On The Road Back to Windy Hill

Dayton, OH...with Clyde and the boat looking a bit like Matchbox toys...

On the way back to Windy Hill, we're standing watch on Clyde from 4 stories up.  Judy is taking the first shift! 

One of the reasons for the drive to OK was to bring the boat back to PA to get the tags changed.  In PA, the VIN has to be verified...visually confirmed by a Notary...so we needed the boat and trailer for the visual VIN verification (say that three time quickly) to get it legal again after our move from NJ to Windy Hill. 

That boat is much like me...old..."mostly" reliable...generally able to get started...and smells fishy....errr, I meant always ready to go fishing!

And with 115 HP on that light 17 ft aluminum boat, its got a great hole shot and can top end at 50!

I sure have missed it...

So we're 13 hours since saying goodbye in Tulsa, with another 8 to get to Windy Hill.  Already missing Shaun, Melissa and Arden, but yet, it's good to be heading back home and looking forward to the Thanksgiving festivities next week with Jennifer and Stephen.

She said just today about taking 10 of Debbie's pie crusts out of the freezer.  I think that means 5 pumpkin pies and 5 pecan pies!



Had a great visit with the OK crew.  Arden is a hoot!  Growing up fast and much like her Mom and Dad, she is quick with her hilarious comments on life!  "No Bossy, you have to give milk, else they will be taking you to the 'kitchen' ...or else making leather out of you!"  (said to her toy cow as we played...) 

A wonderful time that too fast went.   Fun family birthday party for JJ (Aaron and Kristen's JJ, not mine) and a very nice Grandparents day at Arden's school.

OH yeah,almost forgot...What-a-burger and Chick-fil-A less than 3 minutes away.  Paradise on earth!




Our Ol' Homestead in Owasso is still looking much like it did when we sold it 17 years ago, although everything around it has mushroomed.  Houses e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e!

Special Thanks also to Bob for the invite to the TU game.  Great company, dollar dogs, perfect seats and TU won - can't ask for anything more than that!

Roll the Credits...

Leading Cast... 

Just to let our readers know who I'm talking about when writing this blog (and what they really do)! 

Judy - Leading Lady
Role:  Full time "Center of my Universe", American Gypsy and part time photo bomber. 


Photo bombing at Pompey's Pillar 

Caught again at the Needles

The Fox

Role:   A real-life Pandora's Box - little on the outside, big on the inside - National Park visiting magic flying carpet.  

a.k.a 2018 Artic Fox 32-5M.  One of the best four season 5th wheels made. 

In Billings Montana when we picked it up...

And back on Windy Hill...

Clyde

Role:  Full time Fox puller and all-around work horse. Clyde, (a.k.a Clydesdale) is a 2017 F-350, wide in the hips, 20 hands tall - diesel drinking, fire breathing beast.

Posing for the camera at Theodore Roosevelt National Park...

Trying to steal the spotlight on Windy Hill...

Supporting Staff...

Terry

Role:   Stuntman, *Key Grip

At Wall Drugstore (he's the one without the cigar).

So on with the show...

*(Anybody really know what a Grip actually does?)

Name That Restaurant

On the road again...

It is a 20 hour drive to Arden's not counting diesel stops and Orange Roofs.  And we try to push on Day 1 for at least 12 hours of driving.

Thursday was a full 14 hour day because of a need to make a disastrous diversion to pick up a clothes washer for the RV.  It was new, still in the box, sitting in a shipping warehouse for delivery to us.  But we were not going to be home for 10 days, so we went to pick it up on our way to Arden's.

Deliverys are like people...always check what's on the inside, it's not how the outside looks.  Some, like that new washer might be a bit "dented".

Off to Arden's without a washer!




So, introducing a new game - Name That Restaurant! 

 One hint - Momma's Pancake Breakfast...at the end of a 14 hour drive.  Not much better comfort food than that.  Judy might say Chicken and Dumplings with Fried Apples on the side.



