The year draws to a close. We find ourselves pausing to reflect on the blessings of the past twelve months. We hope this season finds you surrounded by love, laughter, and the warmth of home. We usually send a long boring description of the year and this letter will be no exception.
As in past years, we traveled to visit folks and we hosted folks at our place. We watched a a variety of animals come and go both in person and on trail cams. We stared at our phones. We stared at laptops. We stared at wide screens. There were some firsts for us in 2025. Beth got back on her feet after knee replacement surgery. FTTH made it to our house in the Smoky Mountains. Mike killed a rattlesnake. And, he made it to the top of Waterrock Knob. The snake and the climb are not related.
Here are some trips that may be worthy of mention. We spent Mike's birthday in Asheville. We spent Beth's birthday in Black Mountain. We thought that stay-cations were appropriate given the devastation to the tourism industry from Helene. Then we went to San Diego which, we know, is not in the local area. The group of "BTL women," whom Beth worked with in the Chicago area, had their reunion. Obviously, it was in San Diego.
We went to Spoleto again this year. None of the other old "hard core" beach-house-rental-for-Spoleto crowd were there. Again. Charleston was hot. Charlotte was hotter. We were there for a family wedding How are you guys doing: Gabby & Andrew? Next we drove to Raleigh to see Carol and to Apex to see Toetie and Phil. Our final trip was to Chicago for both work and play.
There was a wedding in our cove. It was on 4/20, naturally. How's it going: Lee & Rudy? Other friends came to the cove (but not for the wedding.) Beth's cousin Denny is always welcome. We owe that clan a visit. "Charleston Beth" came to visit twice (plus we visited her during Spoleto). We will explain "Charleston Beth" in a moment and we haven’t forgotten the rattlesnake. Another significant visitor to the cove was Jayma, who is David's partner. Daved visited as well. At the same time.
A regular pair of visitors to our place are Saro and her mom, Elizabeth. Saro and Mike read to each other weekly-ish. It's always a highlight for Mike. One time we were talking to Elizabeth about our visitor from Charleston (Mt Pleasant actually ... old Mt Pleasant) That visitor was Beth. To distinguish Beths, Mike may have refereed to her as Charleston Beth. The name stuck. It could get really confusing if all three used Elizabeth as their name.
It was that visit from Beth which resulted in Mike's making it to the top of Waterrock. It's not a strenuous hike, but it could be an ankle twister. So, it's wise to take the trail with someone. (We have a story about someone who did twist an ankle/leg on a short hike ... you must ask in person.)
Let's see. What else? We did buy a bZ4X. It goes much further on a charge than our 9 year old LEAF (which we still have, because it takes very little maintenance.) We have had snow already this year (not enough for Beth, of course.) ChatGPT has been available for 3 years. Developments in Generative AI keep accelerating.
Was there anything else? Oh yes, the rattlesnake. We have seen several of them over the years. They are great to control mice. Our lazy cats love to catch mice. But then they just play with the mice. And get bored. And let the mice go!! Anyway, the rattlesnake this time got too close to the house. Plus, it showed up in the middle of Saro's birthday party. Mike went to get a long handled shovel. Elizabeth told him to change out of his sandals, too.
Bears should also be mentioned. Last year we had seen (on a cam) a mother with cubs. We also saw a bigger older male. This year the male was back as well as a smaller bear. The smaller bear could be one of the growing cubs. The small bear certainly was at the beginning of its learning curve. It liked the apples which had fallen to the ground. Then it shook the tree to get more apples. Then it climbed into the small tree to reach more apples. Then it broke off branches for more apples. That was enough. Mike pulled off any remaining apples and painted the tree's wounds. We saw that year-old bear several more times over the summer. One time it even came to the front door.
Our friends are welcome at the front door anytime. Bears, not so much. A merry holiday to all and a very happy New Year!
Love, Beth & Mike
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