Sun and clouds mixed. High 67F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph..

Cloudy this evening with showers after midnight. Thunder possible. Low near 55F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.

Today's early morning drive to school was everything you want a trip down Becky Mountain Road to be. The full moon was setting to our left while the clouds of the sunrise were pinking up to our right. The reds and golds of maples and sourwoods and poplars were shimmering in the early morning light. We made our winding way down the mountain into the fog of the valley, greeting the cows of Mill Cove through the morning mist. Everyone in the car acknowledged the beauty and wonder of it all. What a gift of a morning commute.

Last week's See Off Homesteaders potluck at the community center was also a gift. It is always so wonderful to see our friendly neighbors and catch up on happenings around the mountain. Since we haven't been seeing each other as much lately, lots of folks were surprised at how tall and grown up Jamin and Cora Manner have gotten. I see them every day and I am surprised, too! I remember attending our very first See Off potluck when Cora was just 6 months old, strapped into a carrier on my chest, and Jamin as a 2 year old holding my hand. Time marches on.

Michael and Nancy Rosenthal were eagerly showing off photos of their new bundle of joy, an adorable tiny dog named Tucker. The Rosenthals adopted little Tucker back in August, and he has quickly found his way into their hearts and into their bed, where he sleeps cozily between them every night. Tucker is a rescue – the very best kind of dog. All these cute photos of Tucker prompted the idea of featuring the wonderful dogs of See Off Mountain in our news column. Send me a photo and some good stories about your favorite canine and I'll be glad to share the cuteness.

Rachel Smith and other Slick Rock neighbors have been enjoying yoga classes by the lake this summer and fall. Fellow See Off neighbor Cate Kroehnke is the instructor and leads participants in gentle stretching and strengthening. The colder months will bring the class to the community center to meet. The class meets on Tuesdays and is $10 each week.

Pumpkin Fest at Silvermont had its first spooky weekend last week. You can find more (family friendly) scary fun throughout weekends in October at Silvermont. Joe Dapkins and Maury Bandurraga are back in action as volunteers with the festival that raises money to improve and maintain Silvermont Park and historic mansion. There are still volunteers opportunities for the next few weekends. You can email Maury at pumpkinfestbrevard@gmail.com if you'd like to help.

Doug and Paula Poad recently travelled to Virginia to attend a reunion of military families stationed in Guam. Doug and Paula were in Guam 1994-1996. Paula spent most of her time there snorkeling around the reef. Doug enjoyed some snorkeling as well, and was delighted to find that he could purchase diving goggles with his eyeglasses prescription built right in. He would often wear these prescription goggles to drive to the beach on snorkeling adventure days so he wouldn't have to keep up with his glasses along the way.

While in Virginia Doug and Paula also visited the Virginia Military Institute where Paula's father graduated in 1932. Doug and Paula were able to look through some of the archives from that time, including old yearbooks and textbooks. They came across a trigonometry textbook that had belonged to Paula's dad and it was quickly clear that trig was not his favorite subject. The margins of every page were covered in doodles and cartoons, making it clear he had much more attention for drawing than for solving math problems!

Please send your news, cute pet photos, travel stories, memories, gratitudes, nature sightings and pretty much anything else you can think of to seeoffnews@gmail.com so that this column can continue to be a balanced representation on life on See Off Mountain. Isn't it a gift to get to live here? Thank you for being my neighbors.

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