West Bethel
We are well and truly relocated, now living on Eden Lane in Bethel. I like to think of our new establish-ment as the Garden of Eden, even though we will be starting from scratch, garden-wise. The previous own-ers had a summer cottage down at the coast and so did not have gardens up here. Ergo, it’s up to us to create some.
Our new neighbors have been most welcoming. Almost every time I go out walking I meet someone, and a brief conversation ensues. Jake is getting to know everyone as well. On Monday I decided to time the walk to the IGA. It takes just over 15 minutes. I’d rather wear out shoe leather than burn gas, so I’ll probably be making frequent small purchases, rather than one huge one a week.
The week before our move, the silly season had started, and I picked up 40 cents worth of bottles and cans on the forest road. Also the sap run ended rather abruptly with some summer-like weather. On April 1 we heard our first tree frogs, and on April 5, hermit thrushes. Contrast this with Saturday morning’s surprise of five or six inches of heavy, wet snow. Our granddaughter, Molly, and her dad took advantage of it and skied the trails at the Gould race course. The birch trees were leafing out right along the trailside.
Jerry Vincent called April 12 to tell of his bear sightings. The week before he had a male that raided his seed feeder at night, so he took down that feeder. Then on the 12th a sow and her cub were at the suet feeder. Needless to say, he removed the suet as well.� Jerry did say that it was a mighty cute cub, and Tess, the Lab, went wild when she saw the baby and its mom.
The Hoehstead is no longer ours. We closed on the sale of that house on April 13. Your new neighbors will be Brad and Stacy Standley, a very pleasant couple who are looking forward to enjoying the woods, wildlife, and gardens on the Flat Road.
These days our morning walks take us around the Paradise Road neighborhood, and we are learning all the little side roads that lead to interesting destinations. Friend Bonnie and I met one morning recently at the Gould ski trails for a pleasant but wet walk in the woods. There is a great deal of water in the woods af-ter all the recent rains. As I write this, the sun is shining once more, and it again feels like spring. But re-member the old adage, if you don’t like the weather, wait a minute.
The big news in West Bethel this week is the wedding of Laura Pivin and Patrick Crockett, which will take place tomorrow, the 23rd. Friends and family from all over will be in attendance. Proud grandparents are Linda and Reg Westleigh. Lisa’s parents are Lisa and Paul Pivin of West Bethel. May the sun shine upon Laura and Patrick, and may they live long and prosper together.
While we are comfortable in our new surroundings; we both miss the solitude and quiet of the Flat Road. And certainly the walk on the Forest Road has no equal here in town. But life is a series of changes and ad-aptations thereto. I like to think of change as a healthy and stimulating part of life, without which we would stagnate. So we enter a new phase, looking back fondly on the old and forward optimistically to the new. You can reach me at 824-2917 or dhoeh@megalink.net. Do be in touch; I’ll be counting on hearing from you.