Friday, May 14, 2010

Where We Live



I shot this picture from Google Maps, which I would have just saved if I could figure out how to do it.  The satellite photo is way out of date but the main things are still correct. When asked we usually say we live near the water tower.
Across the road is a semi-level field where they grow hay and we like that view very much. Behind the hayfield is forest and hills and the site of the loveliest sunsets. If we are in the right spot on our land we can see glimpses of our neighbors lake which he says is stocked with 45,000 fish. I kid you not. I haven't been over there yet as we are still newcomers (three years as of July 31st) but the fish man came over last week and was very friendly. We wondered at the fact that on Sunday morning he would drive his car down to get his newspaper at the mailbox and drive in reverse all the way back home. Now I see how long his driveway is and the answer is clear. Don't you love the shape of that big lake, like the map of the USA.

When folks come to our place they say one of two things: The place is starting to take shape, or I didn't know you had a pond up here.
Our side of the road is hilly and woodsy but up the hill is a meadow where sometimes cattle graze. Grass fed beef is common here, but no dairies can be found. I wonder why?

Most locals we meet had something to do with building our house and have been watching us work on the place. They always volunteer information about the property, who owned it, who that person was related to and how long they have been on this mountain. Centuries. So different than our experience in Illinois, where we all moved frequently and were related to no one in town. And of course here, the civil war is considered recent history. Seriously. And we are of course Northerners. Yipes. But we are also relieved to hear that we are 'the nicest Yankees' they've met. It's all in good fun.
For some time I wondered why that topic was so omnipresent, and then, duh, I realized that battlefields are close to everywhere here.

It was an internet 'stumble upon' that brought us to this place and we are so happy here. And as you can tell we are putting down our own roots. My sister's family is happy to be living in the area too and tomorrow we are having a party for my niece's 15th birthday. Y'all come out.

12 comments:

  1. Your neighbor's lake looks like the map of the US!

    I'll have to check out Google Maps to see if I can find a pic of my place.

    I love the area you live in, it's so roomy!

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  2. Congratulations, Mel! You were right--it does take two to three years for plants to really start looking there best. I guess the same goes for homesteads. My granddaughter's second birthday party is tomorrow, too. They're having it at the Creative Discovery Museum (http://www.cdmfun.org/).

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  3. Of course I meant their best. :-)

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  4. Melody, if you zoom in on your picture on Google Earth or Google Earth, then take a screen shot, you can then save it.

    Cynthia in UK

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  5. There's a big dairy just north of you in Athens--Mayfield. I hear if you take the tour, you get ice cream at the end :)

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  6. What a coincidence! I found our place on the internet too! I love all the space you have around you, it's what attracted me to where we are, but you have lots more!
    Now I have to go find our place on google...

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  7. I LOVE Google Maps, especially the satellite photos. I love how nice and secluded your area looks. My neighborhood is far more crowded and urban looking. My neighborhood is so new though, what shows up in the satellite pics is old and looks undeveloped even though it hasn't looked that way in nearly 3 years!

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  8. Anonymous2:53 PM

    The lake looks like the continental United States...or a pig.

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  9. Looks like you really live way out there!

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  10. Zieknits10:17 AM

    Dude. It looks to me like a map of the continental US...with the Northest bitten off. I'm just sayin'.... ;-)

    Gorgeous gardens, as always.

    Oh, and I absolutely love Google Maps, too, especially the little orange guy who can fly down to street level, if the street level has been photographed.

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  11. Now that I know how to get to your place I'll be around tomorrow noonish for some yarn dying. I'll bring the margaritas and the lobsters! (I wish...)
    ~Leslie

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  12. Hi Melodie, if you look on your typingthing in front of you, you'll see somewhere a button that says 'print screen'. So if you're on a googlemap and you want to save what you see, just press once on that print screen button, and now you can paste it in a paint programm, or where ever you want to.

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