Moving on

I've been driving by a beautiful old farm house and property for the past year as I make the 5 mile drive between my house and where my horse Abby lives over at Devlin Farm.

There is a house for sale on the same road that would make a great headquarters for Pacific Ethnographic Research Center and home for my family so I've been taking that route and putting the "that's my house" wishful thinking whammy on the house day after day. Stranger things have happened in my life believe me; I know miracles happen. About a month ago a for sale sign went up on the old farm house and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it.

On the way back from bandaging Abby's leg I decided I'd just stop in at the old farm house, see how it felt to drive in to to the place, get a feel for what it might feel like it if were my home. I knocked on the door, no one home. Just as I was about to look around a bit the owner drove up. I introduced myself and told him I had been admiring his beautiful farm, could I take a look around? SURE. He was happy to show me around the place, glad for the company, glad to show off his life's work.

The farm was so clean and neat and tidy I thought maybe he was Scandanavian like my mom and grandfather, both on-board with the keep it neat way of life. Nope. German, from Pennsylvania, Amish country. The place was as clean as a light house; inside and out. He showed me his wife's pantry, still full of mason jars, a few canned fruits and jelly's here and there on the shelves. He gave me a jar of crab apple jelly dated 1998. Is jam still good after 10 years? He said his wife used to have the pantry lined with food she preserved for the winter.

I asked him, "it must be hard to take care of all of this by yourself." So much sadness came out in the "that's sure true." He was most certainly missing her still. Later I learned that his wife passed on 9 years ago.

He showed me the old barn. He used to run 15 beef cows during the winter months and 24 during the summer. He had one 5 acre pasture and one 4 that he would switch them between. An electric fence divided the two; that was gone now. He pointed out the two barn doors the cows used to come in and out, one from the pasture, the other from a holding pen. He told me they could get in the barn in the Winter when the weather was really bad. It does get cold and very windy here. Showed me pictures of them later. "My steer", he said. Nice.

He had replaced the original foundation for the barn; it was built on old logs that were rotting as a result of poorly functioning gutters. What a huge job that must have been and it was done among friends. They raised the barn, rebuilt the foundation with cement and cinder blocks. The old garage was build for model T's; he parked his car in it i 1974 and half of it stuck out the back of the building. He laughed. Then built himself a deluxe two car garage. So much history, so much labor of love gone into the place. "It must be hard to leave?" "You know it!"

We walked the orchard and he showed me the apple trees and filberts. He wasn't getting any meat in the filberts at first and discovered he needed a male tree. That was something he lived and learned about; how do you tell the sex of a tree? About one tree he said, "that is the best tasting apple in the world right there, they are so sweet and the apples are small and they fit real nice in a kid's lunch pail." Talk about SWEET!

Later we walked by a huge Rhubarb plant and he offered me some. Taught me how to break the stem off at a 45 degree angle so as not to tear up the roots. Hacked the leaves off with one swift swing of a knife and left the huge leaves to decompose on the grass; he'll chop them into mulch with the lawn mower later.

He also showed me the interior of the house. It had the cozy feel of old farm house. It was really quiet though, felt too quiet, made me understand how he could think of leaving it. I asked, "What are you going to do with yourself?" He said "I really don't know, I've been thinking about it."

As I was about to leave I asked him if there was anything I could do to help him. "Oh no." I gave him my card and said I'd be back at apple picking time; and I will. I hope he'll still be there.