Progress At The Farm House

When I arrived at the farm last weekend I discovered that the siding contractor had been at work preparing the house for siding. He'd covered most of the bottom half of the house with insulation. In this photo of the south side of the house, you can see the cedar tree which is notched into my porch deck:

The front, or west side of the house showing the new insulation. The house was pretty tight and solid before but will certainly be even more so now. A west-facing house provides some nice views of sunsets over my neighbor's fields:

The north side of the house, also about half covered with insulation. That big old maple in front of the house is diseased and hanging over the roof. It's also next to the phone and electric wires so will need to come down one of these days:

The back (east side) of the house which is also my little apartment. It was formerly only particle board but will now have insulation both inside and out:

Remember all the farmers who wanted to cut my hay fields? Well, the one who was supposed to do it never did. So now it's a 27 acre weed patch. The good news is that all the meadow-nesting birds were able to raise their babies in peace:

The hay fields are lovely, though, full of Goldenrod, Queen Anne's Lace and Asters. Sadly, there's also a few Burdocks which are taller than I am:

This former garden area looks to me like cultivated blackberries or raspberries. I never saw either flowers or fruit, however, so maybe not. Click on the photo to enlarge it and please let me know if you recognize these plants:

The back of the farm house as seen from the barn. I find the thought of retiring here both pleasant and comforting. It's beautiful country, a solid well built house and the neighbors seem nice: