The great room in our home in McLemore Cove.
In 1985 Louise and I bought 30 acres of land in northwest Georgia's McLemore Cove. In 1987 we moved onto the property in a 12x40 foot mobile home. In 1993-94 we built our house, just the way we wanted it. The kids and grandkids came regularly to enjoy the pond, the pool, and the farm. We had 33 great years at Deer Run Farm.
But by 2019, we knew it was time to go. We no longer had cattle, but with the house and extensive grounds and constant maintenance, it was difficult to keep up. And Louise's health was deteriorating. We had reached the point where we no longer owned our property. It owned us.
We put the place up for sale in 2020 and it sold quickly. We had to leave, but we didn't know where we wanted to go. We had often talked about full-time RVing, so we bought a fifth-wheel trailer, had it moved to an RV park just outside Chattanooga, and in January, 2021, moved into the RV.
Then we had an estate sale and sold everything that wouldn't fit in the RV and a 10x10-foot storage unit. We sold the furniture and possessions we had accumulated over 55 years of our life together. The maple drop-leaf table, chairs and hutch we bought second-hand in Miami in 1968 and refinished twice over the years. The bedroom furniture Louise's mother had given us. Living room furniture we bought in 1994 that still looked great. Most of my tools.
The tractor and farm equipment were sold to our son Don.
We thought it would be hard. But it wasn't. We enjoyed our things, used them well, and loved them. But in the end, it wasn't hard at all. They were only things, and their time in our life was past. We were together, we had each other, and the future beckoned.
The pool and rear view of our house.
It might seem like a lot to give up, but it really wasn't.
We loved our home, but we couldn't keep holding on to it. So we let it go. And everything has worked out fine.
(But I'm not letting go of my cameras.)
Photos: Fuji X-T1, Fujicron XC 16-50mm lens.
Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia
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Photography and text copyright 2024 David B.Jenkins.
I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.
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