Fall 2012

On Fall's first weekend, I shared a day with my youngest son Nic at the Renaissance Festival. We go every year together and I always try to find something for the cabin. This year, we purchased a candle rock for the 'coffee table'. A candle rock is much more rustic and manly than a Yankee Candle Co candle in a jar. Alan and Barbara Van Der Like in Sebring, Fl began making candle rocks as an alternative to glass candle jars their cats kept knocking off the tables. A little project became a business that has expanded nationwide.

I took Kuma to the cabin to stay the night with me and after building a fire and having a glass of wine, we both were fast asleep sawing logs. After midnight, a knock on the door woke us both from deep sleep. My instincts told me there was no need for the S&W 38 Special as I met the late night visitor. We were pleasantly surprised to find Nic had walked through the dark woods to join us.

After a short visit recapping his evening activities, we turned in; Nic and Kuma on the sofa together and me under a thick quilt on the loft bed. He found out quickly how quiet it gets in the woods where the only sound is the ticks of the Regulator on the wall and the crackling of the fire.



Nic in character at the Renaissance Festival

Our 2 wick candlelight rock provides plenty of light

A candle light rock from www.candlelightrocks.com

Wine

As a 'baby-boomer' that grew up in the 60s and 70s, I acquired a taste for wine at an early age. Back then, it didn't take much to satisfy our taste buds; a bottle of Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill would do. The wine was cheap and good and we would drink it straight from the bottle while puffing on Swisher Sweet cigars. It didn't concern us that people would say it contained embalming fluid; we were young and reckless and full of life. There was also no such thing as pouring it into a glass, we drank it straight from the bottle. If you're a 'boomer' you'll understand, otherwise, just accept our generation for who we are and what we did.

As I've aged, I still enjoy the taste of wine and although I've matured and only drink it by the half filled glass, I still prefer the cheaper wines like Riuniti. There is not a great deal of difference in price between Riuniti and Boone's Farm. I have never been one to buy 'top shelf' stuff for myself as I really see no value in the extra expense based on my preference of taste. However, today I went to Kroger's and bought a bottle of Kendall-Jackson Merlot. This is $20 a bottle that sells for $75 on fine restaurant menus. I bought it for a friend that had asked to see the cabin and was looking forward to sitting on the porch while sipping some wine this evening. We agreed to get together and I was to take them out for their first cabin visit.

My friend's taste is more refined than mine so I thought I'd splurge a little on a wine of his preference so as not to reveal my own low-end standard. Unfortunately, my friend had to break plans and couldn't come out to enjoy it. With nobody to share, I enjoyed a glass or two of the Kendall-Jackson by myself with some sharp chedder cheese I had in the cooler. Perhaps in the future, my friend will find time to try it again and he too will find out how time slows down at the cabin.

Sitting on the porch provides a wonderful opportunity to enjoy nature. While turkeys cluck all around in the forest, deer gently come out to enjoy the sweet grass of the meadow below.

They have no idea I'm watching as I sit on the porch sipping my wine.

A Kendall-Jackson Merlot 2009 evening is good with or without friends

They don't even know I'm watching as I sit on the porch.

Enjoying cabin visitors

I always enjoy having visitors at the cabin; today was no exception.

Since my wife has no real interest in the cabin, I trek to the woods alone. With provisions and trusted companion Kuma d.o.g. at my side, its time to settle in for a much needed attitude adjustment after a stressful day on my job.

Not long after the wicks are lit, a fire is built and music fills the room do I start unwinding while realizing what a sanctuary the cabin has become. Kuma has fully settled in where she now has her own food and water bowl, a rawhide chewy at her side and a favorite spot for sleeping.  At home in town, its easy to stay awake late at night with the TV on and a computer available to surf. At the cabin, a fire, a dog, and a glass of wine is all that's needed and I'm ready to call it a day long before 10.

Mornings come early as the light of the sun fills the room shortly after 6 eliminating the need for a distracting alarm clock. Another log on the fire, a handful of kindling in Beulah and coffee is soon available on a hot stove to start another day.

Today, my sister and her husband arrived as fog was still heavy in the valley. As they knocked on the door, I was just turning the last link of maple sausage over on the griddle while wondering who would be foundered by all the bounty first, Kuma or me. Sandy and Mike brought the Sunday papers and an appetite for a cabin breakfast of flapjacks, sausage and baked cinnamon rolls. Beulah the wood stove delivered a hot and steamy breakfast just as my great aunt Beulah would have prepared years ago. An uneventful yet relaxing visit lasting until late into the morning provided plenty of time to fill the palate and belly while enjoying light conversation over the morning papers.

Later in the day, long after my guests had departed, two friends, John and Jacob Knight visited with me. As we sat on the porch talking too loud for deer to show, we could hear the unique cluck of wild turkeys all around in the woods. John and Jacob's visit provided an opportunity for me to share the unique surroundings and what a special place the cabin has become.

