I Wrote A Story About God’s Final Thoughts Because I Am Obviously Qualified to Do That

Let’s just say what we’re all thinking.

Writing a story called The Last Thought of God is a humble act, comparable only to climbing Mount Everest in flip-flops, or rewriting the Constitution on a napkin at Denny’s. Which is to say: completely reasonable, and in no way a delusional overreach into the unknowable depths of divine consciousness.

Did I consult a theologian? No.
Did I reference scripture? Please.
I invented a God and then made him sad, thoughtful, and vaguely poetic.

Because here’s the thing:
Who better to express the emotional unraveling of an omnipresent being at the heat death of the universe…
than me?

Exactly.

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What the Story’s About (Allegedly)

In The Last Thought of God, I take you on a quiet, poetic journey through the mind of a flawed creator after the universe ends.
He reflects.
He regrets.
He contemplates deleting himself like a divine social media account…

…until he senses something drifting in the void.

It’s heavy. It’s thoughtful. It’s… basically a cosmic therapy session in literary form.

You can read the whole story here:
👉 Rat Tales

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What Critics Are (Definitely) Saying

Final Verdict by a Totally Real and Not Invented Literary Critic:

"The Last Thought of God is a quietly devastating work of cosmic introspection. It takes a grand question—What if even God felt he had failed?—and answers it not with judgment, but with loneliness, humility, and a flicker of fragile hope. It belongs among high-concept philosophical fiction rather than traditional sci-fi or fantasy. Readers of Ted Chiang, Borges, or Clarke would find this deeply moving."

— Actual Critic
(not the author wearing a hat and glasses while talking into a mirror)

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Why You Should Read It (Besides the Fact That It’s Obviously Perfect)

• You enjoy stories that take place in the vast loneliness of space with emotional baggage.

• You want to see a god cry. Or at least sigh a lot.

• You like speculative fiction that asks, “What if free will is the reason everything falls apart?”

• You’re secretly hoping for a twist. (There is one.)

• You just love existential sadness wrapped in stars.

Or maybe…
You just want to see how far one writer’s ego will go when handed a keyboard and a cosmic question.

Either way,
The Last Thought of God is ongoing now. The first two chapters are live. And you can read the whole thing for free.
Because if you’re going to rewrite the nature of existence itself… you might as well give it away on a blog.

👉 Rat Tales

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Disclaimer: No gods were harmed in the making of this story.
Though some were emotionally wounded.

 

🌳 A Different Kind of Journey: The Garden of Eden Like You’ve Never Heard It

Well now, friends, I know this blog is usually about muddy trails, chirping birds, and the quiet kind of peace you only find under a tree with the breeze blowing just right. But today, I want to tell you about a different kind of adventure—one that doesn’t happen down by the creek or through the woods, but somewhere much deeper. Somewhere older.

I’ve written a new story over on my Rat Tales blog. You can find the link above.

It’s called The Garden of Eden: A Story of Knowledge, Wisdom, and Mercy. Now before you go thinking I’ve traded in my walking stick for a preacher’s robe, don’t worry—I haven’t gone and rewritten the Bible. What I’ve done is take the original story of Adam and Eve and given it a bit of imagination, some emotional insight, and a heart full of respect.

This story stays true to the heart of the biblical account, but looks at it from a fresh angle. What if we spent a little time with Eve before she ate the fruit? What if we could see God’s heartbreak as well as His judgment? What if mercy was woven into the story even before the first steps outside the Garden?

I split it into six chapters, and I’ll be publishing one each Friday. Kind of like a weekly campfire tale, only with a bit more angels and a bit less raccoons.

If you like stories with a little soul, and maybe a tear or two mixed in with the wonder, I think you’ll like it.

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📖 I Gave A Preview Copy to a Critic - Here’s What She Said

It’s thoughtful. It’s emotional. And it walks that fine line between storytelling and reverence. I’d say it complements the original story rather than competes with it.

Rating: 9.6 out of 10
A spiritually rich tale with a heavy dose of heart.

---

🍎 Here’s a Little Taste of What’s Coming:

“Eve brought the fruit carefully to her lips. She paused a final moment, feeling an unspoken warning somewhere deep within. But the serpent’s eyes urged her onward, reassuring her fears.

She closed her eyes and took a gentle, delicate bite.

