Our place in the woods...

You know, our place in the woods probably wouldn't impress a lot of people, but it's been a good home over the last 21 years. We still feel like outsiders in a place where many families have lived for generations. (Our daughter just married into one of those ancient Finnish families. NOW, maybe we'll fit in? Nah!)

Anyway, I'm blessed every time I look out the window and realize that we get to live in this beautiful place all year long. Not just for a few weeks during the summer. We live in a tourist area where thousands convene every summer to enjoy the woods and lakes. The locals complain about "the tourists" and how crowded everything is in the summer, but the tourists keep our economy humming. So we smile and try to make them feel at home. I feel sad for them as they head back to the city after a brief visit to our "neck of the woods".

Yes, part of the price we pay is living "below the poverty line". But that just makes life a little more interesting and encourages us to be a little more creative. With an empty nest we no longer have to worry about the kids, so we can enjoy the challenges of cutting firewood, growing a garden and other things we do to save money and keep the house cozy all winter. It's all in how you look at things.

We can all learn to be content where we are.

Here are a couple of photos of our front porch and my wild roses which grow by the steps and my favorite birch clump in the front yard.