Walking away…
In the end, we just walked away from many remnants of our past.
After too many weeks of sorting, deciding what should be saved and what should not and then filling up three storage rooms, we finally threw up our hands and decided what remained was expendable and left it for charity or the trash bin. Our physical and mental exhaustion prevented any chance of making any more decisions.
Homeless
After nearly 24 years at the same address in Arlington, Amy and I are homeless. Well, not exactly. We do have places to live but our primary residence is no more. We closed on sale of the condo this morning and left Arlington as visitors, not residents.
Our homeless condition lasts until Friday morning when we close on the home in Floyd.
Then we have to schedule a time to head back north and empty the three storage rooms that hold our belongings from the time in Arlington.
Or maybe, just maybe, I can convince Amy to let me hire a mover and leave the hassle to the pros.
I can dream.
Deer
Wary of hunters, these deer appear at dawn in search of food near Buffalo Mountain Road in Floyd County, Virginia.
Down to the wire
The deadline looms. We must finish cleaning out the last remnants of our existence in the Arlington County condo by the end of the day so we can turn it over to the new owners at closing Monday morning.
More moonlight
The moonlight continues to play tricks on the mind, once again along Indian Valley road on a full moon night.
The moon often provides subtle color shifts that the eye cannot see but which can be captured by a camera (digital or film). Sometimes you can intensify the color shift by using a film or white balance intended for another kind of light, such as shooting tungsten balanced film outdoors (as was the case here).
Changes in attitude
During most of our long, drawn-out moving saga, we have been taking old clothes and other items to Goodwill because their drop off center is not far from the condo we are leaving in Arlington.
Most of the time, they accepted our offerings with indifference. Just before we left two weeks ago, however, they refused to accept a credenza and computer desk, declaring that “we don’t take office furniture.” When I pointed out that this was not “office furniture” but a Lane computer credenza for use in a home, and that they do accept old computers, they shrugged their shoulders.
One last time…
Drove into Arlington today for the last time as residents of this Northern Virginia county.
On Monday, we hand over the keys and title to the 1,320 square feet of high rise condominium that has served as home for nearly 24 years and leave the county as visitors, heading 300 miles southwest for our new home, and a hell of a lot more space, about five miles outside of Floyd.
Surreal
Moonlight on water plays a lot of tricks, both with the eyes and the camera. This shot of a a moonlit night on a creek in Indian Valley illustrates that point.
What time the meanest brick and stone
Take on a beauty not their own,
And past the flaw of builded wood
Shines the intention whole and good,
And all the little homes of man
Rise to a dimmer, nobler span;
When colour’s absence gives escape
The fog of Thanksgiving
The rain begat fog and the fog hung low over the meadow on Thanksgiving morning.
Then the wind came and the fog went away, burned off by the sun and blown away by the wind.
The wind brought colder temperatures and the winter that seemed to forget it was November arrived on Turkey Day. Then, late in the afternoon, spitting snow and a warning of flurries in the forecast.
Welcome to winter.
On the fence
One of the strays that now calls the farm home finds a bug while guarding the fence.
The influx of strays started with a few cats dumped alongside the road, then grew as the toms came visiting and kittens arrived shortly afterwards.
They stay because they have nowhere else to go. Stray animals are always a problem in rural areas.
Far too many are dumped by owners who would rather get rid of what they see as a problem than try to find the animals a good home.
Stray animals must have a jungle telegraph because the words spreads when some find a home and more appear out of nowhere.
What’s the answer? I don’t know. As long as people treat animals as disposable commodities we will have strays. All we can hope is that they find a home before the elements kill them.