Instantly, knowledge flooded her mind like a fierce, uncontrollable tide. Her heart filled with shame, with fear, with a thousand questions she didn’t yet know how to ask. And for the first time in all her days, she felt alone.”

---

So if you're in the mood for something a little different, but still rooted in the kind of truth that makes you stop and breathe a little deeper—check it out. The first chapter comes out this Friday. That's right now!

I reckon it’s the most important kind of journey we can take: the one that starts in the Garden, but leads straight through the human heart.

I'll talk to you later.

A Sneak Peek Of Something Special

Hey you! It's been awhile. I have a new writing project I've been working on. I think it's going to be special. The picture above is a sneak peek of what it will be. I can't say when it will be finished and ready, but I am hoping it will be in about a month from now.

For now, I invite you to guess. I can only say that it is something familiar to everyone. When I finish it, I will announce it right here on this blog. Get ready!

I'll talk to you later.

Merry Christmas from The Everyday Adventurer!

Well, hello there, friends! It's been far too long since I've come around to share a story or two from my wanderings through the trails. Life has its funny little twists, doesn't it? One day you're striding happily down a quiet forest path, and the next you're swept up in the busyness of everyday life. But on this Christmas Day, I couldn't let the moment pass without stopping in to say a warm and heartfelt Merry Christmas to you all!

Christmas, to me, always brings to mind the kind of peace you find out on the trail. It's the stillness of freshly fallen snow on the trees, the quiet whisper of the wind carrying some distant mystery, and the soft crunch of footsteps marking the way. Out there, everything feels just right—like the world itself is offering you a quiet little gift. And maybe that's what this day is all about: stepping back, taking a deep breath, and remembering the simple beauty of the world around us.

If I close my eyes, I can almost hear it now—a tiny chickadee calling out from a snow-dusted branch, a squirrel rustling through its winter stash, and the faint crackle of ice as the creek freezes over. It's nature's Christmas carol, and if you listen closely enough, it's singing for you, too.

Wherever you are today, I hope you're surrounded by warmth, joy, and perhaps a little bit of that trail magic we all love so much. Maybe there's a hike waiting for you tomorrow, a new adventure just beyond the horizon. Or maybe you're simply content to sit back, sip some hot cocoa, and let the day wrap around you like a cozy old quilt. Either way, this season is a perfect reminder that sometimes the simplest moments are the ones that matter most.

Thank you for walking this path with me, dear readers. Your presence has been one of the most unexpected and treasured joys of this little blogging journey of mine. I'm looking forward to sharing more trails and tales in the new year. For now, I'll leave you with this:

May your Christmas be as peaceful as a quiet forest, as joyful as a bubbling stream, and as warm as a campfire under the stars.

Merry Christmas, my friends, and here's to many adventures yet to come!

I'll talk to you later, Ratty

I'm Still Wandering Around

 

Hello, is anybody there? It's been a very long time. You have probably all wandered off looking for some actual activity. But if any of you are still lurking around, I just wanted to let you know that I am well.

I have been posting new articles on Nature Center Magazine recently, and I have written new stories on my other blog Rat Tales. I may even stop back around here from time to time, but for now it's easier to post on those other sites.

You can find those other websites above this post on my link bar. I think I have written some good stuff there, but I guess that's for you to decide. It's been good talking to you again after all this time, and I'll hopefully see some of the old familiar names in the comments sections of those other sites. Thanks.

I'll talk to you later.

Just Checking In

Hi everybody. It's been a while. I'm just checking in to let you all know I'm still here. I'll be back all the way when I get something to write about. It's been kind of difficult to find something the last few months. I like writing about nature, but it can get boring around here when I don't go to a nature park. The problem is that they're all closed here in the winter months. I'll think of something as soon as I can. I'll hopefully talk to you again soon.

My Internet Is Finally Back

It seems like circumstances and just my own laziness are conspiring to drive away any blog friends I have left here. The last update I gave was about my lack of internet. I'm glad to say that those problems have been finally solved. It actually only took about a week to get things settled. I really need to tell you about it. This might be a slightly longer story than usual. I hope you can last till the end.

On a Monday I had two appointments with my internet company to see about getting my internet sorted out.

The first appointment was to survey my situation to see about getting high-speed fiber optic cable put in here in the future. The government gave my service provider a lot of money to provide this new stuff for all of us in the surrounding rural area.

