Wednesday, September 17, 2008

sell the farm?



(Mister Pottersblog down on the farm, an hour east of Ithaca)
My mom just called to tell me that they are going to try to sell the farm. 3 years ago, due to HORRIBLE winters (which are the norm in upstate NY--see pic above), health problems, and the fact that mid-70s leads to the age of 80, they bought a house in town, 17 miles from the farm, which is NEXT DOOR TO THE HOSPITAL. Seems like a good move, but then they couldn't bear to list the farm, so stayed there, for now.
But it is inevitable that 2 aging folks would prefer to leave the extremely remote country place with the driveway that is about a kilometer long (and often under several feet of snow) which is miles from the nearest village of 300 people, and 17 miles from town.
So, do I feel sad? Well, the place has not sold yet. But you can see that I have had fun there. I did not grow up on this land, I was living in Chicago and in my mid-20s when they moved there.
The place has:
-a river
-a creek and small waterfall
-huge hills, HUGE
-its own very clean pond, which is very good for swimming, boating, it is stocked with trout etc, and you don't have to share it with anybody
-a barn-with a brand new studio/apartment on the upper floor
-a garage
-a small A frame house
-a wood shed
-2 old outhouses
-a boat house
-about 33 acres of meadow for hay
-60 acres of woods with miles of trails
-old apple orchard
-old Christmas tree farm--they have gotten pretty tall though
-no neighbors---it is surrounded by 5000 acres of state forest, and more hills and rivers
-the tractor is only 5 years old and comes with a grader, bucket loader, grass cutter, huge snow blower, a trailer and is wicked good fun

I am not a woodsy person, and I could not afford to buy the place, heck, I couldn't even afford the yearly tax bill! But, you know, things change, so I will say my goodbyes.
And it hasn't sold QUITE yet.

23 comments:

Fortune Cookies said...

OOH! I need to win the lottery, I want the folk's farm! I want it! I WANT IT!

Anonymous said...

You just named our dream place, complete with the neighboring state forest and the SNOW!!!!

Oh, I wish, I wish...

(we'd even let you come back to play sometimes)

Farmer*swife a/k/a Glass_Half_Full said...

AWFUL....what a great place....what a loss.

I do understand about the aging thing. But, sheesh. That's a nice set up. Too bad it isn't closer to [in] Texas....

Someone will definitely purchase that place. Hopefully the have children and pets!

Happy Wednesday!

[Oh, I dropped piggy pencil yesterday and broke the lead. But, even worse? It broke his piggy nose ;-( Poor Little Piggy]

gary rith said...

It is quite a place, but for half the year or more VERY difficult to get into (snow, ice, mud). Therefore the tractor, and 4 wheel drive trucks. But, at the drive's end is a well maintained state highway.
I'll send ya another piggy pencil with your next order!

Linda Starr said...

So sad but that's a lot of snow. Hopefully someone will purchase the farm who appreciates it as much as your parents and you obviously do and you'll all be thankful for that.

gary rith said...

You can't beat it this time of year--warm and pretty, golden leaves. But half a year with snow up to your chin? A bit of a drag.

Farmer*swife a/k/a Glass_Half_Full said...

Ooooh! Thanks Gary!!!!!

Gordo said...

Gary, that sounds like a beekeeper's paradise. Too bad it's in the next country.

gary rith said...

many flowers, many happy bees

Anonymous said...

i've been there and i can tell you it's truly a wonderful place.

unfortunately, everything comes to an end sooner or later.

gary, enjoy it while you can.

Anonymous said...

Maybe Pottsblog readers could purchase it jointly and do time shares. I always enjoyed myself there.
EH

Anonymous said...

Oh if only there were a way to keep it. It sounds maaaarvelous! I'm sad it's for sale. :(

Jessica said...

Sounds like a nice place! :)

cm said...

Fortune Cookie, you'll have to fight my fella B for it - it's exactly the property he dreams of. I probably shouldn't tell him it's for sale...

I like EH's idea of timeshares - put me down for two. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Oh, but the folks in Kcinnova's World like snow!! LOVE snow!! Snow is for cross-country skiing and snowshoes and snow forts and igloos and maybe even a snowmobile (but those are noisy and smelly so maybe not?) and you could have a little garage down by the state highway where you keep one sturdy 4-wheel drive and then you just shuttle back and forth with supplies using the snowmobile...

"I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas!"

(Pretty soon, SuperDad will peek in and tell me to get real...we can't move for a few more years.)

fiwa said...

What a gorgeous picture of Penny.

The farm sounds like heaven - what a shame it has to be sold.

Hope you are having fun with your MIL, she sounds like a great lady.

love,
fiwa

PS - thanks for the words of encouragement. :)

gary rith said...

SNOW is a four letter word when you average 100-200 inches a year!!! Maybe like a baby: so cute and sweet, but then you have to change a stinky diaper and before you know it they are dating tattooed bikers and crashing your car. That's snow.

Anonymous said...

ROTFL!!

And I am trying *really* hard to imagine my sons dating tattooed bikers...

Karen said...

OH....I wish I could afford it. My dad recently sold our family property in VT which sounded very much like your parents farm.

We have a smaller cabin in NY state near Lake George, but it gets witerized, so no fun in the snow!

Anonymous said...

Looks and sounds like a great place....any siblings where you all could go in on the place? Dang looks like such a fun place.

I know my parents are getting up there too, 74 & 81, and they only have an acre and it is too much for them to keep up, but all of us were born there and so many memories it would kill Mom to move. We get all the grandsons to chop wood for them and mow the lawn, but there is still so much they do and many times just don't like to ask. It's tough, I would hate to see them sell the house, plus we would have no place to go for family get togethers big enough to hold our clan!

gary rith said...

My sister would like it, in theory, but she lives about 1500 miles away.
And as I say, I live nearby, but havn't the money or the energy for upkeep.
As I get older, I also imagine myself getting CLOSER to the center of town myself!
Maybe a friend will buy it then I can visit all I want, ha!

Anonymous said...

Can I buy it and import it up here to Kingston???? PLEASE! :D

Mrs. G. said...

Sigh.