There are firsts for everything under the sun. This week I have experienced my first home on a cliff edge, my first sunrise and my first power outage in the home, my first time seeing eagles from above their flight and my first guest in our new home.
I’ll start by saying we have a home with 70 linear feet of sliding glass doors view of the spectacular bluffs of the Mississippi River. It is simply to live for. We see incredible hundred year old oak, lovely birch and pine trees, a lake, a river, the Minnesota and Wisconsin bluffs, and of course, the Great River.
Our first sunrise on the first morning was as incredible as I dreamt it could be, and as soon as I get my regular putie up, I will post a photo.
My neighbor to the north came by and offered photos of what this house used to look like inside. She also gave me an older phone book to look up helpful people. She chatted about how the deer come by to nibble on our shared arbor vitae and how the rest of the rascally animal kingdom come around to help us share our trash. Good to know. I love critters, but this isn’t the first time I have lived among them and while I appreciate them sharing the space with me, I know how uncomfortable it can get when species collide over food. But, more than that, I am so grateful for having a neighbor who is friendly and helpful.
Because I am so dependent on electricity for my life, I called Xcel to see what I should expect for power outages in this area. I had put it off several days, just wanting to enjoy the space and newness of it all. The Xcel rep told me that the power had been down four times in two years, for about a minute each time. I was so relieved. Even I can go a minute without power, I told her. Then, the very next day, the power went out. We called in and Xcel told dh that they would be up and running in 90 minutes or so. The power came back on in 64 minutes. I was so afraid and so relieved. Let’s hope that’s about all for this year. I can only take so much, and I am sure there are others who would have a tough time without power for more than a short time. Phew!
Now, the best part was yesterday, when we saw what seemed to be a family of eagles fly past here, not once, not twice, but many, many times over the course of a 7 hour period. We are right about at the height of their flight path, so we see them first as a straight side view. Then, when they catch an upward draft or swoop down to the cornfields hunting grounds, we see the under and the over. But the white tail and head are always prominently displayed.
Honestly, though, the eagles are a magnificent species and breathtakingly beautiful and so efficient in flight. Please visit the National Eagle Center if you have never been. It is eye opening and enjoyable for the whole family .
Everyone in town it seems is aware of this house. It used to be the biggest on the bluff, but no more, since the town pharmacist built a bigger one on the next bluff, as if to say, na na na na na na. Huh!
I have him fooled because it is not the house so much as the wind and the sky that I love and the creatures from the Creator, whom I honor and am so grateful to for my dear life and all that surrounds me.