Give Thanks...The View From A Hill

 Yesterday, my wife and I got in the car and drove north, then east, then northeast. When we stopped the car the temperature outside read -3˚ and we found ourselves in Bern, Idaho. Everything we saw, the mountain ridges, the valley, was completely covered with a blanket of white. Yes, the sun was shining, but it wasn't warm enough to melt anything. 

We got out of the car and entered the church. Two hours later, we left the church and drove to the Bern Cemetery. Even though it warmed up significantly, it still hurt to deeply inhale, but all those issues faded away by simply looking east.

It was spectacular.

Of course, I would rather have not have had to be there, nor would anyone else who made the trip. Such is the way of things.

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say cemeteries fascinate me...not to the point of stopping and checking out a random cemetery when I'm driving by. The cemetery in Bern is located on a western-facing hillside. It's long and thin and the road encircles the gravesites. And the view to the east is amazing. I'm grateful for the dedicated pioneers that settled the valley and those who remain. I'm grateful they chose a beautiful place for a cemetery, and I'm grateful to be able to gather with family and friends to honor a wonderful soul.

What Might Have Been...

 Just over a year ago, our family faced a decision...many decisions, actually. We had decided to relocate north and we had some options...

Buy...

Or build.

We chose to buy.

And as each day passed, we received confirmation that the decision not to build was the right call.

Still...

In the neighborhood where we wanted to live, we found a house that was 90% built--brand new--beautiful. But, just up the hill was a building lot and the views from that lot were amazing. Years ago, we built a house...it was our first house and the experience was both rewarding and exhausting. We were so much younger then. Plus, we lived right across the street from the new house and we could put in so much sweat equity, it brought the price of our house down to a point where we could afford it.

If we chose to build again, this would not be an option. We'd be living a mile or more away (at least...) and we'd have to pay so much in rent, it would eat into the equity we gained from the sale of our house. All these factors and the uncertainty of getting building materials in a timely manner made the choice to buy the almost-finished home a no-brainer.

Still...

The other day I took a walk to the lot we picked out. That view (when there's no smoke...), is something I know we'd love.

In life, there's always pros and cons, pluses and minuses. You must weigh the alternatives in many things. Choosing a house is one of the bigger decisions a person makes. I know we made the right choice, but sometimes it's interesting to consider what might have been.

There's More Than Just Clouds Up There...

 My wife, mom-in-law and I were outside this afternoon when I noticed something in the sky. At first I only saw a few birds, so I climbed up on a rock wall to get a better view. What I saw was amazing--the biggest flock of birds flying in a V-formation I'd ever seen.

It's difficult to see from the photo, but you can spot the front of the V just left and above the apex of the roof. The lines of birds continue both up and to the right and down to the right. We--as amateur bird watchers/spotters figure there were around one-hundred birds in that flock headed north...

Migrating.

There's a lot of cool things to see here. Before we moved, I'd lived in the same place for so long, I guess I'd seen so much of it, nothing seemed new. Now, everything we see seems new. I suppose that will wear off in time, but for now, it's exciting--you don't know what's next.

I've heard from friends who lived in this valley years ago. One specifically pointed out all the amazing birds there are to see up here. Since I'm an amateur watcher/spotter, I haven't been seeking out the birds that can be found in the skies above the valley. Who knows...maybe I might be a little more active in that area.