Where (Some...) Of The New Neighbors Will Live

 I took a little walk last week. I turned right, then right again and walked to the end of the street where several new buildings stood.

It's where our new neighbors will live.

Normally, I'd be exited about new neighbors, and I am, in a way. But, in another way, I see the homes people will buy and then move in, but I don't know if I'll ever get to know them.

To get to the cul-de-sac on my walk passed a dozen homes. I have no idea who lives in any of them. This isn't their fault--I blame myself, mostly. There's nothing stopping me from leaving my comfort zone and getting to know them. I don't know...it's a different world in some ways.

The homes at the end of the street are all about the same rate of completion. There's a couple more homes to the right of these three that are not quite so far advanced. And most of the mountain to the east and north of us is undeveloped. That won't last long.

So, if you'd like to come on up and be our neighbors, I say go for it! There are homes almost built waiting for you. If so, when I take that walk in the future, I may just stop in and say hi.

Ah...The Sounds Of Building

Earlier this week I took a break from work and went outside. That's when I heard it...the sounds of building. I'm not talking about the sound of hammers and air compressors. I'm talking about the sound of...

Rock music.

And boy, did it take me back!

Across our back yard there's a new home rising. It's going to be beautiful and it's going up fast. They should be all moved in this spring. There are other buildings going up all around us, too. There's an excitement that hasn't been in our neighborhood for some time.

In 2002 we started building our house. It was right across the street from where we lived. That meant every night after work and on the weekends, we'd head over and begin working on the house. We didn't build the whole thing, but we did a lot of sweat equity. And while we worked, we had the tunes cranked. Most of the time we had to endure Top 40, because it came from a boom box. This was in the pre-internet steaming services era. It was good old-fashioned picked-up-from-the-airwaves radio.

When I walked outside earlier this week, what did I hear? Renegade, by Styx.

It's been over sixteen years since we moved in, sixteen years of not working every night to the sounds of music. I know why the builders were rocking out the other day. It's the same thing we did.

Killer View...But Is It Worth Every Penny?

We've known about the project for years. It's caused discussions and arguments, but finally the road opening the hill to dozens of new building lots is open. Tonight, my wife and I decided to go for a drive.

What what a view!

(I recommend NOT having the sound on when playing these videos--there's an annoying buzz...)

There's an old saying that goes something like this, "Why do people climb mountains? Because they're there." So, why do people want to build on a hill. It's got to be for the view. I've been spoiled most of my life. We live on the same hill, just not as far up the hill. That's okay--I love seeing sunsets from our back porch and if we can do something about the quaking aspens, I'll be able to take more pictures of incredible sunsets for years to come.

But the views from the new road are spectacular! And those fortunate enough to build on those lots will be paying through the nose for the opportunity. That's the way of things, though. You've got to pay for nice things.

Many in our community have hated seeing the road go in. They have their reasons, and to them, they're valid. To be honest, the mountain is not all that picturesque. Sagebrush and scrub oak will be replaced by lawns, fences (most likely...), large homes, and multi-car garages. It will also allow families to live in our little town and become our neighbors.

It is interesting--when you drive up that street and look to the south, the north, the east, and the west, you want to be part of it, make it your view. I suppose it's human nature--we're always wanting more, grass is always greener and all that.

Yes, we climb mountains because they're there. But maybe--just maybe we climb them because of the views.

The New House On The Hill...

We're getting new neighbors. Just down the hill a home rises from a field previously used as the neighborhood sledding run.

We'll need to find a new place to sled.

That's the thing with change. Sometimes you've got to make adjustments.

This is one house. To the north a subdivision is going in that will increase our community by several dozen homes. And when I say "subdivision," that's exactly what the development did to our community--divided us. Some fought the plan with signs and petitions and impassioned pleas on social media. Others, though they may have not wanted the development to go in, felt private property should be just that--something the owner of the property can do with what they want, within the bounds of the law and community standards, of course.

Our family moved into our little town back in the late 1960s. Except for a few years here and there, I call Farmington my home since that time. Our town is the kind of place where many have family members living here since its founding. It's a place people like and their children like to live.

That's what happened to me.

It's funny how many of us don't want to make adjustments to change once we're all settled. Because there was a time when no home existed, not on the hill or on the flat land. People came, people adapted. The community grew. I found it sad that so many people wanted to deny others the opportunity to enjoy the same things that they enjoy--to stop others from living in a place they love to call home. Would I rather the mountain stay the way it is and not get torn up? Probably, but what if someone looked at our lot fourteen years ago and said, "I think there's too many homes on the hill--even one more is too many," or if, when my parents bought an orchard of fruit trees in 1969, people protested the sale of that land?

I know my life and the lives of my children would have changed forever. So, we're getting new neighbors. The home will most likely be finished by the end of the year at the pace they're going. As I took pictures of the house under construction and imagined what the house would look like, I thought that I could be upset because more people means more traffic and the need for our kids to find a new sledding hill. Or, I could be excited that another family will move in and their lives will be forever changed because they bought the property, built a house, and turned it into a home.

Ever Been Buzzed By A Red-Tailed Hawk? One Thing Off My List Of Things To Do...

Yesterday I was out on my back deck waiting for a hummingbird to stop by and get a drink from our little hummingbird feeder. I wanted to try and get a good close up shot using my good camera.

It was another bird that got my attention.

My neighbors have a huge tree in their backyard and in that tree were a couple of hawks. As I waited for the hummingbird to show up, the hawks started making a ruckus. I saw our cat waiting below the deck so I thought the hawks were making a fuss over him. After the birds began acting up, the cat shimmied up the post and stood by me. As he was climbing up, one of the birds began diving at us and hovering above our heads and it continued to cry out. The cat and I went inside and once we were inside, the bird stopped crying out and flew back to the tree.

I thought I had missed a chance to get some great shots of the hawk, especially as it basically flew in one spot in the sky (between bombing drives...). I went back outside to see if the bird was still there, I'd try and get a shot of that bird.

Turns out the hawks weren't worried about the cat at all.

They didn't like me.

For some reason, I've upset a pair of what looks to be red-tailed hawks. They're not too big or colorful, but they don't like me on my back deck. Tonight I went out and filmed one of the bird's flights on my phone. I don't know how long this is going to last. It's kind of strange, and a little Hitchcock-ian.