This is Where I Live by Patrice Nitterhouse

This is where I live. I have a 360-degree horizon framed by protective mountains on the east and west sides of the valley. Home is a thousand shades of green that change with the light and the season. The fecund-rich Cumberland Valley provides abundance and a canvas for both the farmers who quilt the landscape seasonally and for inspiring artists and dreamers.

From wherever I am in this valley, within minutes I can be under the canopy of deciduous trees in the forest where the air is moist. My dog can run off-leash and I can woodland-bathe and replenish my spirit. Here I can both find and lose myself. Just over the ridge near my home, there is a path that will take me to Maine or to Georgia.

Here there are 4 magnificently distinct seasons each so beautiful and exciting. In springtime there are pink lady slippers if you know where to look, and young chestnut shoots sprouting from long buried invisible stumps that give me hope for all living things.

Summer brings the bounty of fresh fruit, punctuating the summer with sensuous deliciousness that gives meaning to “my cup runneth over”… bing cherries and lady white peaches can change one’s life. The sweet smell of new mown hay on a summer evening’s drive on a back road reminds me I should drive a convertible. Watching lightning bugs lift out of the corn fields at dusk with a friend is at the top of my favorite things list.

My dreams come true here; I can grow my own food, drink pure, good water from mountain streams direct to my tap, and live simply. People are genuine and kind, hard-working and have a reverence for the land. I love where I live, between the Tuscarora and South Mountain, near a great forest and a great trail—a place where I can find adventure and find my way home. This is where I live.

by Patrice Nitterhouse
June 27, 2014