Made it to Arden's late afternoon on Friday.  All I can say is that pretty young ladies too quickly grow...and it is good to see Shaun and Melissa also!

10 points to anyone who knows what this is.

Off to the range.  Gotta love Oklahoma!

More to follow...

Our Deer Have No Horns

Everyone we have met from the Windy Hill area is open, friendly and actually welcoming.

It is refreshing to call someone at the courthouse or electric company who actually follows through on a task and calls you back when it is done.

As example, we had to establish a 911 address before we could get the USPS to do a change of address and before we could get our drivers licenses.

"Understand what you need, let's look...pull up Google Earth while we are on the phone...now which place is yours?   Got it, I will call you tomorrow with your new 911 address details."

AND HE CALLED THE NEXT DAY!  No need to chase 3 more times - hugely helpful!





The questions we are asked when meeting new Windy Hill neighbors always seem to follow the same pattern:

Q1:  Yer not from 'round here.  Where ya from? (said in a friendly way). 

A1:  Just moved in after living a 'short time' in New Jersey, but we're not New Jersey-ians.  Judy is from the Blue Ridge Mountains north of Scranton (makes her a real ridge runner) and I grew up in a small town in the heart of the Lake Ontario snow belt where we had enough snow days that I only went to school for a total of 6 years during my entire 12 years of education - (Judy says this explains everything to her - not sure what she means? ). 

Them:  So yer flat-landers huh. (said as a statement meaning that anyone not from here is a flat-lander and after living here 20 years is still going to be a flat-lander).

Q2:  Where ya living? 

A2:  We own the hill up on Valleyview.

Q3: Do ya hunt?

Now this is the real answer they want to know...

You see, Windy Hill butts up to a Corp of Engineers lake, which has a fairly wide perimeter of unhunted deer Habitat - and rumored to have lots of big bucks.

So of course the locals believe we have herds of 17 pointers eating our pa-tune-yas every day. 

Everyone seems to hint about wanting to hunt Windy Hill!

But I'm not so sure things are as they imagine.

Our deer have no horns...

Not the Road Runner "Beep-Beep" kind of horns, but ALL the deer we've seen on Windy Hill are slick headed does.

And we see lots of deer...nearly every day...often 6-7 at a time.  One night coming home late from replacing the manifold on the 60 year old Massey (more about that later) I counted 18 doe in our front field.

Nary a horn among them.

It seems like the doe/buck ratio is off.

We lived the last 17 years in an area with a dense deer population due to light hunting pressure.   And we often saw bucks.  In fact, it was not uncommon to see groups of them together year round and we've had opportunity to witness rut driven buck aggression...wonder if those toxic male deer have Y chromosomes too? 

My concern is that the actual percentage of bucks around Windy Hill may be lower than optimal and creating long-term risks.

When you declare open season on bucks, and everyone is doing it - it doesn't take long before you have no real males left.

Recently I walked the perimeter of the 34 acres to put up Posted signs ahead of hunting season.

For the record, I am not against hunting...I just put up the signs to keep uninviteds from messing with Windy Hill and to protect those deer ones that can't protect themselves.

While making the round, I did see some limited evidence of buck rubs, so maybe...just maybe...there still remains a few good males.

I don't know...just wondering if this might be what happens when you reach a tipping point and the future population is truly endangered as a result of shooting everything that looks and acts like a buck.

Just thinking...

Looking Ahead

Looking Ahead

Full moon over Windy Hill last night...clear...and cold!  This was early morning looking West with the thermo at a numbing 14 degrees.  That is the full moon getting ready to sink out of sight.

And this was the View over my coffee cup a few minutes later looking East.

I love sunrises...maybe even more than sunsets, as they provide a promise of the day ahead and confirmation that you didn't die in your sleep!

But 14 degrees...not so much!!!

Being able to see sunrises and sunsets was our #1 and #2 requirements for our property.  We've lived too long without being able to see them with trees blocking the views.

Maybe that's why we love the Outer Banks so much.  And we Thank Gary and Bern for clearing the trail through the swamp and over the pass so we could follow their footsteps and visit OBX the first time.

