I’m fortunate to be living on the ol’ homestead, having lived on the same property my entire life. Though Mom’s old house is now razed and gone, I did live next door to her for years, taking care of her and the old house, which certainly kept me a busy boy. And though I live in a small township, I’m one of the few in my area to have my own space away from all the chaos of living in a crowded community.

My grandfather bought this property early in the last century, the 1900’s. It seems so funny now to consider the 1900’s as the last century because the biggest portion of my life was lived in those times. Papaw, what I called my grandfather, gave Mom and Dad a piece of property with an old shack on it, and my Dad built their new home using the shack as the beginning framework. And that came to be the home I grew up in. Later on after I had come of age, Papaw split the rest of his property up, giving me and my brother both a piece of land which is where I now live.

The ol’ homestead in its original state.

But back in the day, the biggest portion of the property, the parts that didn’t contain Papaw’s or Mom and Dad’s homes, was used as a cow pasture. And though I don’t remember it, family legend has it that I had an up-close-and-personal event with the denizens of that cow pasture. Supposedly, when I was about four years old, I wandered into the pasture one day, much to the chagrin of the occupants. And it was only be the quick thinking of Granny that saved me; she saw me and came running, dragging me through the gate before the bull got to me. As I said, family legend, and everyone who knew of it are now gone, so I have no one I can ask about it. But I heard that tale my entire life and have no doubt of its truth.

In this day and age, all the bulls and cows are gone and all that is left is a huge backyard for me to keep mowed. But there is now new occupants residing in my backyard. I have what I consider to be my own private game preserve where no hunting is allowed. And on it lives what I consider to be my buddies whom I call critters.

The community is made up of squirrels, rabbits, groundhogs and birds galore. The squirrels seem to have taken over. I could go out and sit on the back deck and just sit and watch them for hours if I so chose to. And they’ve almost become tame. They’ll actually come up on the deck while I’m there, sniffing around in search of food. But it’s so much fun to sit there and watch them scamper around, not only munching on their goodies but also chasing each other and playing.

There was a time that the rabbits were as prevalent as the squirrels but I don’t know what happened to them. There were times I could get up in the morning and step outside and see dozens of rabbits just sitting on the field. Then, they seemed to have just disappeared. Only lately have they shown a comeback. I can only hope they will return in their full glory.

As of late, there’s even been bears around, believe it or not. But what’s to be expected: the entire area has become so overbuilt including the nearby mountains, forcing them out of their usual habitat to search for food. My wifey Lynndee even saw one while at the mailbox recently. Thankfully, it was not an event that come close to me meeting the bull. It just come strolling across the road heading for the woods but still it was scary for her.

Without a doubt, I can be called an animal lover. And what better way to love life than also loving all life around you.