Seven Years

I was trying to find a particular photo and I came across a picture of our farm from 2013.  It shows the view from the edge of the fields we call the "Eastfarthing" looking back towards our house.  The road is at the left, the old barn and the pasture that runs to the East of that barn is to the right.  The photo is from the end of April, so the grass is green, but the trees aren't really leafing out much.

As I looked at it, I couldn't help but notice how different things are now.
 

2013 (above)

 2020 (above)

 The 2020 photo is from a similar location.  I can tell you I was a little bit closer and a bit further to the South (left).  And, this photo is from mid-May, so there are flowers and more leaves.

There are some differences that make me a bit sad (the two larger ash trees have died - for example) and other changes that make me happy (look how much the spruces have grown and how much more taller greenery there is).  Some of the change is intentional (what nice siding we have now!) and some of it is not (hmmm.  we've let a bunch of trees take hold near where the old barn was).

But, overall, I like what I see.  There is more cover instead of a flat lawn with minimal habitat or breaks in the flat ground.  I will admit that some of it is not taking shape the way I would like it to take shape, but it feels more natural overall.  If I were a bird, or a butterfly, or a frog... I might like this place more now than I would have in 2013.

Of course, we can't let ourselves give the 2020 picture too much credit because it WAS taken later in the season.  But, you can see a bit more willingness to let things be... appropriately wild in places.  Again, some of this is by choice and some is because that's just how things have landed as we traverse time at the Genuine Faux Farm.

Since it is a living farm, it will be interesting to see how this picture changes in the next few years.  I hope I like the overall feel then even more than what I see now.  I know we'll do what we can to make that happen.