the greening of keepsake acres

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looking northeast from the rear of our yard

One year and eight months ago we returned to this place, a place we had previously called home. We had lived here before from 1984 until July of 1993. Due to circumstances that were out of our control we had to move away in 93 and did so with sad hearts. We loved it here and would have stayed forever. Then due to a variety of (for us, serendipitous) circumstances we had the opportunity and freedom to return in the summer of 2006. For me particularly it was a gift my heart had longed for. Several years prior we had sought a return to simplicity and had opted out of the daily grind, gave up our business, mortgage and our way of life to return to a back to basics lifestyle. We moved around for a few years in between leaving our conventional lifestyle behind and finally landing here. When the opportunity to return to this place presented itself, it was a simple decision.

My dark lilac returns to life. I planted this when living here the first time.

We had a lot of work cut out for us. The previous tenant/half owner had made some improvements to the property but had left the house far worse than imagined in many ways. Never afraid of hard work, we set about returning this old farm house to a more livable condition. I always say it was a labor of love, though I'm not so sure Coop always agreed with me on that. But, as we scraped , scrubbed, repaired and labored more, it was as if I could feel this old house smiling as she came to life. I truly believe in the energy of places and there was so much residual energy anyhow from our previous years here, I couldn't help but feel as if the house was welcoming us home again.


As I ramble on, the point I am trying to make is this...I somehow wanted to impart the significance of this home and land, to somehow relay what it meant to me to be here. I decided to give the land an unofficial name, one that was not printed on the owners deed, but one that came from my heart. Thus, Keepsake Acres came into being.

looking northwest from the rear

beyond the back yard lay a cluster of daffodils