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We bought a house in the country, on a lake, ninety-four miles from New York City years before our daughter was born. There were few neighbors,
no street lights, and plenty of wild animals. In particular there were loads of very large and very hungry black bears. Some of the bolder
individuals broke into homes to pilfer food, which scared my wife and amused me; it was the revenge of the natives.
Because of the remoteness of the location and lack of neighbors, I was more concerned with break-ins by wildlife of the two-legged
variety. After our apartment in the city was burgled in 1995, I developed an Internet methodology for keeping an eye on the place. It was simple
to duplicate the system in the country, but I installed more cameras ... one of which looks out over the lake to the forest and mountains beyond.
As the years passed and our daughter became a teenager, we spent less and less time in the country. I used to love being there as the seasons
changed. The flaming, brilliant color of the leaves as they turn in the fall is beautiful beyond description. Then the air chills and the lake freezes and the snow arrives,
blanketing the earth in pristine white all the way into April. Then the lake thaws, the ducks, geese, and loon return, and the rain comes pouring
down. A few weeks later tiny spring buds emerge by the million ... and gradually the earth becomes lush and green again. I still enjoy all of this,
but primarily through frequent visits to my Web site!
It's also nice to know that no critters, either two- or four-legged, have broken in.
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