72 is ours

We got it!

OK be honest, did any of you guess? If you've been reading my blog since we bought this farm in 2009, you might have known.

Cuz that stupid strip of useless treed land lies between our house and our pasture. The owner, Beate, was kind enough to allow us to build a path through 72 to let our animals access it more easily (in contrast to going all the way down to the fish ponds and then up again to the pasture, which all belongs to us, but is not practical). You can see that path at the upper mid point of the photo below:

     
Our house is on the far left. Our Scheune (my husband's office and my tackroom/shed) is off the house. The greenhouse and horse shelter are directly adjacent 72.


Maybe you remember me referring ot the "Hippies next door" as they had naked smudge parties in the Native American fashion, and they were married there and build a Yurt. Beata makes medieval clothing for a living, and dresses in what she makes every single day, so I always feel like a slob next to her. Truly, today she wore moss green corduroy bell bottoms with a burgundy knit vest, and a fringed leather pouch at her waist (no normal pouch for this lady!) She also had a huge turquoise neckace. She's getting older now, but she will never stop being stunning, fashion-wise. I wonder if she even owns a single Tshirt, cuz in years past she did all her gardening next door looking like she was going to the Renn Faire directly afterwards.

My husband carefully prepared appetizers because we assumed she'd want to sit down and talk about it. Wrong, she just pointed around to all the bits of land, and took us to them, as well, to show us what we'll be buying.

What huh? Oh, dangit, she's offering a package deal only. She has at least 6 pieces of land around here and only wants to make one sale. And most of them are tiny little bits, no idea why.

72 would have been unaffordable to us if it was allowed to be built on (is there no English word for that phrase?). Only one of the parcels in buildable, but it's so tiny there is only a shed there that used to house chickens and pigs.

I've been looking at that shed for 10 years wondering what's inside and today she produced the key.

I love "forgotten" places and this is one! Full of memory and old tools and a ceramic coffee pot, and the remains of the pig/chicken area, and loft above. Blackberries have grown through the ceiling into the building. Of course they did. *sigh* But holy crap, it's mine?!

We walked the neighborhood and she pointed out all the parcels of land, disturbingly tiny and erratic, but I just listened as she told J everything he wanted to know.

At the end I said, "There's no one else, right? It's just us, and you'll offer it to just us?"

Yes.

I said, "Do you remember the first time I asked you if we could buy it?"

2010?

"No, April 2009. The day I met you. I've been waiting 10 years."

I assured her I will not cut down her adolescent Chestnut tree, nor her gorgeous Sumac.

I did not tell her I plan a small riding ring, which will require the deaths of at least 10 large pines.

I've been dreaming of it for so long, a place to lunge a horse on our land. A place to do ground work that is not our street. A place to RIDE in a 20 meter circle!?!?

I wish I'd prepared images of the property ....no, properties, but that will have to come later cuz even my husband does not now know what land is included in this group of parcels. We have a vague idea, where she gestured.

I joked to J, "We need to be sure none of those parcels has an oil-drilling rig on them because that's looked down upon here."

FINALLY, Finally Farm has what it needs to be whole. I cannot wait to rip down that fence that divides our house from our pasture!!!!!!!!!  First things first, make 72 horse-safe (it's so, so not safe right now, with all their party features). Then, HAVE AT IT BELLIS AND MAG!  They've never had trees before. I'm not looking forward to tree sap in manes.

72....OURS!?