35 Comments
Jul 17, 2022Liked by Kelton Wright

Spent a week in the mountains outside of Cusco, Peru. Lived a year in a home on the edge of a provincial park in Calgary, AB. Both places were notable for the quiet. I remember the night of the first Big Snow in Calgary. My children were sleeping, lights all off. I stood by the window overlooking the park and breathed in the muffled silence. It was glorious. The first night we moved back to Texas we woke up to police sirens, trains, and church bells, all within a 10 minute interval.

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Jul 17, 2022Liked by Kelton Wright

Another piece so well conceived and expressed. Tangible, emotional and once again, thought provoking: "what are really seeking". So glad you found your "spot", your haven that allows you to explore your mind and share what you find.

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Jul 17, 2022Liked by Kelton Wright

I am already aware that I couldn't live there but that is why I love reading your excellent writing...living vicariously is the way to do it!!

I live in the suburbs of DC but there are a fair number of places I can hike where you wouldn't know that the "capital of the free world" is a few miles away. I was at one of my favorites on Friday....all trees, birds, chipmunks, and insects...until some dude on a bike with his phone blasting "Highway to Hell" came down the trail! I often wonder what the animals think of us making all that noise for no reason.

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I can't imagine a better one of your newsletters to read before we chat this week!

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Well written thanks. Worth pointing out that a few hundred or so years ago all of our ancestors lived this way and going back further would have been shocked and surprised to be granted the luxury of this kind of life. That we should go back to the advantages of this life today isn’t surprising.it’s where we’ve come from and are now returning to. The artificial world of digital convenience and imposed social control is dying of it’s own weight. I would suggest however that the building of a structure designed to function as passive solar might be easier and smarter. Passive solar out of logs? Sure.

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Jul 17, 2022Liked by Kelton Wright

You hit the nail on the head lol. I think all living is hard, but we all have things we are willing to live with rather than deal with the alternative. Nothing is purely romantic. Good stuff as always! But Colorado weather - that’s awesome! ... until it snows and then I’m out lol.

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Apr 23, 2023Liked by Kelton Wright

I’m still on my journey of reading the archives, and the Snoots anecdote really tugged on my heart. Lots of love for the memory and to you all 💜😭

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Just shared it on LinkedIn. With endorsement. Gotta do something if I can't afford a subscription now...

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Your discussion of noise is something everyone should peruse, and I also thought the metaphor: "the wind moves through her like bad takeout" was genius. More importantly, as someone who has always dreamed/dreamt (?) of owning a log cabin this piece was right up my alley. Real problems and issues that must be solved, just like real life. Thanks for this.

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Jul 19, 2022Liked by Kelton Wright

Ha! I grew up in a... marginally built... log cabin that only had a wood stove for heat (this was in the 80s). This is all spot on. Light between the logs where the chinking and insulation had fallen out... squirrels in our wood stove (they fell down the chimney in the summer - when we didn’t need to have fires)... so many ants and bugs... but the quiet and the stars and the challenge and the stories of it all. ♥️

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Lovely posts, lovely prose. Thank you.

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I would absolutely love the quiet, and I tell myself I would love the lack of signal to my phone, but I honestly don't think I would last longer than a week with the outside living inside. I love nature, but I like nature outside the house. After dealing with a roost of bats this summer, I have an amazing appreciation for a well-sealed home.

I do love reading about your experience though, Kelton!!

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Well done! (I already figured I wouldn’t last a week, lol)

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I've been thinking a lot about noise too. How it layers. Cities and even suburbs are full of so many distractions that stand between you and the things you actually want to listen to...

Great read, as always!

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Thai food. I sometimes really miss Thai food. The grocery planning sometimes takes up too much brain space-- I think it’s because it feels like something I can control. Unlike the hundreds of downed trees from the Dec. 15 wind event, or the chipmunk invasion, or the puzzlement over what kind of scat is on the deck. I wouldn’t trade it. 💙

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Fun! The pandemic sharpened our focus here on medical care and safety. Do not get hurt when the nearest doc is a hydrochloroquine quack, the bad hospital is an hour away, the ICU means a giant co-pay life flight. Himself has 4 epi-pens because they only last 15 minutes, and we’d get to the ER faster than the (one) ambulance could scramble. A ski patrol friend helped us build trauma first aid kits for the cars, because I don’t want to watch helplessly as someone bleeds out on the highway if we are the first to pass an elk strike. If we’d thought through medical care, we might not have been so brave/foolish to settle here. At least we have a good vet who stocks rattlesnake anti-venom. Bet he could be pressed into service if we needed it ourselves.

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