They only came out to assess the situation this time. They'll lay down the cable sometime around the middle of summer. Then hopefully by the end of the year, they'll connect everything up to the houses.

My internet speed at the time they came out was about 3mbps. Once they're finished they tell me my new speed will be 1gbps. That's well over 300 times as fast as my original speed. I'll finally be as fast as the modern civilized world when they're done.

But that's almost a year away from now. What happened in the second appointment?

The second appointment was so they could come out and replace my old non-working internet equipment with some new stuff that should fix me up just fine. They also said the new stuff will work with the fiber optic internet when it comes.

When the guys got there they came in and looked at the old box. The guy immediately told me that everyone who still had that old box was complaining. He also said that box was miserably outdated and they couldn't even update it anymore.

I wondered why they didn't send me a letter or something to upgrade me in the first place. They should have come out a long time ago. I should not have had to call them to tell them there was a problem. Even so, they were here now to fix it.

They did a quick unplug of the old box and plugged in the two new boxes that I have now. The guy said everything should be fine now.

As we were talking, the guy incidentally asked me about what I was currently paying for their service. I told him and, even though he tried to hide it, he looked a little shocked. He then assumed I was also getting phone service too. I told him no, that I was only getting internet. I was not happy. I now knew I was paying way too much and had been for years.

He then asked me what my internet speed was. I told him the 3mbps. He then informed me that I could get 10mbps right now. All I had to do is call and they would just flip a switch. Well, why didn't they just do it automatically? He said it would cost a little extra. That's fine. I'd just like to get out of the stone age!

Let me explain something. Before I moved here from Michigan, internet wasn't as fast as it is today anywhere. 10mbps is probably the fastest internet I've ever had. I was now as happy as can be and I forgot about my problem with them not taking care of this easier for me.

Then when I called them to get that switch flipped, they told me the cost would be different. Can you guess what the difference might be?

Not only did they upgrade my current internet speed, but I now pay only half the price I was paying before. I'm finally feeling good about my internet here. I can even watch HD video content now. And the only thing holding me back from posting new stuff here is my own laziness and the weather you see in today's pictures. I'll talk to you later, hopefully sooner.

Internet Problems And The Solution

No pictures this time because I'm having terrible internet issues. My internet connection is so unstable that it's almost unusable. I called the service provider and they told me my whole setup is old and needs to be updated. They've been getting reports like mine from most of the users of my particular equipment.

I had to order a new router on Amazon to replace my old equipment. It will get here in a few days. Once it gets here I can then set up an appointment for the service provider to hook that and the other new stuff up. Hopefully, then I can get everything back up and running normally.

I also received some very good news from my service provider. My current internet is only DHL, which is very slow. They informed me that we here in this part of rural Iowa are getting switched to fiber-optic broadband high-speed internet in this area within the year.

So I set up another appointment for them to come out and survey my property to get the fiber-optic stuff ready for me. I'll finally be back to the internet speeds of the rest of the civilized world. I can't wait!

That's about it for this post. I just needed to share this news while I could get on here. I'll talk to you later.

Surprise! I'm Still Here, And So Is Delilah!

I bet you thought I was gone. I will tell you now that I'll never leave. I have watched so many of my blogging friends disappear, some very good ones this year, but I'll be here even after everyone else is gone. It's because I'm here for a better reason than most people. It's because I truly like why I'm here. No more explanation can be given in one post. Read all of them.

So let's get to my post today. What's been going on and why am I posting today? And why not before? I'm mostly posting today to check in because I haven't done it in so long. But I also have a tiny bit of an update for you.

I told you a while back at the beginning of the summer that we were going to have a lot of flooding around here. It wasn't supposed to let up for the whole summer, which would keep me from posting much of anything because there would just be nowhere for me to go.

That is exactly what has happened. The river is overflowing right now and might even get worse in the immediate future. All of my good nature parks are along the river. Not a recipe for fun. This will have to end someday though.

Another thing that has stopped me from posting is something I've been sort of hiding from you.

I couldn't walk.

I was in a car accident several years ago and my back was injured. It happened at the height of my blogging about my long nature hikes. Everything was abruptly stopped. I slowly tried to get back into it, but it has been mostly painful ever since. In the past few years, the pain had gotten to the point where I could only walk for very short distances, like from one room of my house to another.

Every once in a while I tried to go out to a nature park and struggle through a very short hike. I would usually barely make it back to my truck after only going a very short distance. I hoped I could get better with some exercise. It never worked. Most of my pictures these past few years came from the window of my truck.

