We live here too
I live in the middle of the Green Mountain National Forest ... behind my house is a waterfall ... and a very steep climb ... "the last house on the left before the tall pines" is how the townfolks refer to it ... the buck stops here as well as electricity and phone lines ... we are the first to have snow build up in the yard and the last to see it melt away ... the Winters are long but in the warm months there is a peace and beauty that mere words cannot do it justice.
For 7 years, my daughter, Christine, her husband, and their daughter,Samantha, lived next door... the house is now vacant as they moved closer to civilization ... I'll let you know when I have finished renovating their old abode into a guest house.
"Get on with the story."
When I first moved here, the place was a ski lodge ... rented out mainly to tourists who liked to ski ... and it was in need of major work ... I won't go into lengthy detail but well, some dolt had painted the bathroom ORANGE ... including the ceiling ... oh yes, big time "gut the inside" of the house and start from scratch. The town clerk gave me a bit of information that she thought might be interesting. Way back when the land was first settled, the family that resided here, lost children when an outbreak of diptheria hit the population. If you walk a little ways up the road, just a wee bit further up the mountain ... there is a small graveyard ... this is where the family rests for all eternity. All but 111 acres were deeded over to the Federal government for "as long as the tall pine stands" and maintainence of the graves to be taken care of by the town. Herein lies the story.
I could hear the voices clearly ... two little girls at play on a warm Summer's day. "Samantha must have a friend up visiting for the day" I thought to myself. I looked out the kitchen window to see if they were riding their bicycles on the gravel paths thru the gardens. I thought nothing more of it as I was gladdened to hear children at play. Later that evening, I mentioned it to Christine and was somewhat surprised to learn that Samantha didn't have any friend over to play that day. Better explain this ... you just don't walk to my house ... you have to drive ... so any playmates had to be brought here via a vehicle. The road is a major tourist route and there are no bike paths, sidewalks or whatever ... the speed limit is 50mph but coming down off the mountain you have a tendency to pick up speed and I seriously doubt anyone goes past my house at the legal limit... going up the mountain is the same ... you have to gather speed at what is called "Apple Flats" about 1/4 mile from here or you will end up doing 15mph by the time you are half way up the mountain ... it is a very steep winding road ... we all know this and hence, no little playmate would be allowed to venture here on their own as it is too dangerous ... any playmate here would have to have been invited and not just wander over on their own accord.
Giggles
Yes, giggles... do you hear them? After the snow has melted, sometime in late May when I venture out to see what havoc the Winter has sown on my gardens ... you can hear the giggles of little girls at play. Samantha and friends ... friends who are dressed in calico or muslin ... I have seen these little girls race across the yard ... flying feet that touch the earth... wonderous beings who smell the flowers or touch the various elf statues scattered about the gardens ... peels of girlish laughter that ripple the soft Summer breezes ... they still reside here as they once did so very long ago. One of Samantha's living paymates came here once and vowed to never return because of them ... she said it gave her "the creeps".