We like it in December...laid back, no people, no traffic, miles of beach, no people, and still warm enough for the brave to get wet and no people!




And there is something special about flying kites at OBX.  It is magical!

It's a sure path to being in the moment...to be in the present...where everything in your head goes quiet...and nothing exists other than making a quad line kite sing and dance over the dunes.  And the wind is so steady and consistent on the beach.  It is perfect!

We've not yet had a kite up at Windy Hill.  It will happen - Look for that post!

And even more spectacular than flying kites at OBX is to get up very, very early - well before dawn, to head to the beach and catch the first blush of red and pink.

Then watch as the sky transforms moment by moment into the most awesome of sunrises.

And then the crescendo - with the first rays of sunlight glinting off dolphin dorsals as they surface...then surface...then surface again just beyond the breakers.

Maybe early December - our first real foray with the RV...stay tuned!



Between now and then, Clyde is packed for an early start tomorrow for a quick run to visit Arden and her 'rents (we really love seeing both of you guys, too!)

Then back to Windy Hill for a short period before joining Jens and Stephen for Thanksgiving.

To boldly go...

A Few Diversions In Late Fall

Late Fall on Windy Hill

We've watched the lake give up its heat over the last several weeks.  On those really cold late fall nights, fog would develop and then lay just above the surface of the lake.

At dawn, the fog would start to rise - thick, thick fog, so dense it would finally extinguish the lighthouse beacon our neighbor calls his night light.  Stephen King readers start to shake and lock the doors!

And then magically, the fog gets burned off, replaced by bright - blue - cloudless - sky and roll up your sleeves working temperatures.

It is heaven on Windy Hill when those fall days occur...no place we would rather be.

And fall days lead into fall nights, with no better time for a camp fire, hot dogs and flaming marshmallow torches!

Jennifer, Stephen, Dee and Alison joined us for our First Fire...looking forward to many, many more.  Still a few satellites waiting to be found. 

But those windyful days of fall, full of final brush hogging and tree cutting are now well past.

We did get a chance to cut down a few more of the tallest pines last week as we continue to clear the view on Windy Hill, although the days are short and the chainsaw is now past ready for winter hibernation as we make final preparations to head to warmer temps and get on with the National Parks adventure.



And Winter is coming to Windy Hill...

I came out on a recent Windy Hill 17 degree morning to a spectacular display of very delicate pinstripes adorning Clyde (more about him later).  For reference, a business card could cover the area represented in the below photo, and Clyde's nearly 20 ft x 8 ft body was totally covered with the intricate hoar frost.

I find it interesting how frequently repeating patterns occur in creation, yet each combination still retains some element of uniqueness.   Consider how many combinations of noses and eyes make up the human race...with each similar in placement (not many upside down noses occurring) yet each person is individually unique.

The frequency of repeating patterns in nature may reflect much more than coincidence or evolution.  Look closely at the detailed design in the above...it is easy to see the same pattern shared by ferns and feathers and fleeting frost (and 80's Disco shirts).

Maybe, even the simplest of things are meant to provide a hint of something at work much deeper and far greater than we fully understand.

In the beginning...

In the beginning God...

...created a hill...

And then just a wee bit later, He created a Judy and a Terry, and He blessed this Judy and Terry, allowing them to share life together.

And He continued to bless them year after year after year - far beyond their wildest imaginations.  And far, far beyond anything they deserved. 

And then, He shared His hill with His Judy and Terry...

...and we call it "Windy Hill"...

So, our intent is to share the View From Windy with the two people who might actually admit knowing us, and maybe the views from a few other hills (and maybe even a few valleys!)

And it is likely a few personal views from lessons learned along the way may be sprinkled in. 

You see, as direct descendents from the Clinch Mountain Sacketts, we like to wander.  And Jennifer (one of those major God blessings) calls her 'rents American Gypsies - 

Since we loves a good road trip!!!

So stay tuned, more to follow...

Let the adventure continue...