Pendleton County, Where a road named after a creek will follow the creek. Where the deer are a hazard, a full freezer, and a conversation. Where Covid was something the city slickers made up. Where some of the phone numbers start 540, because Virginia is that close. Where the climbing school has been teaching on the same rock since 1971. Where the person who plows your road is someone you know by name. Where Fort Seybert is a place, a date, and a thing people still bring up. Where "directly" means in a little while, and everybody is content with that. Where one town is incorporated and the rest simply are. Where you can build a home and the only inspection you need is for the septic tank. Where the garden goes in when the ground says so, not when the calendar does. Where you can hear a chainsaw three ridges away on a still morning.