Before

Living here made me feel "rich". Up on the hill, my gray Arab mare grazed peacefully. We are able to support two mini horses that do nothing but eat money. In the summer, our cats lazed on the driveway, doing their best imitation of an inch worm as they enjoyed the blacktop heat. Around us is a grove of pine trees and oaks that make me proud.

Murphy and I like to stand up on the hill watching the deer in the back of the property. It seems five live here now, three large mamas and two yearlings. I worry that the new owners will appreciate and not hunt them. While we always considered them "our" deer, we share them with the neighbors. Indeed, yesterday, we saw "our" deer join in their pasture with four more deer - the most I've seen in one spot at one time. During the snow, they came often closer than they normally would, looking for food.

I even worry over the birds here. My feeders outside the office are always full, the birds used to that location. The feeders, however, were given to me by my father and I plan to take them. The birds will have to fend for themselves. 

I am looking forward to our new adventure, all the while cognizant of that we leave behind. I will find nature where we go. Perhaps even, I will have more time to admire nature once we are settled. I won't "own" it, but then, whenever did I really?