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In case you were wondering, life on the ridge isn’t all sunsets and serenading songbirds. We’ve had to become reluctant experts in logging—more than we ever hoped, dreamed, or frankly, had the mental bandwidth for. Not all the critters here are friendly. In fact, some of the plants seem downright homicidal. We’ve learned that pine trees grow tall and majestic—right before they randomly decide to fall over or snap in half like overcooked spaghetti. Sweetgum

I swear that every time Willie is ill, he hallucinates. One night, he told me that he could have sworn someone was just outside our bedroom window, playing “Free Bird” loud and proud. He discovered it was the noises his stomach was making in reaction to liquid medication. Sheesh!

Those sunbathing beauties in the photo? They’re vanilla beans, soaking up rays like retirees in Florida. My late mother-in-law was a professional chef who put extra vanilla into any baked good she ever made for us. It was deliciously addictive—like cookies with a criminal record! We were already vanilla superfans—baked goods, air fresheners, perfumes. So when we heard it could repel mosquitoes, too? Well, that was just icing on the cupcake! Imagine our absolute delight

We don’t heal to be able to handle pain, anxiety, trauma, anger, or depression. We are used to that. We heal in order to be able to accept happiness back into our lives. Now, there’s a goal!

It’s a jumbled, faded memory, but two things stand out clearly. First: the adults were crying. Not just wiping their eyes or getting choked up. They were weeping—right there in our living room. Even the men. Even the ones who always joked too loudly and smelled like aftershave and cigars. That was the first moment I knew something was really wrong. Grownups didn’t cry, not in front of kids. And these weren’t just tears. Their