September 28, 2014

Sunday stillness. We are here at Pine Acres overlooking the beautiful--and this morning, serene Lake Dean. Wrapped in my cozy robe, perched in my rocker on the back screened porch here, I am entranced with the beauty and quiet. Just as is so often the case on BackPorch in CT, even the wildlife seems reverent this Sunday morn.

Tucked in our 4 cozy cabins, we've already spent a couple of restful nights and happy days enjoying camp-fires, s'mores, miniature golf, chats and laughter, and lazy strolls through the campgrounds, and yes, after a couple of days, we are beginning to realize how weary we were, how much we needed this respite, and how difficult it is to let go of the gotta-do's for a few days.

Speaking of gotta-do's, I must tell you about CheekyChips, a tawny little white bellied fella with beady brown eyes and a personality to match his name.
He, along with many relatives--too many to count--are busy with their gotta-do's, here at Pine Acres, from dawn to dusk, chipping and bustling through the woods, cheeks full of nuts and other treasures.

Then there was Miss Chipalina, svelte and dainty as-you-please, darting through the underbrush, chipping in her high-pitched feminine voice. She stopped just feet away from me, mouth full of brightly colored leaves, cheeks bulged out to here! "Hello there, Miss Chipalina!..." I offered quietly. Her brown eyes snapped and sparkled in the sunlight before she darted away and zipped down a hole, leaves and all. I'll bet she's working on a maple-leaf quilt for winter will all those pretty leaves.

Just like our wildlife at Hare Hollow, I'm sure the Gotta-do list is monumental for the critters here at Pine Acres as well. Winter looms just around the corner. There are pantries to fill with berries and nuts, nests to line with warm padding, and well--
maple leaf quilts to sew and line with milkweed thistle down.

And now back to the stillness of this Sunday morning, and rest.