Second impressions
Keeping
up with the basics --- food, water, a spot to use the bathroom, and
staying up to date on our computer work ---
engrossed us for most of the first week. But the ground had been so
parched that when it started raining, I couldn't
resist running out to explore our new domain.
Living so close to the
road has taken some getting used to. But as soon as I slipped down over
the hill, humanity disappeared in very short order.
Various
neighbors have told us that this area was a dairy farm roughly a
century ago.
Sure enough, the trees are mostly the same age once you pass beyond the
easiest-to-reach areas. There are scads of sugar maples, quite a few
beeches, a tulip-tree or two, and even a few oaks. This is in stark
contrast to life on top (our new core homestead) where honey locusts
reign supreme.
Our
new property consists of a series of plateaus separated by steep banks.
Following the deer trails, it wasn't too hard to get around, although
the walk back up had me huffing and puffing by the end. But I'll
definitely be coming back to my new favorite spot --- an outcropping of
rocks beside a wet-weather creek.
I actually only made it
halfway through the property --- our land goes up the other side past
the creek too. But I want to follow a topo map when I head
further afield. I'll save that expedition for the next time it rains!
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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
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No one will be able to accuse you guys of being 'flat-landers' Any signs of the old farm? Joey's post about old homesteads was beautiful. I am in the Azores right now, there are ancient abandoned farmsteads everywhere, even a few villages. Have yet to see a "no trespassing" sign.