The Reason for the Absence

Nothing like an entire month in between posts, especially when I told you I would be posting more regularly! 

I have rarely been posting on Facebook, either. 

So what I have been doing is this:

That is the view from the porch of our old house. 

Our renter moved at the beginning of April, 

and I have been going out there daily.  

I don't know what to do. 

The house is not in good repair, but the property 

can be restored, the whole property, uncut yard, uncut 

pasture... overgrown garden beds.  

I'm going to be 67 this year, and only TWO friends 

think I'm not nuts. 

My kids and step-kids think I'm crazy to leave this beautiful 

big house and squish back into the little house. 

The little house needs 4 months worth of work done on it, first, 

and it's almost May.  

See what I've been doing?  Going back and forth, literally and figuratively.  

That's the lilac I raised from a six inch high cutting given to me by 

Kathy-next-door. 

Lilly Ann was raised from a puppy there, and she is so happy when 

we are out there. 

As you see, the garden beds are almost unseen in the grass. 

The view down the hill to the Spehar's ponds. 

I can't get down into the pasture, it's so overgrown and there 

are burrs.  I let Lil in the first day, and she got covered, we had to go to the 

vet for her to be shaved in several places.  So, no morel hunting in my tiny 

patch of woods, out of sight to the right.  

My plan is to get it mowed, and keep it mowed. 

At least that's today's plan. 

My beautiful vegetable beds. 

Three cats are eating on the porch (you knew I would feed them). 

One, the one on the bench, was left there by the renters.  I am going to try to trap and neuter it. 

The other cat is also fed by the neighbors across the road. 

The third, not in this picture... is a grey tabby, and acts like a feral cat, it does not 

like to be around the other two. 

All I know is, the bowl is empty in the morning. 

That's the other reason the food is all gone by morning. 

I bedded down the henspa to move the hens from the ag hall out there... but 

have not done so.  I won't do anything until my mind is made up, one 

way or the other. 

There are many factors involved.  Yes, this big house is 

gorgeous and in a good neighborhood, but an unfortunate neighbor 

dispute happened here, that involved a drawn-out court case. 

That case is finished, but we also have a case with the people 

who sold this house to us, who failed to advise us of the prior neighbor dispute concerning this land. 

It is a big, nice house that would sell fast.  

Why would I want to move back to a tiny little house 

that needs so much work? 

Keith's handiwork is all around me there, but that's not even the reason. 

I just love it, I can't explain it.  I had the same kind of feeling for the 

first Calamity Acres, too, and I had to give that up. 

I just don't want to give this one up. 

It's pretty simple. 

So, I'm still agonizing.  

I'm going to get an opinion from an agent as to what the property is 

worth at the moment on the open market, with the house "as is". 

There are almost NO small acreages listed in Leavenworth or Wyandotte Counties, 

Kansas.  It would be a great building site, with a deep well and new septic already in. 

So... we'll see.  I'm praying about it.  I have been for weeks. 

So, as the dogs and I left today, we saw this: 

We are 2/10's of a mile off a busy state highway, 24/40, also 

called State Ave.  Remember, I have shown you the bison herd that is directly north of us 

at 198th and State on the north side.  In the last year, red cedar has grown up in their pasture so badly that the grazing was almost gone.  Red cedar trees also had grown into the fenceline, and that fence was put up by the state.  Some time in the last 3 weeks, someone began clearing the red cedar from the pasture, and this morning, a quarter mile of fenceline had been cut down. 

When I pulled off the road to get my camera up, the bison began approaching the fence line. 

I counted 25.  You can see that the trunks were left in the fenceline, probably a good idea. 

I only saw three calves... one is in the middle here. 

I saw at least two huge bulls. 

The house here had burned years ago, but there are still two big barns. 

The brush and saplings that had grown up on the driveway are all down, too. 

I am not sure what this all means. 

Another van pulled up behind me when they noticed me taking pictures (from the car). 

That man WALKED UP TO THE FENCE, I could see him as I pulled away. 

I would not want to be so close to thousands of pounds of inquisitive 

buffalo. 

So, I really WILL try to post more often.  

Think of me agonizing over my choices!