...with a husband and 5 sons, I am truly outnumbered....stories and thoughts on life from a mom in a houseful of little men!

Tuesday, October 07, 2014

A River Runs Through It: day 7

There's something about being in the presence of water, isn't there?  It's soothing for both the body and the soul.  I've always dreamed of a creek or little river running through our property.  I've imagined the calming music it would make as we played or worked in the yard, fancying the lovely focal point it would create throughout the seasons.  Swaying grasses and blooms would line the river bank in summer.  Colorful leaves would bob down the flowing waters in autumn, and what a frosty, glistening beauty a creek or river would add to our winter landscape.   And, at winter's end, it would come alive with buds of lightest green and the sweet sound of spring peepers.

I have thought of all the wildlife water would attract, including but not limited to, five particular young boys.  Skipping rocks, wading, fishing, collecting stones that shimmer beneath the surface in the sun-- these are all things we could enjoy daily, having water run through our property.
 
As we enjoy our time here in the South, we are so thankful to be enjoying many of these very things.  Little River flows down from the Smokies, and right through the property we are blessed to be living on.  A dream-come-true, it's been a playground for boys.
It's also been a playground for Dad...when the boys' fun led to stranded fishing lures.
And that, my friends, led to super entertainment for Mom.  The river has also been a wonderful respite place for Mom.  It runs along our driveway, but is down a steep bank.  In fact, one of our handy and industrious sons installed a rope to rappel down it.  At any rate, this creates the perfect hiding place for quick, quiet, uninterrupted prayer time and rest break.  In our previous home, the locked bathroom was this honorary location.  However, my current bathroom does not have locks on the doors.  No joke.  But then again, there's a river--so what mama needs a lock on her bathroom!
Upon inspecting this property, we did not see the river, nor even know it was here.  Arriving in the middle of summer, the lush, thick foliage blocked the view of the river as we drove up into the property and back out again.  We had no idea it was here until after we applied, were approved, and signed the lease.  What a grand surprise.
 
Although this is not actually our property, as we are only renting it for awhile, it is still home for us now.  River property in this neck of the woods is prevalent and most importantly, affordable.  Where we come from, river property or waterfront of any kind requires some pretty big bucks. Affordable land with a river running through it is definitely a thing for an Alaska Girl to love about the South.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Susie DeFreest Attwood: has the river ever flooded and are there any types of snakes that frequent the edges? I love rivers also but these are questions I have to ask.

JJ said...

Susie DeFreest Attwood, those are excellent questions, and the one about the flooding inspired another blog post for me...so stay tuned! As for snakes, well, I'm not sure I'll be blogging about those as something to love So, here's my answer. So far, so good. We haven't seen any down there, but we definitely keep on the lookout, as there are two types of poisonous snakes in E. TN. Copperheads in particular may like to be near water. We're careful about rocky areas and logs, and I am always reminding the boys to not poke their fingers or hands or feet into anywhere around here. I hate snakes! I really don't like having to think about snakes, but it's a fact of life in this area. Again, thanks for the great questions!