May the joy and peace of the season remain throughout the coming year!

Dear friends and family,

This has been a year of many blessings for us. 

This has been a year of many blessings. We were finally able to purchase the six acres next door and are now proud owners of our driveway and well. Our 17-acres has a mile-long circular trail through the woods around our cabin. Much of it is along Rocky Creek.

This has been the wettest year since we moved into our cabin in 1998. Rocky Creek looked like the Colorado River five times. We've never seen the creek so high.

I had the opportunity to visit my Mother in South Africa for a week. She's in a nursing home within a supportive living community. It turned out to be extraordinary. Although her body and mind have withered and no longer work her spirit is strong. Her eyes are amazingly serene. There is a peace and radiance about her. I feel humbled and grateful to have been with her.

Bud and I had a great time on our many camping trips around the Southeast. We especially enjoyed gazing at a beautiful Okefenokee Swamp buck as it grazed peacefully while Bud and I watched wide-eyed. It's a blessing when an animal has no fear of people.

A three-day car camping trip to Georgia's Cloudland Canyon was amazing. I've lived in Georgia for over 35 years and had not been there. The many scenic overlooks, trails, waterfalls and streams are breathtaking.

Bud's annual Georgia Wilderness Society four-day camping trip to Georgia's Sapelo Island this September was magical. With mild temperatures and few bugs the twenty members and friends had a great time camping at Cabretta Beach. The highlight was seeing a tiny loggerhead turtle make its first trip to the sea. The Georgia DNR Conservation Program statistics show Sapelo's beaches had 72 turtle nests this year and around 47% of the hatchlings made it to the ocean.

Bud's civic, hunting and conservation activities continue to keep him busy. His hunting club had to downsize and relocate this summer. He is president of the High Falls Towaliga Watershed Alliance, is a member of the EPD Rivers-Alive-Program Advisory Board and leads numerous Georgia Wilderness Society trips. He was the fourth highest fund raiser and contributed $705 towards the more than $17,000 the GRN raised in 2009. He won a canoe seat and outdoor wear at the awards ceremony at the conclusion of the Georgia River Network’s 2009 92-mile Coosawattee and Oostanaula Rivers Canoe-A-Thon.

Wishing you all the joys of Christmas and many blessings in the New Year!

Much love and warmest wishes,

Bud and Niki