Writings for 2017

What you meet in the mountains

466 words
Essay

What you meet in the Mountains
By Lisa Noe

It is a wonderful thing to live and to be one with nature. I live in the Appalachian mountains of Kentucky, in a very rural setting. I have a nice home up a hollow on top of a mountain. Living in such a location has it’s perks and it also has a downside. The best part is that Nature is right in your own yard. I have every type of animal living near my home as you could imagine. I often see rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, snakes, and other assorted little critters, which scurry around the yard. My dogs are always barking at some kind of creature. My biggest blessing is the deer that come to my fence and graze each evening. She is a doe and she is lovely, she doesn’t seem to mind that I watch her, I pull out a lawn chair and sit watching her eat.

One day, there I was sitting in my Den, watching my favorite television show, when I heard my dogs going crazy, barking outside. I went to the window to see what was going on outside when, I saw a startling sight; a big black bear was rummaging through my garbage, right outside of my fence. I didn’t know what to think when I thought to myself, I had to do something to get rid of the unwanted guest. I didn’t dare face the critter. I looked around and all I had was a flute that would make a loud noise. I took the flute and began playing a melodic tune as loud as I possibly could. The big old bear turned and looked at me, as I stood in the doorway playing the flute. I played the song Born Free, I felt it was appropriate for the situation. He turned his head to the side as if he was curious as to what I was doing. But he didn’t come toward me, instead he turned, slammed the garbage barrel to the ground hard and meandered into the woods where I live. This is nothing odd, as the bear and wild cats are frequent guests to our home.
The thing I hate, the down side to living way up here is the rattlesnakes and copperhead snakes which lay in wait for you so they may strike. I often times have them in my yard, my husband usually takes a shotgun and blows their heads off. I may be far away from civilization, thirty minutes to get to the hospital or doctor’s offices. They have just built a store close by so that is a relief. It is a beautiful way to live it is at peace and at one with nature, the way God intended for us to live.