Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Something To Think About


We spent yesterday visiting Alex's parents on their homestead (circa 1861) in Palermo. They have something more than a hundred acres, it's rural, there's land on a large pond (we call it The Point) and it's always been farmed in one way or another. It's a two hour drive to see them. At many times since Alex and I have been together, we've entertained the possibility of having some of the land and living there. It's not the easiest place to make a living and it can be isolating in rural Maine, but it's land. Family land. Land--which is becoming increasingly difficult to come by in Maine for any reasonable sum of money. So when my mother-in-law says we could basically have some of the bounty of her harvest if we helped her farm it, it got our wheels spinning--again.

We sat late into the evening discussing what vegetables to grow, what land could be cleared and when to start on this new endeavor. Alex and I tossed around lots of ideas on the long ride home, too. Do we just try to make a life there? Hmm. Isolation, income...all issues that are daunting. But could we farm a bit of it, help with our parents' chores on the homestead, maybe start to build something even? Maybe, maybe, maybe. What seems to make the most sense right now is to do the latter, help with farming, maybe add to it, maybe carve out a space of our own, and maintain it a couple of times a month, probably more when summer was in full-swing. We'd all reap a harvest, we'd make an investment in our future and our children's future, we'd gain some land and food security, we'd strengthen ties to family history, and all while we'd be assisting our parents. It might work. It'd be work. Something tells me it would be worth it.

5 comments:

  1. Sounds like a wonderful adventure! What do the kids think of it?

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  2. I love the photo mosaic! Well done.

    It sounds like you'd go into this with a good plan and level head. It also sounds like a nice opportunity. If the place is as beautiful as your photos of it, you'll be in your own little paradise. Good luck!

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  3. This remind me of an old Zen saying... Leap and the net will appear!

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  4. Well, the kids aren't interested in moving, but they do agree that it makes sense to preserve the homestead and hopefully make some of it ours and they are willing to work with us to that end.

    Thanks for all the supportive comments, and for reading, of course.

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  5. It would be wonderfully beautiful to have your family as "down the road" neighbors. It can be isolating, but peaceful.

    Dawnella, in Freedom

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