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A gentle breeze catches the treetops causing a rustle of leaves as the birds are awakened and begin their daily search for food. The sky reminds me of a beautiful painting with all the highlights in just the right place as if the artist’s hand was being guided by God. The quietness of the mountain is only broken occasionally by the birds calling back and forth or singing there favorite songs. Who would want to live anywhere else? I say aloud to the birds gathering near the birdfeeder. This is a place for reflecting and peacefulness envelops me as I take a seat near the corner of the porch where I can see in all directions without much movement.

Our home on what I have come to call High Mountain is 900square feet which may sound small to someone used to more living space but it is all that my husband and I require. There is a kitchen, bathroom, canning closet, living room with the eating table on one end and one bedroom. Seldom does our company stay the night and when they do, the couch is always available or they are welcome to sleep on the porch in the cot if they can talk my husband out of it. The covered porch wraps around two sides of the house and we use it as a dining and living room in the summer.

The wildlife on High Mountain is abundant and we allow those animals passing through to remain wild. Deer are in abundance and this year I have seen 5 bucks. All looked to be about 6 points which means they had three points on each side in case you are unfamiliar with the terminology. It is unusual to see bucks but we had a late freeze this past spring which killed the flowering trees so they are having a hard time finding adequate food. We have apple trees on our property and the deer have been coming by on a regular basis checking for apples but there are none this year.

In late June as I was sitting on the porch, a doe and fawn came through. She seemed to have little fear of us which is worrisome and she was so very thin. We in the Appalachians would term that as “poor”. We would say that the doe “sure looked poor” meaning she didn’t look healthy. This is the second year she has raised her fawn near the house and every few days, the doe and fawn pass through or stops to graze in the lower field near the garden. I believe she has less fear of us than the coyotes and feels that the coyotes won’t come close to the house so her fawn won’t be as venerable when she leaves it to eat.

For more information and stories of High Mountain, you can visit our feature page at
http://www.highmountainbooks.com/shopcontent.asp?type=features.

About the Author:
Born and raised in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, Jeannie and her husband currently reside in Yancey County near Burnsville, NC.