Over the course of the fall we took 2 more trips (more prepared than just flip flops) to the property to explore the woods and get a better understanding of the land and possible journey ahead.
Through early September into late October we saw two different landscapes: a lush forest in late summer and a fall panorama of yellows and bright oranges, surrounded by the crisp smell of autumn leaves on the ground. On our September trip we followed an old logging trail up to a few outcrops on the hillside giving us a glimpse into the possibilities for our homestead. The property is dotted with old and new growth, areas of dense ferns and small clearings with patchy sunlight. One side of the land rises steep, and even as we continued to climb up, the leaf coverage did not allow any clear view – but there had to be a view! Not until our visit in October did we see beyond the woods, getting a peek into the world beyond the trees, overlooking the green mountains in Vermont and the river below.
It was wonderful to be in the woods; after 6 months of Covid restrictions (and counting), both of us working 5 days a week immersed with the general public and wearing masks for up to 16 hours a day, everything felt like a breath of fresh air. Our family enjoyed each journey ‘into the woods’ and our dog enjoyed the freedom to run and frolic while sampling the variety of woodland animal droppings he discovered.
These hikes validated our choice, and so we began to finalize steps to make an offer – taking a leap of faith that we could cultivate this land into our future home and legacy.
Making the offer began a long exercise of patience and learning covering the course of about 5 months. In the next posts we will walk through the financing we considered, land surveys & Perc testing (yes I spelled it right), using our resources and research used to help us clarify the process of purchasing Tenir Bon.
Tenir Bon House 