Hey all, I hope you are well. Just saying Hi and think’n outloud. Mental health and support, reaching out and finding time to check in with friends is not a bad idea with the strangeness of the world, its strife and struggles to find balance playing out. Be it real or just propaganda it takes a toll. The news and podcast highlight almost un-imanagable, and horrifying happenings. ** If you remembering Rod Serlings origional Twilight Zone, then you may find imagination feels more of a confirmed preview. Its not all bad, but damb can some of it feel intense and more simply put, a real f’n bummer at times.
Today, like most I’m at 3k in the mountains of Virginia. This is going into my 2nd year here. Its 15° outside but atleast the sky has appeance of being clear. The solar system will be fed and the sun will be nice. With the extreme cold I have put seed out daily for my local critters. Blue Jays, Cardinals, 3 gold and 1 red finche of all things (can’t imagine how the hell these poor things ended up here at this time of year). Plus several other birds I don’t know the names of yet.
Chipmonks are natures vaaccum lol. These guys can really stuff their face. I have covered a glass door with mirrored film and can watch the fur & feather drama standing only 3-5 away. I take breaks between building tasks to watch them.
I would love to hear from other mountain dwellers or off Gridded experiences. Everyday is a new challenge big and small. But always there is something to do. I have no running water as of yet. So… there are tasks related to that, that are simple yet very time consuming…
I never for one minute whine about it. There is no city convenience I left behind that I found I can’t live without. Matter of fact the liberation can only be realized by trying. I keep things pretty. And that helps when you just start out. The lessons of living near small towns and finding what is really important to you through exploration are priceless.
I hope some community member can relate and chime in. Happy Tuesday fellow humans!
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We are in the midst of relocating to SW Virginia. Packing up in Texas. Mixed feelings of leaving “civilization" and embracing mountain life.
Like you, I have days of feeling troubled. I deliberately back myself out of the news and go back to stuff I can physically feel and control. Lord knows.
I hear you… yes walking away from the noise and useless distraction is helpful, I’d even say necessary to keep ones self focused on the progress needed in the now.
Change uhg. I get it. Leaving the city behind can feel hard. But having a mind set of starting over and seeing things anew, embracing the unknown with curiosity is my advice 
. Get to know the area, simply plan accordingly for practical needs will get ya by. No amount of moaning… lol, will change how far away this, that, or the other is.
I left Seattle, a big busy city of unhappy, unfriendly grouchy people. There is something special in the Appalachians & makes it worth it. Hope you all find that too in W VA.
BTW, I made it all the way up to Berkley Spings W. VA before heading down south to Floyd county VA, where I finally landed. Beautiful country in W. VA
Pictures….
Snow. Ice. Critter tracks and EPIC Ice & SNOW the Virginia..
Holy hell folks I never seen ice so damn hard or thick from “freezing rain”. Never mind this is all chemically made by mad scientist… Here in my offgrid world I tottally trapped by the ice. 2-3”. Not snow. ICE. A nice Amish neighbor cleared me a path out with his skid steer.
On the home front, huge chunks of ice and many pounds of snow sliding off my yurt roof like mini sudden avolanches that is pretty starling happens with cold weather events. Ya just cantbthink of everything to plan for…. Mini aves t make walking out front door a tiny bit lime Russian rullet 
But what truuuuuly is more important than mass extintion by weather tirany you ask? I’ll tell you! I am not getting great pictures from my Brax3. Is there a video, some tips someone can can toss my way to see what I’m doing wrong?
Seems like my old Apple 6plus pics are better than my Brax3?
I wouldn’t expect a phone for security power users to have a better camera than a phone many people buy simply for its camera. Where are the photos man I wanna see em! Now dont bring those Seattle problems to them mountain folk, it already bad enough you got an iphone 
From what I hear they want to join West Virginia as they feel misrepresented as of late.
yeah yeah I know I bought it for privacy. Its a phone. Just recall the camera was really gonna be good. Assumed user error.
Seattle wants to joint WV? Shut the door? I dont know much about WV but it was pretty when I drive through. Im still a little green, being new to region.
lol I dont think the well funded wokesters in the west ( I worked for one) would survive. Poor babies. Its lonely feeling misrepresented working from home, moaning about how backwards and uneducated the small town folk are in the East and cant seem to know who to vote for… 
. I suspected the west coasties will accidentally off themselves…. cuz they just lack basic survival skills, common sense, and how’ta be a good neighbor. Id set myself on fire before ever moving back.
And shucks😏 I aint bring’n no problems to my tiny town. Im sure folks here are adjusting fine to a cussing mountain faery.
Id post pictures but cant seem too or its my settings. ( dont just me people, I got a lot going on he
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Not Seattle, Virginia side of the WV/ Virginia border, those border mountain Virginians want to join West Virginia because WV is basically a giant mountain territory with mountain people problems, where most of Virginia is not. I guess you could say the new regime in Virginia is similar to Seattle which is a shift.
A faery, thats quite the cultural word usually reserved for a beautiful girl, if thats so id advise getting a firearm as most folks out there have them, watch out for Sasquatch.
I was dating a faery there 2 yrs ago south on NC border mountains, land is a lot more expensive there, nice people though, and they got Casinos.
Seems like all of the wildernesses areas of the Virginias are beautiful. Thanx to C19 everything is expensive and while land is no exception, it is a very worthy investment in “quality of life”. Life, and time, particularly in these times is fleeting. aka no time to f’ around and waste it anymore. Its all too fragile now in my estimate.
lol, I cant quite see any benefit to living near a casino, except for the casino owner .