The Little Things...

While everyone knows how stressful it is to build a house from scratch, Michael and I are also finding an excitement and joy, partly from the satisfaction of taking what was only a dream and making it manifest, and partly from the sheer beauty of the piece of  land we were so lucky to find. Now that the gut-wrencher of finding water is over, we are both finding ourselves wanting to be up on the land pretty much every day, whether we actually need to do anything there or not.

Yesterday, we spent some time figuring out where we might be able to put a riding arena in the future, as we want to know where everything will eventually go so that we don't end up moving fence lines and having to rearrange things. Does this have to be done now? No, but it gave us an excuse to head up there and walk around.

Michael using the measuring wheel to figure out the dimensions of our future arena.

As Michael was walking dimensions, I started noticing that our recent smatterings of rain have brought out quite a few wildflowers. Many of them are easy to miss, as they are miniscule, but they are there if you take the time to look -- which is exactly what I felt like doing.

Some of the tough little wildflowers on our land. The pink blossom third from the left measures less than 3mm.

You can't compare these sparse little blooms to the massive riot of color that blanketed the hills each Spring back where we used to live in Redding, CA, but when you realize how harsh the conditions are here, you gain a definite appreciation for these tough, if mostly tiny, survivors. There is also a sweet smell permeating the air in the neighborhood right now, though I have not yet identified the source. Up on our property, that lovely scent is mixed with the aroma of pine and juniper -- so fresh and nice.

Now, you may have noticed that whenever I talk about our land, I use the preposition "up". The reason is that we currently live in a house that has more of a valley floor location, while our property has a definite hilltop view feeling. There is no doubt that you are heading "up" when you are on our driveway, and once you get to the building area, which is on a plateau, the airiness of the views is elating. Kind of makes you want to pause and take it all in, which is what we tend to do up there.

Michael taking in the view. It was about to rain, but we loved every minute of it anyway.

I have actually made myself a little stone seat on the rock pile where we plan to build a gazebo someday.

My little rock seat.

For now, that area is just a heap of flat rocks, but even there you can find color and beauty...

Brightly colored lichen on the rock pile.

...as well as some new friends!

One of the many lizards who scamper around the rock pile.

So, I hope this post gives you an idea of why we are finding ourselves drawn to visit the property so often. Sometimes it is hard to imagine that we are actually going to get to live on that remarkable spot, but with the well in, we are starting to truly believe.