Living in the hills, close to the forest, has its own advantages and disadvantages. Wild animals keep visiting us. Hares having a field day in our vegetable garden, or wild boars digging out potatoes are a common occurrence. But, early morning walks in the forest when the tiny critters and small animals can be spotted, are a definite plus.

Monsoons are an interesting time for the hills. Everything turns fresh and green. The water sources get replenished. Clouds float around, and sometimes for days, we are stuck indoors, admiring these clouds through the windows.

With a flat patch of land in front, it was obvious for me to plan a nice green stretch of lawn there. Images floated around in my thoughts, with me relaxing on the green-green grass on a nice sunny day, with a bottle of beer, some soft music in the background, and a book in my hand! The clouds floating around in the sky and an occasional wisp of the cool mountain breeze.

Winters can be quite harsh in the hills. Temperatures that are bearable in the plains, feel quite cold in the hills. It seems that the wind factor and the fewer hours with sunlight have a role to play. As the time passed, I have now learned to keep myself warm. Lots of new things and techniques that I have now mastered over the time. Here is a list of these. I hope this article will help someone else too to enjoy the winters and keep warm. If you stay in a place where winters are over or still to come, do bookmark this & check out this article again when you feel cold.