Find peace and a better lifestyle through communing with nature!

As animal lovers and nature enthusiast, we discovered a lifestyle of peace by relocating to the great outdoors. We were very fortunate to find the ideal wildlife microclimate in which to build our home.

Towering majestic hardwoods, a 25 foot wide bold stream and rolling topography give us the feel of the peaceful mountain lifestyle we had longed for. We currently own 14 acres and are the caretakers of an additional 24 acres ( 12 acres on each side of us) for family and friends.

These combined properties are located a half mile off a one lane dirt road in a sparsely populated county. We refer to this combination of properties as the "back forty".

Several old wagon roads from the 1800's navigate much of the property. One runs parallel to the driveway through an old growth ridge of assorted hickory and oaks. A second traverses the rear of the property, parallel to the stream through a hardwood bottom speckled with native azaleas, ferns, sweet shrubs and the like until reaching a makeshift rock bridge from earlier times.

The back forty's interior is terraced slopes of regenerated pines, sweet gum, Winged and American elm, hawthorns, sourwoods, dogwoods, wild cherries, swamp maples, eastern cedars and wild blueberry bushes in abundance. Wildflowers are prolific throughout the properties including asters, fleabane, trilliums, lady slippers, rabbit tobacco, passion flower, wooly mullien, blazing star, goldenrod, trumpet and jessamine vines, violets and so many others I have yet to identify.

We are avid gardeners well versed in the "learn as you go" and experimentation formulas. Upon purchasing our property and witnessing the diverse wildlife and plant life, we knew immediately we wanted to preserve what we had and landscape accordingly. We have raised bed vegetable gardens, pleasure gardens, woodland garden areas, and others dedicated as wildlife gardens. We compost regularly and even have a worm bed.

Our third winter here we witnessed three pairs of bluebirds clamoring in the honeysuckle along the front fence during a brief ice storm. Simple bluebird houses were then constructed. Utilizing the half mile long drive and correlating power line easement we established a Bluebird habitat trail. Next we installed bat houses around the property to further supplement the natural nesting cavities found here. We then made further use of the power easement's length and location for wildlife food plots, mass flower plantings for bees and butterflies and even installed a vineyard in one sector. We are currently in the process of completing an orchard area of fruit trees. We have planted several apple, peach and pear trees over the years. Currently we maintain eight various sized wildlife food plots. Yes, we love the great outdoors!

We use natural materials wherever and whenever we can in our landscaping projects. Rocks brought forth by annual tilling of food plots are used to construct retaining walls, felled trees are utilized as fence post and landscape timbers. Arbors are allowed to cover with native vines. Cleared debris, tree tops and garden refuse is used to construct wildlife brushpiles and future compost.

What a peaceful lifestyle!! To date, we frequently see deer grazing with their fawns alongside the cottontails in our clover patches. Mourning doves scratch along the gravel drive and our many custom built feeders are laden with the competition of Northern Cardinals, American Robins, Towhees, Warblers, Caped Chickadees, Blue jays, Vireos and occasional Rose breasted grosbeaks, while chipmunks hover beneath for falling seeds. Downy, Redhead, Redbellied and Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker and other woodpeckers asserted their solitary domain so often, we finally constructed a four block suet feeder just for them.

Of course not to be outdone, the Eastern Gray and Fox squirrels soon needed feeders dedicated to them, so back into the shop an out with a lifting station and bottle feeder constructions and installations. The nightly raids of flying squirrels on the bird feeders are always a treat to see.

Hummingbirds frequent our home, therefore we keep two feeders filled almost year round with our cost efficient homemade nectar.

In addition to the many well known critters mentioned previously, other frequent visitors to our home include armadillos, Grey and red foxes, bobcats, raccoons, ravens, woodland ducks, wild turkeys, quail, hawks, Pileated and cockaded woodpeckers, bats, lizards, insects, butterflies and the beleaguered honeybee and of course everyone's least favorite, snakes.

More specific information on all these topics can be found within gardening-and-landscaping-for-wildlife. Be sure to visit the Plans,& Tips section section for some great ideas.

The eternal hope of spring permeates the air, as the woods and meadows burst back to life with blooms in concert with the awakening chorus of insects and amphibians. The earthy aroma of fresh tilled soil wafts through the open screens as the gardens and food plots are planted. Pollen soon glazes all hard structures brilliant yellow making us sniff, cry and sneeze. The birds fly back and forth with nesting materials in their beaks as the last few chilly nights slip away. We anxiously await the year’s first appearance of fawns, baby birds and butterflies.

Summer’s bounty is realized in fresh flowers, picking fresh veggies and wild fruits and berries that will be shared with friends and family. Long hot days are spent strolling for pleasure and collecting project materials down fern lined paths through the hardwood forest’s dense shade, eventually reaching the refreshing cool mist of the stream. Mowing, weeding, fishing, bird watching, BBQ’s and late nights around the fire pit with our like minded neighbors round out the days.

Fall sends us out in a blaze of glory as the deciduous canopies turn bold and magnificent reds, oranges and yellows, prior to yielding themselves to future compost. Fall gardens and food plots beckon for our attention. Fall crops will be planted for the wildlife to supplement the natural winter feeding browse. Fall is our main planting time of year, as our success ratio tremendous when done this time of year. We will service the outdoor equipment for winter and begin other winter preparations. Ever so slowly, the humming woods grow quieter with each passing cooler night.

Winter’s solace comes as the sound of a gurgling, rushing stream that could not be heard from the house previously in the year. The canopy that had muffled the creek has given way to naked trees and the soft illumination of the woodland floor. We again enjoy the cold crisp days of working outside, tending those chores too hot to bear in the summer. Shop projects are reserved for the coldest, wettest of days. Darkness creeps in earlier and few sounds of wildlife are heard, save an occasional crunch of leaves underfoot deer or rabbits or an owls hoot. The days fade and stars envelope the house affording us a panoramic view of the Milky Way.

God Bless.