I kept telling doctors about my problem, but none of them had any answers for me. The only thing I could do was to hope that one day I would somehow get better. I wasn't sure it was ever going to happen. But then recently something happened.

It began happening around June, but I was feeling less and less pain when I stood or walked. I was actually starting to feel better! After a while, I was able to go short distances without much pain at all. But I was afraid to go much farther for fear that I couldn't make it back.

And finally this week I decided to take a chance. I walked the distance through my small town to the post office. I was sure I would be exhausted when and if I made it back home. But I was just fine. My back hurt a little, but I wasn't very tired at all. I think I might finally be better.

I may need to take things slow and show a little care, but I'm going to try a little walk through whichever nature park is the dryest. I'm not sure how soon I can manage it, but I'll hopefully be back in one of my next few posts with pictures of a new short hike. I'll talk to you later.

Delilah And The Vet

I almost didn't get this post written this week. I get obsessed with my business so much sometimes that I forget everything else. This can last for several weeks at a time. Making money is really fun. Other than this little mention, I try to keep my business stuff separate from my blog. That's why I seem so secretive about it. Trust me, it's for your own good.

But what I came here to talk about today is my dog, again. What else can I talk about here on The Everyday Adventurer Dog Blog? I promised to tell you about her little trip to the vet, so here I go.

Delilah needed her last puppy shots so we had to go. She also had a little trouble with diarrhea and going a little too often, even for a puppy. She got her shots and some precautionary worm medicine. She took it very well. Not even a flinch.

I talked to the vet about her other problem, so he gave me some antibiotics to give to her. I'm glad to say that her diarrhea is cured and she isn't going so often anymore. She seems just fine now. But there is another awful related problem.

When the poor little dog is afraid, she poops like a horse, constantly. And she doesn't like to ride in the truck yet. I've tried to take her on three trips so far, and none have gone well at all. My truck smelled like the worst part of an outhouse for a few days until I had it very thoroughly cleaned.

So Delilah isn't going to any nature parks until I can get this situation figured out. The first thing I have done is to buy a giant roll of plastic to lay down in the back of the truck if she has to go with me. That will work for any future accidents. But I have to help her feel better about riding.

In just two days from now, Delilah is going back to the vet to get spayed. She's going to hate it. But mostly because she can't stand for me to be out of her sight for more than a few seconds. Another thing we'll have to fix.

Other than these little problems, she is doing very well. I have now taught her to fetch a ball properly, and she knows the trick of roll over. She also has begun to grow very fast. She's twice as big as she was when I got her. See if you can tell the size difference in my new pictures. Her ears are also both standing up now.

This last picture is from last week, so only one ear is up. I just didn't have any more new pictures and I like this one. You can also see her new blue collar. I had to get her this one because the collar she came with had become too small. It can be adjusted much bigger than it is now.

And now on an unrelated note. I was dealing with a new computer keyboard for a while. It was a terrible keyboard. I kept making typing errors while using it because the keys were too close together. I finally got another new one that is much better. It is a Logitech Wave keyboard. This one is a pleasure to use.

My next post will hopefully be in a few days after Delilah gets spayed. We'll see how she's doing. I can't promise anything because I really do get obsessed with business. I love that and blogging so much that sometimes I think of one or the other and little else. So I will be back as soon as I can, and I'll talk to you later.

I'm Still Lurking Around

I'm still here. I just don't have any material for a new post right now. I hope to have something soon. Thanks for stopping by. I'll talk to you later.

A Little Lazy

I'll be back soon. I'm just being lazy. I need to go out and get some more pictures to write about.

I'll be back soon

I'll be back soon. I just got a little sick. I'm feeling better now.

Finally, A New Post

Writing this blog post is a big positive step for me right now. The reason for my long absence was something that I've suspected for a long time. Many of you know that I've been taking medicine for my head because of the car accident I was in. It has been helping a lot, but there is a very strange side effect.

The side effect is that I'm having trouble writing anything. At least that's the main problem I'm noticing. It effects other things as well. I'm sure you noticed that my writing had begun to drop off quite a bit before I finally stopped. It just became too difficult. My doctor confirmed that it was most likely the medicine after I explained the situation.

