A blog about Animals.
Real Name: Michael Puffer Gender: male Member Since: August 28, 2007 Last Signed In: September 05, 2008 Profile Views: 85 Blog Views: 787 That Dam Liberal Media Taking control of my health Elk I met Gube!!! Who?? what are we putting into our bodies? The joy of living in the mountains July 08 August 08 September 08 
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The joy of living in the mountains
I work at a job that has noise. Conflict alerts going off, other controllers coming out through speakers, while pilots talk into your ears. By the end of the day I am on sensory overload. It is nice to come home to my space on the mountain. Quiet reigns. No sound of cars, trains, or sonic booms. But quiet from mankind's noises doesn't mean total quiet. There is the sound of the wind as it passes through the trees. The raucous woodpeckers and jays. The loud chirp of the ground squirrels. A quail calling to its young. Noises that are soothing and calm the tattered nerves of this controller. I love waking up just before dawn and listening, listening as the owls whoo- whoo for the last time before they go to bed, and the woodpeckers take over. Enjoying the cool morning and the stillness it brings as the forest around me wakes up. The dark blue sky changes to a brilliant pink and orange, before becoming a vivid blue hue. To look out your window and see a deer wander through, its ears twitch as it swats at invisible gnats. Or to watch as a bobcat passes by, blending in with the brown vegetation. To observe the day old baby quail as they race to keep up with their parents. You can hear the mom and dad quail nervously reminding their chicks to heed. I love where i live. I love the fact that in my yard I have seen bull elk fight one another. I have heard the crashing of their antlers. National Geographic in my back yard! I have heard the elk bugle to one another, and found their beds where they have laid down to rest.
6 comments from 6 users
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posted by
Joty
on Jul 3, 2008 at 08:53 AM
Wow ref...you should be reading at open mic night! I understand exactly how you feel...I love my own "God's Little Acre" up here at the end of the canyon.
posted by
reffup
on Jul 3, 2008 at 10:17 AM
No I am not that talented. posted by
oohchild
on Jul 3, 2008 at 10:31 AM
Yep I'm with you, reffup! I love living up here with all the wildlife to watch & learn their habits. Young bobcats are so fun to watch! But what damage the woodpeckers do to the wood siding & deck of my house......jeesh! I'll add two sounds to your list: the coyotes yip-yip-yipping across the valley, and my dog snoring the rafters off the house! ;-) Nice article. The TN should reprint it on the front page! posted by
PlantGuy
on Jul 3, 2008 at 10:35 AM
When people ask me why I have been commuting for 18+ years, I am giong to hand them a copy of your blog, A very strong sentiment well put. posted by
awsmom8
on Jul 3, 2008 at 11:14 AM
A friend of mine is a CHP officier and the joke around the state is that if you screw up or piss off a supervisor then you get transferred to MOHAVE to patrol out there as your punishment. But the secret is they are all delighted to be stationed in Mohave so they can live in Tehachapi. So others think of our area as Bakes, Mohave and Lancaster when it is truly a diamond hiddened away.
posted by
ragmop
on Jul 3, 2008 at 11:31 AM
reffup... you captured life in Tehachapi's mountains and valleys perfectly and painted a beautifully descriptive picture of "home" with your words. You truly are talented but probably a little modest about it. As a Tehachapi-born native, I thank you for saying such positive things about my town... it's a nice contrast to so many of the negative things that are said on this blog. I love Tehachapi, warts and all. I, too, hear the quail, coyotes, woodpeckers and owls where I live. My favorite part of the day is just before dark settles and you hear the birds busily securing their roosting spots in the oak trees and arguing with each other over who sits where... much rustling and chatter, then total silence as darkness falls. I have a bobcat who appears in my front yard on a regular basis, checking out one of my shrubs because there are lizards living under it and he hears them rustling in the leaves. I do wish I could hear the trains but I'm too far away...
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