I really love my apartment. I actually prefer the basement because it shields me from street traffic. The up/down duplex is on a hill, so only the top apartment is above ground in front, but the slope is so steep that I have windows at both sides as well as in the back. The living room window is very large and opens out into the woods behind my house—I can see only trees. It is so beautiful! The rear bedroom window is small, but I have arranged the bed so that if I sit on it (to read) or lie on it (to reflect) I look out on the maples and poplars, and at night with the window open, cricket chirps drift in on the rustling wind.
For Berly, the insides of the house count most, but just give me God’s creation outside to breathe life into my soul. I need a yard for my own private space and to keep my neighbors a friendly wave apart. So checking out residences was quick and easy—without appointments or keys, just addresses. I drove passed 15 units in a 25 mile radius, but found the very best option right across the creek from Berly’s apartment (about a block away if I push through the thickets, around the ravine, and climb the rail fence… four blocks if I take the street).
The fall is still weeks away, and the woods are stuffed so tight with green that the blue sky can only peak through where the trees thin out to make room for houses. Even so, every little breeze puffs down a shower of yellow leaves like a bevy of butterflies floating to earth. The golden cascades drift down and like the soft lapping of ocean waves wash into my heart with a whisper of peace: “Release”… “Relax”… “Let… life… flow.”
Janathan Grace Reflections 
Clap…..Clap…….BRAVO! I love the way you captured that. Jes and i will be heading to the hills of west virginia for a day of relaxation and fishing…..i can’t wait.
I just realized you’d started posting more regularly and now have a ton of material and Kent-isms to catch up on.
I LOVED reading this. It made me miss DC and West Virginia so much. Thanks for that picturesque narrative.
Thanks, Amy. That encourages me to keep posting.