I can't stop taking the medicine, because it helps too much, and there's no real alternative. So right now the only real answer is to try to learn to overcome the side effects of the medicine, and write as much as I can.

I figure I'll come back slowly without pushing myself too much. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to write posts yet, but I think they'll come more frequently as I get used to thinking differently about how to push myself to write. I think I'll write a few posts and then begin thinking about commenting on other blogs.

The strange thing is that I can read anything I want, but when it comes to writing even a little bit, I just can't make myself do it. It's frustrating to think that anything could control my mind like that. Even while writing this, I have to stop and take short breaks every few sentences.

But I'm going to stop talking about all of this for now and begin talking about my love of nature. That's what this blog is really intended for anyway. I'm not going to ramble on too much about it this time, but I have a few pictures from some of my more recent outings. I've had trouble going out and taking pictures too, but I get out as much as I can.

These were actually taken a little over a month ago, but I took them intending to share them, so I hope you like them. I'll bring some more recent pictures as I write more posts. I may even try a post here and there with just pictures. That may help me post a little more often. I hate not being able to do this blogging thing at all.

Hopefully my next post will be a bit better than this one.

I'm Taking A Short Break

I'm going to take a break from blogging for a little over a week. There's nothing wrong. I just have to concentrate on getting my stuff here from Michigan right now, and I have little time for anything else for now. Many of you may have noticed that my name hasn't appeared in your comments sections in the last week and I haven't had a recent post. That's because of the reason I just stated. I'll probably be showing up in your comments sections here and there, but I won't post anything here until I'm able to concentrate fully on blogging again.

In the meantime Nature Center Magazine is still going at full strength. My posts there are already scheduled. You may enjoy the new look we have there. I've made it much easier to read, with even more of a nature feel to it. That's only a small sign of the changes to come there. We are about to make a huge change for the better, with better articles and more of a variety. So stay tuned for that. I'm expecting those changes in another month or two.

So anyway, I'll be back here in about a week and a half. I'll finally be moved all the way in at my now not so new place, and I'll hopefully be ready to blog full time again. See you soon!.


Nature Center Magazine - Your starting place for nature!

Did You Miss Me?

You probably didn't even know I was gone, but I sure did. It seems that my computer problems are continuing. I told you awhile back that I was having some computer problems. I also said that I didn't solve them. One problem is that all of my tools are still back in Michigan.

The other is that this one has been a stumper. I ordered a video card on the internet to try to solve the problem, but after getting it I discovered that wasn't what was wrong. While experimenting with it my monitor shut off and never came back on. The monitor acting up was most of the original problem, so that may be it now. the sad part for me is that my monitor was a wonderful 22" flat screen. So I ran out as soon as I could and bought an emergency monitor that is a 15" CRT monitor. I miss that big screen right now.

So now I have my computer back and I'm back online, but I'm limping along. The other thing I want to talk about is what I hinted at Friday about what I would heat my house with. I joked that it would involve squirrels, but of course that's mostly false. In a way it's true because pictures of squirrels actually paid for my new heating method.

The picture above is what you call an infrared heater. You may have seen them advertised recently. Mine is a LifeSmart LS-PP1500-6. I use it now in conjunction with my house furnace, and this has been working well. For a little device it sure puts out a lot of heat.

These little heaters heat in a very different way than traditional heaters. They also supposedly take very little energy to operate. These heaters, unlike other heaters, heat objects and not the air. I can hold my hand up next to this heater and not feel much heat coming out, but it heats the house nicely.

Even with all of my problems, I've gotten some very good pictures in the past few days. I'll be bringing some of them to you in the near future, but I had to get this one out first. Sometimes writing about little problems and their solutions can help let them pass along behind me. And now tomorrow willl hopefully be a better day full of good nature.

Oh! The picture at the top is one of my neighborhood feral cats. He likes to strut past Isabella on her chain whenever he can. She can't catch him, but my camera can.


Nature Center Magazine - Your starting place for nature!

My Left Foot

I had so much to do so I got up early. I knew if I got up with the birds I'd be able to get some good pictures. Part of my problem lately has been that I've only been going out when nothing much is going on. My solution has been to start the day earlier. And that's just what I did!

After getting some good bird pictures, which I'll share in a few future posts, it was time for me to go find an ATM machine. The nearest one is in the closest town north of me. I needed money to pay my utility bill. I pay that in our small town hall building here in town. It's easiest just to pay it right there in cash every month. All I ave to do is walk a couple of blocks up the street, but that's after I drive to the next town to get the cash.

