HIGHLAND COUNTY VIRGINIA 1975

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MOUNTAIN MAN, CYRUS CASH 1972

THE BIG MOVE 2013

For those of you who have been following my blog for the past several years, you have likely been wondering what happened to me. Did I suddenly drop off the face of the earth or what? It has been several months since I posted my last image and there has been a good reason for this.

Last fall, we purchased a forty acre plot of land in a wilderness area with the idea of building a new house on the site and then making the biggest move that we have ever dreamed of. This land is located at about the seven thousand foot level, a third of the way up the UNCOMPAHGRE PLATEAU. Yet, we are only tem miles from our former home in Montrose, Colorado.  Our land is surrounded by BLM land and for those of you who live back east, that means public land, or what you might be used to calling National Forest. We are completely surrounded by wilderness land and that makes for about the most peace and quiet that one can ever wish for.

The site was established and the construction began last December, and we watched the progress of the house until our move on June 1, 2013. Now, we are settled and getting used to a way of life that both of us have dreamed of for several decades.

I grew up in a country environment back in Virginia and we were in a place where I could step out of my parent's little cottage and disappear into the woods for hours at a time, and this is the peace and quiet that I have remembered to this day. Thanks to my wife Pat, we pulled this move off in grand style, but it was the toughest move we have ever made, and I am approaching eighty and it is not the sort of move a normal eighty year old would consider making. Heck, many people simply give up at this point. But, we are starting off on a fresh new adventure with lots of fun things to do yet.

Aside from setting up housekeeping and getting all of our stuff moved and in place, we are now working hard to clear the undergrowth from the surrounding forest. Trimming juniper trees and sawing up wood for the coming winter is our number one chore right now, and with the present drought and fire danger, it is best to get the dead wood down and away from our fire breaks. You have heard of the Black Forest fire near the front range south of Denver. More than five hundred nice homes have gone up in flames during the past couple of weeks, and more fires are being fought as I write this essay. This is likely the worst drought and fire season on record for Colorado.

One of the few images which I have had time to make since last fall is this photograph of our new home in the wilderness. We refer to it as our wilderness gallery, because many of our works of art are now hanging on the walls of this new home. Pat has her studio over the garage and with her wide picture window which faces the north, she is able to see for miles with the Grand Mesa in the background to the east of Grand Junction,  and she is able to view sunsets that most people can only dream of.

So, that is where things presently stand with the Jeffers clan. In time, I will share a few more new images with you, but I will have to admit that the camera is pretty much taking a back seat to our present wilderness activities.


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