Sharing Thoughts About My Move Here
Before moving here, I realized that I could continue following the same routine that I had followed for years—walking and skiing the same trails, biking the same routes, going to the same places or I could make the decision to create new memories.
Almost everyone told me that I should downsize.
As you can tell, I didn’t listen.
And I’m glad that I didn’t.
An Adventure
Oh what an adventure this has been. Every time I came up the road through the forest and crested the hill to my house, I could feel it—I was on an adventure.
I knew I was going to spend hours looking at the mountain range.
And, I never dreamed of all the colors I would see as the sky, seasons and weather changes.
- Watching huge thunderclouds develop way up north by Glacier Park and then move this way along the Swan Mountain Range.
- Or bear cubs splashing each other in the pond.
- Or triplet fawns that I watched grow from newborns, dash around, and play year after year.
I could never have imagined how amazing it would be.
Just now, I looked up from writing, and the blue morning sky is filled with bright pink clouds, framed against the dark blue of the range. As always, I had to grab my camera.
Yesterday, I looked down to see a mama deer and her two adorable spotted fawns drinking at the pond.
Sometimes it is hard to stay on task—well maybe many times is more accurate.
Yes, there have been challenges. There was work to do to create my personal vision, and how much richer my story is for having chosen this new adventure.
What Color Were Those Walls?
I couldn’t have told you what color the walls were or what type of countertops the house had after my showing with my agent. We spent most of our time here, not looking at the house—we stood in front of the huge wall of windows looking at the life we could imagine living here.
Please don’t assume that the house isn’t beautiful or well-built as it is both, and it was the view, the privacy, the opportunity that brought me here. And those same qualities inspire guests to share their wish to live here.
A Magical Forest
I’ve spent many hours walking with my dogs, skiing, and simply soaking in the beauty of a forest different from any that I have previously experienced. It has been interesting to hear friends describe it as “magical,” because that is certainly how I would describe it. Or to hear them exclaim, “This is just like the forests in the Northwest!”
I also learned something that I never expected after moving here.
The importance of “place” in family traditions and memories
Until leaving my home of 25 years in Southwest Montana and moving here to Bigfork, I didn’t realize the significance of “place” in family memories. When my nephews came to visit for the first time, they were very quiet and seemed not very excited to be here.
I finally asked them what was up. Their response surprised me. They said, you gave away the place with all our memories—we’ll never get to walk down the creek anymore.
For them, visits with me were tightly wound with the place where the memories were formed.
My nephews are adults now, and their experience prompted me to think about the memories that will be created for a future family calling this home.
The Bear Waiting His Turn
Soon after moving here I very quickly learned that this is home to a wide variety of wildlife.
One morning while doing the dishes a lynx walked right outside my window.
Another time, I looked up while out on the front porch and a tiny bear cub was right there at the top of the drive.
My most memorable encounter happened at the ponds. I was using an inner-tube to kick back and forth and as I was doing that, I was thinking “This is heaven.”
Then I turned around to go the other direction and there was a bear approaching from the other end of the pond.
At first I thought maybe he didn’t see me and so I made noise thinking he would retreat. He didn’t—he continued to come forward until he was sitting close to the edge of the pond.
“Well heck,” I thought, “Now what do I do?“
I backed out of the pond and into the fenced area. As soon as I was up by the house, the bear meandered over to where I had placed a metal heron. He took some time checking out the heron and then got in the pond and started to swim laps, just as I had been doing.
I decided that he had been waiting his turn, and wondering, “What are you doing in my pond?” I can chuckle about it now and at the time if I had been wearing boots, I would have been shaking in them.
That has been the only time a bear tried to join me for a swim and it was certainly memorable.
Not many people can say they took turns swimming with a bear!
Sights Only You Will See
A great deal of living here is predictable and if you take the time to notice, there is usually something happening outside that you might never have had the chance to see anywhere else.
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