That was quite the rain we received today, and not soon after, the humidity levels were off the charts. Every time I got out of my car, my glasses steamed up so much that I had to take them off so I could see. It made me wonder what was happening with people with glasses who were in and out like I was, but their eyesight being so much worse than mine that they had to clean their glasses off before they could take a step.
I hope what I heard about our coming days was wrong because if it’s true, we’ll be having 100 degree temps with heat indexes well above that. Let’s all hope those forecasts are wrong because that’ll be weather fit for neither man nor beast.
What I have been noticing all the more of these past days, are the number of biting flies that are out, which includes those nasty horseflies. I don’t know where they’re coming from, but I’d say this year has been one of the worst I’ve noticed.
My first appointment today was to show a home out in the Forest Park area. It was in about as good condition as could be expected, but after we left, the buyers called and said they were going to pass on it because of how small the backyard was. I guess there’ve not come to the realization that nearly all the homes in that district have smaller yards and whomever platted that subdivision was keen on squeezing every build-able lot out of that district they could because that particular subdivision has likely the highest percentage of shared driveways in Mason City.
My noontime appointment took me out to look at a home that sold not so many years ago. The owners are planning on selling it and wanted my advice on what they should do to make it look more appealing to the general public.
As we were walking thru it room by room, they made note of my suggestions which I was happy they didn’t take offense. The home is in very good condition and pretty much all my suggestions had to do with placement of furniture and creating more flow thru-out the home. I think all of us are guilty of having too much stuff, which when it comes time to sell, we’re forced to lighten our footprints.
I’m hoping they’ll call me soon so to get it listed before our market starts picking up again. I’ve already profiled the potential buyers who’ll likely be an older couple coming in from out of town. That particular neighborhood has a number of non-natives living there and that trend will likely continue.
Believe it or not, there were four showings today on the condo I listed yesterday, and one of the showings was mine. It went well and I believe it will fit their needs, but in the end, it’s always the buyers’ call. Since they’re retired and enjoy traveling, I believe it would be a good place for them to hang their hats while planning another well-earned adventure. Since I’ve known them for a very long time, we freely talked about recent happenings in our families and community.
It always seems easier to visit with natives because they’ve walked similar paths and seen the same good and bad changes that have taken place in North Iowa. To my surprise, I discovered that the buyer’s aunt is the mother of a woman I’ve known for a great many years, but never realized they were related until today. The husband interjected by saying, “It’s kinda creepy when you start noticing how interconnected people are in our area.” Small world isn’t it?
The above photo is the one I promised to share that’s showing an out-of-the-way patch of wild strawberries. Just to give you an idea of size, those ripe berries are no bigger than a small pea. Everything about them is miniature including their leaves and runners. They’re my itsy-bitsy teeny-tiny radically-red wild strawberries.
Tonight’s one-liner is: Recollection is the only paradise from which we cannot be turned out.
