Have you ever wanted to leave the big city, and build a home in the north woods? Author Renee Peek and her husband Allen have taken that leap, finding themselves up to their necks in adventure. Notes from a Northwoods Novice is a diary of their challenges. Sharing their place with bears, daily chores can be thrilling! Adding ducks and chickens gives the adventure a more humorous note. They must be alert and ready for anything nature has in store - tornadoes, two-foot snow falls, five inch rains, even sixty below wind chills. The Peeks are not immune to the communication challenges of any married couple and their issues are, unfortunately, magnified by the many building and construction projects they work on together. But, those same difficulties and disputes are ameliorated by the beauty and serenity of the place they have chosen to build their home. They are always brought back together, whether by the tears of loss, the joy of new life, or laughter at their own foibles. They invite you to share the trials and triumphs of life at Bear Run.