Moving to Washington...

Hi everyone, as always, I hope this finds you all well! :-)  This is a long, mass email because of where I'm located, my phone has no service and email can be slow depending on the weather I guess ... not that that bothers me. A few of my close friends & family know that I had been cutting back on communiques for the past 3 months or so ... I've spent that time really focusing on where my thoughts, & subsequent actions lead me, and really emphasizing on reducing my fears & negative thoughts via Abraham-Hicks. And now I guess I've entered 'phase 2' of that developmental process; learning to live more in Faith and less in Fear. As some of you know, I want to find land and start a "Human Potential Realized" center of sorts, and that quest has lead me closer ... to the Great Northwest ... 30 miles east of Bellingham, WA. I was looking for a unique, out of the way place to live in the mean time ... so I was searching & waiting patiently because I knew it was out there. I found an ad on Craigs list advertising "Farm Living" and I started reading the attached blog that my now 'new' "Green Acres" landlady writes. After the first few paragraphs, I knew that this was the place for me. (check out her blog at 'asthebutterchurns.com'). So I packed up the U-Haul, towed the Jeep, & landed here last Thursday. After briefly meeting the owner Denise, I unloaded and proceeded to 'move in'. 

     Friday I went to the main house to hang out with Denise and got to know her and Wayne, her upstairs lodger. I also got to meet the 6 house dogs, who range from a 1 year old Great Dane named Irish, to Bruno, a little ‘Rat Dog’. I'll spare you the names because I don't remember them all. I also met the farm's 8 geese, 3 cows, Miracle the Mule, 4 goats and 4 sheep ... and Emmett 'the mouse killer' cat, whom I was told I could borrow for a night or two to rid my place of field mice if I wanted ;-). Denise and I later walked down to the pasture ... she showed me where one of the cows got stuck in the fence one night. She said that while she and her friend Mike were busy trying to free the trapped beast, she looked around with her flashlight and noticed a pair 'eyes' shining nearby in the bushes... Mike, said that they were probably cougars and that the cow probably got spooked and subsequently stuck. he also suggested that they should make their way back to the house ... quickly, but calmly . 

     Saturday I got to meet Denise's son Henry ... he's a great 11 year old. Wayne then showed me around the forty acres, and a couple of hours later he, Henry and I were busy dislodging Wally 'the beavers' dam because the pond was over flowing with all the rain. Later that afternoon I spent some time with Henry in the  barn, breaking bales of hay into flakes and stacking them because they got wet and needed to dry out. That night I was invited to dinner for some great chili & a movie. On my way out Denise walked me to the porch where we talked a while, getting more acquainted, when she pointed out into the dark ... and whispers "do you see that ... over there ... by those trees...?"  I followed her finger pointing into the shadows, and then I saw it, about 60-80 feet out ... against the darkness, I saw a faintly, light colored animal, walking like a big cat ... towards the meadow where the cows were. It was a trip! We pretty much agreed that it was a cougar. Nothing else in the wildlife around here is that big, has that kind of build & gait. I mean they (we) have deer, elk, bear, etc., walking on the property, but this looked nothing like any of them. She rushed inside to get a flashlight... Henry comes out with a ‘killer flashlight’ but it wasn't charged ... then Denise returns with a Maglite and low batteries... :-(  But it was just enough to shine into the bushes and in a minute or two, I flashed on his eyes, in the dark they lit up really well, then they disappeared. Our hearts were pounding... Henry, rightfully so, was frightened and went back inside to call his Dad. Denise & I searched the tree line for a few more minutes, before deciding to go down and check on the cows. She said we could drive down in her mini van and I was like "or we could do it right and take my jeep". So we drove down through the meadow and around the pasture, shining the headlights every where we could. but he was gone. And then when we saw a Doe walking through the apple trees, we figured, if she's out he must really be gone. Not a bad 2nd day!

     Sun mid-morn, I went over to meet Denise's visiting sister Lisa, husband & kids, and had lunch. Then while the 5 kids drove the tractor over to the pond to make sure Wally the beaver wasn't rebuilding... Denise, Lisa, Wayne & I picked apples to make cider. They have a new 'old fashioned' cider press, and after prepping the bounty, the kids all took turns at the crank handle ... and in no time, fresh apple cider! You can't beat it. Not bad for the 3rd day here ... pic's to follow soon ... until

then... take good care of yourselves, Alexis