today's country drive

We headed out of the house today to do some grocery shopping. We got talking about the possibility of me getting a teaching job next year, and that we'd really like for me to get a job even if it meant leaving Portage. From here we talked about moving again (we really hate moving actually) and Steven remembered that he saw a sign on the highway that was advertising an acreage for sale just outside of Portage. On a whim (and because the kids were both sleeping in the van and it was so nice and quiet) we decided to drive by just to check it out.

No readers, we are not actually house-hunting. We just have very little social life and these kinds of excursions help fill in the time.

We drove past the house, but couldn't really see it because of all the trees.

S: We should drive up the driveway.
T: Whatever you want to do.
S: Do you want to?
T: I don't care.
In full "snoop mode" S & T make their way up the driveway.
T: Uh oh.
S: What?
T: There's someone there.
S: Where?
T: looking out the window - quick, drive away!

Steven never listens when it matters. Did we drive away? No. Did he go in to say hi? Of course. I hid in the van. See, I have this thing with dropping in on complete strangers - at least I'd have the courtesy to quickly peel down the lane and up the road. Not Steven, no no. Instead, he comes back out to the van and tells me we've been invited in. I told him to tell them that the kids were sleeping and just to ask a couple of questions and we'd go. But noooo. In the time it took him to try and coerce me to come out from hiding in the floor with the kids in the back of the van the kindly elderly couple came out to meet me for themselves. We were then invited on the tour of the property.

This is how our visit played out:

We walked to the edge of the property. These people actually had an amazingly well thought-out yard. They've planted all sorts of different rows of trees that wrap around the entire farmyard. The outer ones are planned as shelter-belts or whatever, and then inside of that they've planted hundreds of trees for either fruit or aesthetics. They've got different types of trees strategically planted so that there is always something blooming. There are pine trees, fruit trees, ornamental trees, etc.

I swear, he told us about each separate tree. He remembers the story of buying them, of replacing them, of having started them as seedlings. He talked of when they were planted, when they bloomed, how much mulch to put around them, how big the fallen branches could be and still be looked after by the mower. He showed us the pile of leftover mulch. He talked about cutting back the shrubs (they actually did an amazing job of caring for this all - there are literally hundreds of trees, each of them tilled and mulched around), and putting chives around the trunks. He told us about which summers passed the trees did well, and which trees were not doing so well now.

Then we came to the garden. We were adequately informed of roughly how many tomatoes he gets from each plant, of how many dozens of pumpkins, watermelon, squash, etc. he gets from each hill. He talked about the weeds and how there aren't any. He showed us a cedar and told us its name and the story of how it got its name. Turns out a friend of theirs gave it to them years ago and figured it would never grow out here, but it did... We looked through the grape vines so we could see a cluster of grapes. He had Steven sample the raspberries. He picked a zucchini to demonstrate the bounty of the zucchini patch. We know how many gallons of wine could be made from the grapes, how many buckets of apples come from the trees, etc.

The tour of the house itself - ten minutes, top to bottom.

After the house tour we had coffee. I don't drink coffee. I courteously declined the coffee in favour of getting out of there already, but Steven accepted the coffee. He doesn't drink coffee either. The kids had chocolate milk while they played with the toys that the Mrs. found for them.

We then looked at pictures. Remember all those trees? We now know what they looked like in the spring, and last spring, and the spring before. We know what the trees look like from many different directions. The pictures then evolved into hunting photos, and pictures of the land they're now clearing to build their new house on. We know all about their new land too, and the trenches that were dug to burn things in, and the building that used to be there. We saw pictures of their kids and grandkids, and their grandkids hunting stuff. Then there were more pictures of the trees, but this time they were panoramic, so it was all very new again.

Seriously, very nice people, very nice yard. But since we aren't actually house hunting it may have been two hours (yes, two FULL hours) wasted. That'll teach me for letting Steven pull into a driveway. Although they were kind enough to let us part with a zucchini bigger than my baby and a bottle of wine.

Seriously again, I think Steven will be a perfect old person someday, because although I was kind of watching the clock and feeling somewhat uncomfortable with it all, I think he had a very nice afternoon.

Just in case you thought I was kidding about the zucchini!