We have arrived!

5 years ago we bought 20 acres in a forest development on Johns Peak near Jacksonville, Oregon. We have 180 degree view of the Rogue River Valley.

We spent many hours dreaming and planning for the day we could unplug from our corporate jobs and relocate. We are finally here.

The mountain in the background in Mt. McLoughlin (also know as Mt. Pitt) which is 9,492 feet. We hope to hike the mountain next summer.

We broke ground on our home in September '05. The 'footprint' of our single level home is quickly taking shape.

We are renting a home near Jacksonville while we build our home. We hope to have our house completed by next August or September. As of 10/14 the sub flooring is in. Next week, more excavation and steel post setting.

The rental house is a comfortable single level home with plenty of storage. Southern Oregon has critters we are not used to seeing in Portland. One day I went out to the mailbox to check the mail. There was a lot of mail from the previous resident mixed in with ours so I gathered the lot and got into the car to sort it out. At the bottom of the pile was the following note:

Caution - Big black widow in rear of your mailbox. Carol

You can only image my extreme distress as I looked down on my lap and saw 'something' fall from the papers. Needless to say I was out of the car quicker than you can scream (insert favorite swear word!) . Luckily it was nothing. However, now I approach the mailbox with caution and have a whole new appreciation for the USPS.

We have also seen praying mantis, deer, fox, wild turkey, eagles, hawks, black widow spider (in a can), lots of bear poop and some cat poop as well. There is abundent rode kill, mostly skunk and possem. The other night a pack of coyotes were near the house. Their howling woke us up. Good thing the kitties were inside.

Gunnar and Karl are settling in just fine. They seem to be content to hang out on the deck. We are reluctant to let them go out much further given the animal life, so we blocked the deck. They don't seem to care much. As is typical for cats, they sleep most of time anyway.

The weather here is absolutely fabulous. Clear and warm during the day with evening temperatures a bit cooler than PDX. We do get some blustery weather. Last night a small storm blew in and almost blew the BBQ off the deck. No kidding. We were sitting in the kitchen and heard a rumbling noise outside. Gary looked out on the deck and didn't see his barbecue as it had rolled sideways. Good thing the block we put up for Gunnar & Karl works for BBQ's, too.

The sunsets are pretty nice, too.