A vase that matches the cabin lamps has found a
place on the dinner table.

Beulah knows how to serve up a breakfast. Percolated coffee, maple sausage, flapjacks
and an oven full of cinnamon rolls.

Sister Sandy and brother in law Mike
enjoying a hot breakfast.

Beautiful Life Experience

As friends and neighbors fretted about the approaching storm, I was as happy as a child anticipating a trip to an amusement park while awaiting the event. Estimates of a late evening arrival after 10 pm provided enough time to go and gather cabin essentials before heading to the woods once again. As my grocery cart traveled the aisles of Kroger, I came face to face with a co-worker when I realized how far apart our two worlds were at that given time. Her cart contained household cleaners, magazines, toilet tissue, a picnic ham and groceries for a moderate size family while mine contained a large bag of ice, 2 bottles of wine, beer, cheese, nuts and dog food. For a fleeting moment, I questioned my priorities only to reaffirm my conviction to arrive at the cabin prepared to enjoy a long night of nature's entertainment.

I can't effectively describe how beautiful life's experience is when frustration, tension and worry is  left behind. Settled in for an evening and reclined before the light of a gentle fire with no modern conveniences as a distraction, all I could hear was the sound of wood searing before me. The sight and sound pulled memories from deep in my mind returning me to the mid-1960s. As I sat there staring into the fire, my thoughts returned to my parent's farm house where as a young child, I would sit in the dark late at night at my mother's side and watch the warm fire as it burned in their bedroom fireplace hearth. Though many years have passed, at least 45 if counting, the feeling, sight, smell and sound has not changed. Although my mom departed this earth years ago, its time like this I feel her love and know she really never fully left me behind. Staring, reminiscing, smiling... life goes on.

Later, as the fire burned down, I stretched on the couch with Kuma at my side on the floor still waiting the storm's arrival. Long after sleep had enveloped us both did it sneak in across the western hill to shake us from our slumber. Lying there, hearing the majestic claps of thunder and watching the room flash brightly as it moved above, it was simply another beautiful life experience. A cabin in the woods needs no curtains or blinds to screen out the night so the 7 windows and 2 skylights welcomed nature's brilliance inside like a welcomed guest. Kuma has never been one to enjoy thunderstorms so as I lay there watching it pass, I could feel her press ever so closely to the base of the couch as she sought refuge from it through my presence.

Sitting in the recliner by the fire, Kuma awaits the next cube of cheese to leave my hand.

Late at night, life becomes simple and peaceful when modern conveniences
are cast aside and nothing but the light, sound and smell of a gentle fire to
engage the soul.

Bedtime on the couch with Kuma at my side, we await the storm's
arrival.

Chopping Wood

It may be in the 80s but its already September and cool nights are right around the corner. Took advantage of the evening to split firewood for both Beulah and the fireplace. Not sure when the next rain shower will come but thought it was time to stock up on some wood just in case it gets cold in the evenings.

Still convinced we are in for an early fall. It will come all at once; one day we'll have warm weather and then the next it will be damp and cold. I plan to be ready.

Seasons Change

Long weekends provide an opportunity to slow down and enjoy changes often overlooked. With Kuma d.o.g. at my side, I unloaded the Jeep and climbed the cabin porch with supplies to sustain us for another rewarding visit. Looking around, it became very obvious the season was already in the midst of change. The flooring, chairs and swing were covered with dried leaves and after a quick assessment, I realized the ground was covered, too. Some of the trees had prematurely shed their entire load leaving barren branches weeks before the typical transition to bright Fall colors. The drought conditions have taken a toll on the Ohio forests and one day soon we may all wake only to realize we missed a traditional Ohio Fall.

Sitting in the dark on the porch while tree frogs sing all around, a distant rumble of thunder could be heard to the north as an occasional flash of lightening reveals the tree branches above. A candle on the table at my side is all that illuminates the eyes and snout of my dog as she begs for yet another small cube of cheese. Kuma loves going to the cabin as much as I do and knows that evenings on the porch are a special time that often involves little treats. A glass of wine, cubes of cheese and the natural forest sounds late in the evening prepares the soul for another relaxing night in the woods. The Westminster chimes of the Regulator inside on the wall signal the final hour of the day and the beginning of another restful night.

Inside, with windows open and the cool of the evening creeping in, I say goodbye to the passing day and anxiously await the approaching rain. Soon, the slow progression of its arrival begins serenading us both to sleep as it strikes the metal roof above. An occasional acorn releases its grip from the tree above and loudly strikes the roof as it rolls down the steep incline to the ground below. The ceiling skylights bring the lightening in where it shines brightly on the buck mount high above our resting bodies. With no obligations for the morning ahead, slumbers end will be after a full nights rest. No alarm clock will be needed as the light of a new day warmly welcomes us to another day of life.

The buck above the fire dances shadows across the ceiling.