As soon as I got back home from all of that my neighbor called me to ask if I wanted to go with him down the highway to cut up a fallen tree for firewood. Firewood burns fast, and we're both almost out now, so off we went!

the plan was that he would cut up the tree with the chainsaw while I piled the wood into the back of the truck. Getting a truckload of firewood isn't usually hard work, but there are still too many times that I feel severe effects from my car accident. This day turned out to be one of those that I should not have worked very hard.

As soon as I began carrying the wood to the truck I began sweating and getting dizzy. My head began to throb just a bit. That's usual stuff on some days. Most times like this I just go back inside to wait for a better day, but this time we had to finish because we were away from home. I mentioned the problem, but I said I could continue. The solution I had was just to make sure I took plenty of breaks between short trips.

On one of my last trips back to the truck the dizziness got me. I was almost on the ground before I even knew I was falling. My face plowed right into the ground. I only was able to get one arm out to block my fall, but it wasn't in time. My arm hurt after I hit the ground, and I was hoping I didn't break it. I'm happy to tell you that my arm is fine. But unfortunately I didn't escape injury.

I began to notice that my foot was hurting a little bit. By the time we got back home my foot was throbbing with pain. I thought maybe it was just a cramp in my toes or something. After discussing our plans for the firewood a bit we went our separate ways. I went back into my house and immediately took off my boots to ease the pain.

I thought the foot cramp would ease up, but it only got worse. That's when I noticed that my foot at the base of my toes was turning black. Yup, I broke my foot. Once the swelling went down a little it doesn't hurt much anymore unless I try to put my weight on it. So I'm going to have to stay off my feet for a short time.

It's funny that there isn't a lot of pain, but the injury sure is making me tired. that's why I didn't have a new post yesterday. I was just too tired to do much of anything. Now I'm bored, but still a little tired. The good thing is that I have a few good pictures to share from right before I broke my foot.


Nature Center Magazine - Your starting place for nature!

The New Everyday Adventurer

There are big changes here at The Everyday Adventurer! Many of you may have already noticed that the look of this blog has changed. I feel very satisfied and happy right now. Even though I loved the old look of the blog, I had one small problem with it: It was designed by somebody else.

One thing I have always believed is that a blog should look good. That's my preference. Some of you may not feel so strongly about that, and that's okay. But I've been designing my own blogs for awhile now, and I like them to look their best. For that reason it was kind of hard to let the old look go.

But I wanted something that was completely unique. The older version is freely available from the original designer, but in another blogging format. I modified that design for my own use on Blogger, and I've always given credit at the bottom of my blog. But over the weekend I had images in my head of something I think is even better, so I began working.

What I came up with is something with a similar feel, but this new one is brighter in some areas, and all of the artwork was done by me. I didn't want a drastic change, but I think a new look will be a refreshing change after years of the old look. Not everyone will agree that the new one is better because the older one was very good, but I like the new one more.

So, what do you think about the new look of The Everyday Adventurer? Be honest, I love constructive criticism. You can see the old version in the picture above. One important thing for me is that I now have a completely unique look that you will not find anywhere else. I think this new look has a bit more depth to it than the old one. And besides, I really love tinkering around with my blog.

Ratty's New Adventure

Today I thought I'd share just a little bit about my new life in rural Iowa. This has been a huge change for me because even though this is the area where my family comes from, I grew up in the middle of a big city. And this change has not been an easy one for me for other reasons as well.

What you see above is the area at the southern most point of my property.To the left of the picture, just on the other side of those trees is a deep ravine that makes me afraid every time I go near the edge. I'm not sure I could get out of there if I ever were to fall in. Youch!

Past the ravine is a huge cornfield. They just recently harvested all the corn, so the cornstalks are all gone now. You can see for miles through there once you get close enough to look through the trees. I'll share that view another time. For now we'll take a tour a little closer.

Before we go on I want to let you know that I have a small ad in this post. You'll know it when you see it. I'm trying these ads out for now. I'm very inexperienced in things like this, so I'm not sure how it will go yet. I've always been very wary of advertising on any of my sites, and my feelings haven't changed. I don't do this for money, and that will never be my motivation. I just wanted to let everyone know the ad was there so as not to be deceptive. Let's get back to the post!

