My house sits at a bend in the canal on our farm. The front of the house looks directly at the shop, as if, among the abundance of natural beauty surround the house, the shop is the best thing to look at. Clearly this home was built by a different kind of farmer (it was built by Johnny, our childhood neighbor in the 70’s who was less than excited about his new hippie neighbors).
The side door on this house is the one with the views. For this reason it is our side yard that received all the attention when we started the landscaping. From the side yard the view goes north, over the canal, across the lower fields and up the rolling hills, scattered with oaks, until the horizon meets the sky.
This spot on the farm is interesting because it is centrally located, but the canal doesn’t have a bridge over it, making the fields on the other side extremely difficult to reach. Hours and hours, miles over miles, have been spent by tractors and farm vehicles driving up the canal to the nearest bridge, then back down it.
North from my side yard, just across the canal, is a huge oak tree. This time of the year the oak leaves have grown to their full size but they are light green in color, awaiting the summer heat to darken them up. At the top of this oak tree, in the crux of some branches, a pair of red tailed hawks have put their nest. This is the third season in a row the couple has chosen this spot to raise their little babies.
Below the oak tree with the hawk nest, the construction on the much needed bridge across the canal has just been finished. Last week after my day had ended I sat in our swinging bench with my wife, beverages in hand, while the kids watered their garden. The smell of spring rolled through the yard with the breeze. The hawks came and went from their nest in the tree and below them a tractor returning from the field was able to use the bridge to get back to the shop - saving the first ten minutes in travel time. The tractor driver and I exchanged thumbs ups over the new bridge.
Doesn't get any better than this.
The side door on this house is the one with the views. For this reason it is our side yard that received all the attention when we started the landscaping. From the side yard the view goes north, over the canal, across the lower fields and up the rolling hills, scattered with oaks, until the horizon meets the sky.
This spot on the farm is interesting because it is centrally located, but the canal doesn’t have a bridge over it, making the fields on the other side extremely difficult to reach. Hours and hours, miles over miles, have been spent by tractors and farm vehicles driving up the canal to the nearest bridge, then back down it.
North from my side yard, just across the canal, is a huge oak tree. This time of the year the oak leaves have grown to their full size but they are light green in color, awaiting the summer heat to darken them up. At the top of this oak tree, in the crux of some branches, a pair of red tailed hawks have put their nest. This is the third season in a row the couple has chosen this spot to raise their little babies.
Below the oak tree with the hawk nest, the construction on the much needed bridge across the canal has just been finished. Last week after my day had ended I sat in our swinging bench with my wife, beverages in hand, while the kids watered their garden. The smell of spring rolled through the yard with the breeze. The hawks came and went from their nest in the tree and below them a tractor returning from the field was able to use the bridge to get back to the shop - saving the first ten minutes in travel time. The tractor driver and I exchanged thumbs ups over the new bridge.
Doesn't get any better than this.
