We enjoyed a mellow New Year’s Eve with our good friend and neighbor Mandi who was kind enough to capture a photo of us lovebirds smooching by moonlight in front of the pond where we married almost three years ago now.

We kicked off the evening by burning an old, poorly-built coop that was quite small to have much use anymore. The moon was bright and the sparks swirled twenty or more feet into the sky above.

We heard an owl in the woods behind the pond just before a few more friends stopped by for our socially-distanced bonfire.

By the time the great fire had turned to a wide bed of coals we all parted for the night. We were in bed by nine. Maybe three years ago we would have stayed there half the night.

Good riddance to the terrible year of 2020. May 2021 bring a better solution to the chaos of Covid than our current approach and a less stressful year for our little family on a mountain in Maine.