A family affair

roddie wrote:Really beautiful Bob. It's been 4-5 years since I've seen deer in my backyard. We moved here 6 years ago.. and that first year I mounted a salt-lick to a tree.. and used to toss carrot-sticks and apples around near it. I haven't done that in the last few years. I should start doing that again. There's a good 10-15 acres of woods behind our house.. with a network of trails. One trail leads to a small old apple orchard. The area is overgrown now.. so the apple trees are in poor health.. but still flower and produce some fruit. That would be a nice spot to mount a game-cam.. if I had one.

Been meaning to tell you.. your new home bears an uncanny resemblance to where I lived; from the time I was 5 years old until around the age of 16.

Here's a photo of a watercolor of the property; done by a friend of my mom's, after we'd moved in 1976.



You posted this photo of your home a while back.. and I practically gasped at the likeness.



You may not see what I did.. but the "right-hand" view of your property closely resembles how I remember our home. There was a single-story addition (wing) on the right side.. very similar to yours.. (less dormer-windows).

The tree that you see in the watercolor, is a Chestnut. I haven't seen many trees that are bigger than that tree was. It was said to have saved the house in a hurricane back in the late 50's where the un-attached garage (in the background..) was lifted off its foundation. The tree had a twisting crack in its 40+ inch diameter trunk which bled-off water/sap every year that we lived there. The chestnuts were a lot of fun as a kid. I looked forward to them falling. Their spiny green shells; some of which would split-open.. exposing the nut inside. I remember having chestnut-fights with the neighbor-kids. We'd fill a pail with chestnuts and use metal trash-can lids for shields at 40 paces!!! Back in those days, we placed the metal barrels below the downspouts to collect rain-water for the gardens. That house and the surrounding property was demolished some 20 years ago.. to make way for a day-care center. That area of the town was industrial zoned. Today; it's virtually unrecognizable. I still have my memories.

Thanks for sharing Bob. You never know who's heart you'll touch!  

MauricioB wrote:Roddie hello, I hope to convey my emotion to read your story and beginnings. That beautiful painting your house. Who made the painting? she looks great.
I hope to convey my words, because I do not handle the English and hope you can read and understand, I was born in a very small town, there was modelers and lost my father when I was 5 years old, however this model aircraft was born with me and remember I drew on real planes that flew by my people at a high altitude and then more or less drew figures and cut, tying those models that never flew with a thread and towing, so were my beginnings, alone and with a passion he was born with me.
Thank you for sharing your experiences!...Mauricio.-

I think I need a translator to convey so much emotion!