I have a deep abiding love, appreciation and respect for nature. All my life I've lived in places full of natural beauty. My grandparents had a ranch in California and I would either walk it or ride horseback around it, enjoying the oaks, the sage, the tumbleweeds, wildflowers, creeks, dams, redtail hawks, prairie dogs, etc. As a family it was not uncommon for us to get in the car and just drive, taking new roads, exploring new sites. We would see wildlife, find giant pinecones, fossils, ruins, etc. When we moved to Washington, there were new areas to explore and we did. It was somewhat of a tradition that after church on Sunday's we would get in the car and drive. And we lived in an area of much beauty -- mountains, rivers, waterfalls, lakes, etc. We'd often go camping in the summer, even if only for a weekend. And it was only a few hours drive to the ocean...
With all this beauty, I also gained a healthy respect for the power of nature. We lived on the river and it flooded. We got ash when Mt. St. Helen's erupted. We had to evacuate from a major forest fire. We felt small earthquakes. And while we didn't have tornados, and even winds were fairly rare in our protected mountain valley, when they did happen they were usually strong and destructive. Snow in winter, heat in summer. Electrical storms -- I can remember standing on the front porch and watching storms over the north end of the valley, then going through the house to the back door and watching a separate storm over the south end. And reporting the occasionally lightning strike to the forest service (saw the flames start). When the river flooded and when the volcano erupted, did we stay home waiting for it to end? Nope. We got in the car and drove to check things out -- we were never in danger. To this day, one of my brothers will call me when something major is happening. Just to share :)Until 6 years ago I always lived within a few hours of ocean and/or mountains, usually both. Here, there are no mountains and there is no ocean (and I dearly miss them), but that doesn't mean there isn't incredible beauty to be found.
And the weather here would never be described as sedate. There aren't volcanoes and the rivers are pretty quiet, but wind and electrical storms abound spring, summer, fall with plenty of cold and snow and ice in the winter.
There are protected forests and rolling prairies -- I drive through/past them everyday. I've seen deer, coyotes, foxes, falcons/hawks (can't tell for sure), pheasants, skunks, beaver, squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, raccoons, opossums, mice, voles, turkeys. I've heard an owl -- outside my bedroom window at 2 am (whoo whoo, whoo whoo, whoo whoo). When I wasn't employed, I spent a lot of time bird watching -- woodpeckers, robins, grackles, starlings, meadowlarks, finches, cardinals, nuthatches, jays, bluebirds, egrets, herons, geese, ducks, and others I can't identify. Oooh, and fireflies. They are so cool. There is plenty of plant life, and even in the middle of winter, there is still some greenery to be found. I like it in late summer when entire fields are white with Queen Anne's Lace. And in the fall when the prairie grasses turn rust and gold.
Truly a beautiful place to live and exciting place to live.