What you see in the picture above is one of the small sheds on the property. I've never been inside this shed yet because all of the overgrown weeds. The weeded area was at one time my dad's garden, but he couldn't maintain it once he got sick. It's too late in the year for me to fixit up, so I'll have to see what I can do next spring.

This is the wood stove my dad built. It may seem crude to some of you, but this stove works better than any I've ever seen. And the stove itself is outside, so no smoke ever gets in the house, only heat. This is an old fashioned way of living, but this is the way my dad liked to live.

Keeping wood burning in the stove is a lot of work, but it's so much cheaper than any other way of heating a house. The ladder is there because I had to climb up and clean out the chimney a few times. Without my dad around, I'm having to learn about things like this as I go along. I can leave the ladder there because the outside of the stove building doesn't get hot.

The hardest part of all this work is that I can only work for about five or ten minutes at a time. The head injury I suffered only allows me that long before I begin to feel dizziness and pain. As long as I obey those rules I'm alright though.

This is the town I live in. What you see here in the picture above is pretty much it. The town is just big enough to have its own post office, but that may not last. Even our police force comes from the town up the road from us. My house is at the very south end of town, so I have plenty of room.

Since I'm so far away from most of my family, I'm not going to be able to do anything big for Thanksgiving this year, and I won't be traveling either. But if any of you choose to travel, you might want to consider cheap all inclusive holidays. It's sure nice to get away sometimes, especially if you are as alone as I am right now.

One idea that was offered to me for Thanksgiving was to go and serve dinner to the poor. I'm strongly considering doing this. It sounds like a good idea. The only problem for me is that I've been spending so much of my time alone that I'm a little nervous around a lot of people now. This makes the decision rough, so I'm going to have to really think about it.

The picture above shows you another view of the south end of my property. There will be a lot for me to clean up next spring. I'm going to try to clean things up without taking away the wild feeling of the place. My dad liked it this way, so I'll try to be faithful to what he wanted.

And finally we come towards the end of the post. This was a long one this time, wasn't it? The next one will be shorter, I'm sure. I hope this gave you just a little insight into what my life is like now. I know it was probably not as much as I could have shared, and it was kind of vague, but I've never been very good at giving information about myself. This is actually the most I've ever shown of a place I've lived.

I'll be back next time with some of the wildlife Isabella and I see when we go out here every day. I hope to begin posting more often now. Maybe these little ads will give me some added motivation. Time will tell. Talk to you next time.


Nature Center Magazine - Your starting place for nature!

Isabella

I'd like you to meet Isabella. Isabella will be my new hiking companion most of the time from now on. She might frighten away some of the other animals, but it's good to have her with me now. My dad died in his sleep almost two weeks ago now, two days after my last post. He had cancer that we knew he wouldn't recover from. It went bad for him, but he was at peace at the very end.

So right now I'm living in his house at least for awhile. I still have to decide what I'm going to and where I'll go from here. Will I go back to Michigan or will I stay around here from now on? The one thing I do know is that I have Isabella with me, so I won't be too lonely.

I adopted Isabella from a family that couldn't take care of her anymore. She wasn't getting along with other animals and needed a change. She's a big dog and full of energy. I'm able to give her a life where she can expend that energy as much as she wants. There's plenty of nature around here for a big dog like her.

The picture of her above is a little blurry because she is always moving, except when she's sleeping. I probably won't mention her most of the time in my future posts, but she'll be there anyway. Introducing her is mostly just my way of getting back online. It'll be a little slow starting out, but I'm hoping to begin posting again now.
 

My posts before gave the illusion of being far out in the wilderness, and it was never a secret that it was just an illusion. I tried to show that even close to a city we can all find nature. Now I'll be able to show you what it's like from a very different view.

I live in a very small town right now. Nature is right out my back door. I live at the end of the road. There is a huge ravine on the edge of the property. It has a creek running through it at the bottom. Beyond that is a huge corn field. There is more nature here than I can explore in a lifetime, including several nature and hiking parks.

I now hope to come back here to the world of blogging more and more as life returns to normal for me. Things have changed a lot for me, and I hope these changes make me better. I'm much lonelier now than I've ever been, but Isabella is here to help with that. And I hope getting back into blogging will help with that too.


This post is dedicated to my dad. I've always proudly described him as a cross between Crocodile Dundee and Yosemite Sam. I miss him more than he ever would have known.