Mountain Getaway

We rented a cabin in the NC mountains for a few days in mid-November and this was the most perfect autumn getaway.  The view from our cabin was gorgeous, and as the morning fog cleared, we had  unobstructed and expansive vistas of the Blue Ridge mountains.  We sat out here with snacks and wine as the sun set and marveled at the beauty:

The cabin had balconies from each bedroom and floor to ceiling windows.  The kids loved getting in the outdoor hot tub each night, and it was a relaxing, fun way to spend time after dinner:

L&L logged on to remote learning from the cabin, and Leah chose to complete her schoolwork from the loft/office area.  Look at that little Peanut in that big desk chair! 

Luke did his remote learning from the comfort of his bed.  Don't you love that he claimed the room with the chessboard as his?

The kids played chess and read books, and their favorite features of the cabin were the pool and ping pong tables:

We also went hiking and fishing, but I didn't take many pictures of our outdoor activities:

It was such a wonderful few days in the mountains, and we are so lucky to be able to have this opportunity this fall while the kids learn online.

   

Back at home, we've had some excitement in the great outdoors, too.  Last month, Mark noticed 2 sets of beady little eyes peering at him from our persimmon tree when he took Millie out at night.  It turns out that we have a baby raccoon and an opossum who have decided to call our yard home.  We've named them Percy (the 'possum) and Simon (the raccoon), because Percy + Simon = Per-Si-mmon (Tree).  We never know when they are going to be in the tree, and these nocturnal visitors have gotten quite brave.  One morning, I looked out, and Simon was still up in the tree....waaaaaaayyy up high.  Since it was dawn (and there was a bit more light), I was able to take photos of him with my zoom lens, and I watched him climb down and scamper away into the yard awhile later:

Where's Waldo?: Percy & Simon edition.

Simon's favorite perch, near the tippy top.

All was good until one evening, Leah and I went out to look for our friends in the tree.  She squealed and exclaimed, "Mommy, Simon is on the front porch!" (literally a foot away from the front door where we walk out with Millie numerous times each day).  He was hiding behind a planter, and, in a moment of panic, I asked Mark, "He can't open the front door with his paws, right?"

A little too close for comfort.

It makes me wonder how many other evenings he's been in this same spot...

Needless to say, the planters were removed the next morning, and we hope that the tree is a more appealing place for our little masked buddy to stay.  Percy has proven more challenging to photograph, but here are a few pics of him:

Never a dull moment living here in "cute country", and as of this week, we spied not one, but two opossums enjoying a midnight buffet of persimmons.  They are multiplying!  Although this has been educational for the kids and entertaining for our family, I may just be looking forward to the upcoming season when all of God's woodland creatures take a long winter's nap!