Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Life Equals Time and Energy, Experience It!

Today is the last day of the school year.  Our first school year in NEWA.  My son has grown exponentially since we arrived.  The school here is SO much better than where we came from and the kids as a group are much more respectful of one another.  They are also light years more educated.

It amazes me that getting an education in the public school system in this country can be so extremely different from school to school, state to state and dollar to dollar.  The spending level per kid here is almost $2000 per year higher than in Nevada.  I only wish we had gotten here sooner.

Lots of changes in one school year.  New school, new teachers, new friends, a new home and new responsibilities.  Daniel will now begin a senior project.  This adventure should be required in every senior's life.  Finding a mentor (not a relation) to encourage and guide you on a worthwhile (approved) endeavor, performing the tasks necessary to complete that goal and presenting to a board of local professionals will require skills that will become necessary in his future.  I am so proud of the man that my son has become.

We met Daniel's mentors a couple weekends ago and I must say that I would love to spend the required hours with them to learn their obvious skills and admire their creativity.  Learning new things is so exciting, but I can watch from a distance and gather up all the details.

Speaking of details, Daniel made pens for his friends who graduated last week and the foreign exchange students he will miss.  The pens were gorgeous.  Since he IS a procrastinator, he was making them at the very last minute, so I didn't get a chance to take a picture of them all before he went out the door.  I did snap this one though.  I think he has a real talent for this hobby and the gifts that it generates are wonderful.
2008

For the rest of us at NEWA, our time has not been idle.  I wish you could be here to see our property first hand.  I am reminded of the day we drove onto our property for the first time.  There was no 'driveway' per se, and we had to haul the travel trailer through the brush and 'make camp' in the clearest place we could find.  That property is gone forever!  Now I live in what can only be considered a park!

2012
It seems that the brush here, once mowed down a few times, comes back as grass!  Who would have imagined that?  (Well maybe someone in the know.)  I've seen other properties up here that are gorgeously landscaped and I thought it took years of work to get it that way.  Turns out, all you have to do is obtain a brush mower and go to work!  It is also no small task, Don has been laboring away, but the results are awesome.  AND, the wildlife likes it better too.

I have seen two moose this week (big moose), cross the south end of the property and amble up and over the road towards the giant pond on the opposite side of the road.  They are so much fun to watch and so easy to miss, I wonder what I actually HAVE missed.

2008
We have our nightly visitors, the deer.  First the females come through and then the males come and run them off then play like little kids in the yard.  It is such a blessing to be here to witness the wonders of the wildlife.  Our neighbor boasts a regular group of elk that come in to the salt lick every night.  I think they have not ventured this far yet because of the new activity over here (us).
We have several species of birds, including a plethora of hummers that are so brave I have to be careful when wearing my red t-shirt.  There is even a resident bald eagle!

2012
I get to live in a park, complete with woods and a creek, sit outside in my lawn chair and enjoy a quiet so pure that I keep wondering when I will wake up!  Then I get to go inside, take a shower, sleep in my comfy bed, get up in the morning and do it all over again. 


2012
2008











NEWA is a well-guarded secret.  Some of the neighbors would like to keep it that way.  I want to shout to the world about what a wonderful, joyful, experience I am having.  I hope each of you can find your NEWA Experience.  There is nothing in the world better.


PS - I forgot to mention the squirrels.  We have Rocky AND Bullwinkle. :)

2 comments:

  1. Robin, reading your blog takes me back to our first couple of years in this beautiful part of the country. I love the wildlife, too, and appreciate your photos of all the species. Thank you for putting into words how we all feel about this NEWA experience.

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  2. Robin, I've been reading your blog for several months now, ever since my mom (June) told me about it. It sure looks wonderful up there! Love all the pictures and your very insightful stories. Tell Don I said hello!

    Rick Vale

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