake,
• Driving around Crex Meadows in Northern Wisconsin.  We got tired of looking at sandhill cranes & bald eagles but the bear in the tree, the badger hole and the trumpeter swans were always amazing. And, none of us tired of the sound of the loons.
• Vacationing at the family cottage in Michigan with all the fish to catch and identify, and the humongous snapping turtles you caught over and over and over again.
• Walking outside our house in our small western PA borough, where we identified all the trees in town for the leaf project in elementary school and we watch the Osprey families nest and grow on the phone tower across the street.
• Visiting the three state parks nearby, especially cabins at Moraine State Park.  I smile to think of the flying squirrel that you caught and released; and when a Muskie caught and released your fishing pole after swimming up to the surface by the dock; or even the nightly visits from a mama skunk that the girls chased with a camera, and luckily didn’t get sprayed, but they did see all the babies.

It just makes me nostalgic for nature walks,  I’ll need to find a new group of avid participants, or you’ll have to indulge me when we are together:)