Many years ago, I’m not sure how many, our little property, like most property in New England, was a farm.  The evidence still exists in the form of many old, deteriorated, and sometimes buried stone walls which separated pastures, a few very old fence posts, and what seems to be a very old foundation for either a homestead, or perhaps a barn.  We moved here a little over nine years ago with the intention of slowly converting the land back into farmland.  It was almost completely wooded.  It’s been a slow “spare time” process but our efforts are beginning to show real progress.  We’ve cleared a few acres completely into “raw” land, and are progressing into more woodlands.

To me, it’s interesting… no, meaningful… no, well, I’m not sure what the word is… to see the land in its raw form.  Sometimes when I’m in the woods and fields I’ll see some new evidence of past homesteaders.  I’ll try as best I can to fit the pieces together and imagine what it must have been like…  In this part of the stone wall there was a gate, here was a corral of some kind, and there’s a small field which I’m not yet sure of the purpose.  I make mental pictures of animals passing through and grazing.  I can see berries growing, families working, children playing – 100… 200… 300 years ago in this very spot.  I think about Native Americans who lived here, farmed here, passed through…  Was there something sacred about the “high spot” next to the river that runs on the back border?  Did they swim near the bend on sultry summer days?  Did they think about the same things I think about while they worked, lived and passed on this land?  I wonder what life was like for all of them, and what they would think about what we’re doing on their land today.  I like to think that there is a connection between us and them, that in some way we are all a community, separated only by time, yet united by this land.  I wonder what our future community will think 100… 200… 300 years from now when we and the memory of us are gone, and all that is left are some scattered piles of stones………