Sometimes in life there comes a turning point, a chance to make a break, messy or otherwise, and find a new start.
Of course all that sounds very cliché, but it is hard to explain without spouting some familiar words and phrases. The short version is, I was analog and the world had become digital.
My wife and I knew we wanted to get off the grid as much as possible, but we weren't sure what that meant. We knew we wanted to be closer to a lake or the ocean. We wanted to stay reasonably close to our kids, but we wanted out of the city--away from the concrete, streetlights and traffic.
With our house in town on the market, we began to browse Zillow in search of a new home. Kathy is a city girl, originally from the gulf coast of Florida, but she loves getting out in the woods, camping, hiking and watching the wildlife. I'm a country boy, from a farm in the foothills of the Ozarks. I'd been away from the farm for over forty years, but I had always managed to garden on some level for most of my life. I longed to return to a rural life. We found half a dozen places that seemed like possibilities, but they sold quickly.
Finally, our house sold and a new listing appeared on the market. I can't really say it was perfect, because we didn't have a clear idea what perfect was, but we were interested. The place (this place) was roughly five acres, mostly woodland, with a roomy thirty-five year old double-wide mobile home at the top of the hill. The driveway winds a quarter mile from the dirt road out front. We saw a lot that we liked: privacy, wildlife, hiking trails on our own land and plenty of room for our pack of rescue dogs.
We put in a cash offer, drove back to town to get our folding chairs and returned to the ridge. It only took a few minutes sitting on the front deck to convince us this was our new home. It has a well, septic, it's all electric and there is a fireplace in the living room. We were still mostly on the grid, but at least we were free from the gas company.
Stephen
Of course all that sounds very cliché, but it is hard to explain without spouting some familiar words and phrases. The short version is, I was analog and the world had become digital.
My wife and I knew we wanted to get off the grid as much as possible, but we weren't sure what that meant. We knew we wanted to be closer to a lake or the ocean. We wanted to stay reasonably close to our kids, but we wanted out of the city--away from the concrete, streetlights and traffic.
With our house in town on the market, we began to browse Zillow in search of a new home. Kathy is a city girl, originally from the gulf coast of Florida, but she loves getting out in the woods, camping, hiking and watching the wildlife. I'm a country boy, from a farm in the foothills of the Ozarks. I'd been away from the farm for over forty years, but I had always managed to garden on some level for most of my life. I longed to return to a rural life. We found half a dozen places that seemed like possibilities, but they sold quickly.
Finally, our house sold and a new listing appeared on the market. I can't really say it was perfect, because we didn't have a clear idea what perfect was, but we were interested. The place (this place) was roughly five acres, mostly woodland, with a roomy thirty-five year old double-wide mobile home at the top of the hill. The driveway winds a quarter mile from the dirt road out front. We saw a lot that we liked: privacy, wildlife, hiking trails on our own land and plenty of room for our pack of rescue dogs.
We put in a cash offer, drove back to town to get our folding chairs and returned to the ridge. It only took a few minutes sitting on the front deck to convince us this was our new home. It has a well, septic, it's all electric and there is a fireplace in the living room. We were still mostly on the grid, but at least we were free from the gas company.
Wildflowers and a view from the front meadow.
Stephen
All photos are copyright 2017, Stephen P. Scott
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