For some reason, over the past twenty years, I have been with my parents while they searched, and found, most of the homes or properties they lived on. Maybe I should get a license to become a real estate agent.Regardless, looking at homes and property is great fun, even if you are just window shopping! There is something about it....the thrill of the hunt. Each place is so unique. And the feeling of finding the potential "one" is so great.
I remember the cottage that looked adorable when peering into the windows from the outside. However, it had had a fire and a woman died in it. The agent had to disclose that information. Um, no, that was too weird and sad. Then there was the funky home where people had kept adding rooms and additions to the place. You got lost just walking through it, like the fun house at a carnival.
On one particular property hunting trip, my aunt, uncle, parents and I crammed into my parents' SUV and set out. It was quite the adventure. While trying to find the last (and best) property, we ended up on a dead end road and could not figure out the directions we had. We called my cousin back home to look up the original directions on the realtors site but even that was fruitless. The road we needed did not exist. And we had no GPS. That day, I learned you can call 411 on your cell phone, give them an address, and they will give you step by step directions to get you to your destination!
There was also the (apparently) abandoned farm with the strange smell. We literally just stepped out of the car and got a whiff. I swear it was strong natural gas odor, but my family thought it was a dead animal in the barn. It was disturbing and we left there in a jiffy!
Last weekend, my parents took me to a piece of land they'd found with some other family members.
So, put on some decent footwear and take a walk with us!
Mom and dad start us off on the tour. The property is a nice combination of thinned out woods, heavily wooded areas, and open pastures.
There are groomed paths in the park-like setting of woods, that has been kept bush-whacked.
You still had to be careful not to trip on the roots and vines that weren't cut all the way- these "nature's hands" tried to reach out and grab your foot.
The property borders right up against clear cut land......perhaps miles and miles of future horseback riding trails?
We walk through the woods and ferns and brush, and find many, many piles of scat from many wild animals. We think this one is elk (it looked more like mushed together pellets in real life, but too big to be deer.)
The light coming through the trees is mesmerizing.
I feel myself getting happier, just being here. It is so peaceful. It reminds me of where I grew up as a child.
We start downhill and come upon a small cleared meadow in the middle of the trees.
On one side of the meadow I find beautiful moss-covered branches on trees. My mom and I collect fallen branches to take home. I'll show you where they ended up in a future post.
We start up the hill on the other side of the meadow. It's a climb! I'm coming through the trees! It's a little hard to climb in rubber rain boots while snapping pictures with the Nikon! I thought the ground was going to be wet, but it wasn't!
I'm almost out of the ferns. Even with two bad knees, my father is faster than me!
Voila! The top of the hill! Mom and dad are catching their breath.
Here, we find the sun's warmth in the open and start peeling off the down jackets!
Beautiful! Acres of open field. Looks like it was possibly hayed late summer.
We continue on through the field and head towards the road, and find an apple tree.
Alas, Rosie was waiting back in the car...and she needed a potty break, so the walk was over.
Hopefully you enjoyed the little tour. Isn't property hunting fun? Do you ever window shop for a new place to live?
