It was a bit of a weird day weather-wise, with the smell of burning wood in the Downtown, then later a creepy heavy fog moving in, and then finally the sun coming out around mid-morning. The smell of smoke was so great in the Downtown, I actually drove around looking for a fire, and then back to my office to see if something had been reported on the newswire, but not a thing to be found. It seems every day there’s something quirky happening in our area.
On three different occasions, I spoke with sellers who’re moving closer to getting their homes listed, and of course all of them questioning whether it’s a good time now to list, and to each one I responded, “Based on the spiking sales in our City, I’d say it’s a very good time.” We’ll see how this market holds up thru our Spring and Summer months, and after reading today about the likelihood of a return of the China-virus this Fall and Winter, I’m not so sure how long our economy is going to hold up to the pressure.
It seems all the more people are getting bent out of shape with these closures, to where I won’t be surprised if many are going to start taking their chances during this pandemic, and most of our younger ones leading the charge because far too many believe they’re invincible. After listening to those protesters, I’d be ready to say to them, “Go take your chances, but if you catch it, and then give it to someone else, it’ll be up to you to make sure their health and welfare is maintained, and after they’ve recovered, you’ll be paying their healthcare bills.” Let’s all hope our general public continues being prudent about not only keeping themselves out of harms way, but all the more being mindful regarding the health and safety of others.
When knowing it’s not a wise thing to do regarding having public open houses, I’m re-visiting 12 S. Willowgreen Court today which is the townhouse I have listed for sale. The above photo is of its just recently installed custom kitchen which was created by one of our area’s cabinetmaking shops. I inspected their work, and without a doubt, they certainly knew what they were doing. I dared not ask how much she paid, because I’m sure they were costly.
I’m pushing to get people to view the interior because it’s certainly much larger than you’d ever consider it to be when driving past. I’d really like to get it sold before Summer arrives, and if it’s not, you can be sure I’ll be out back taking photos of the community pool which is a big bonus for that unit. And just for the record, I’ve sold many townhouses in that complex and to this date, I’ve never had anyone wishing they’d not purchased. I believe one of the big draws for that complex, is the privacy it affords the owners because there are those exceptionally private exterior courtyards with each of those units which allow for the enjoyment of the great outdoors without having the feeling of being watched. Please put the word out on this exceptional townhouse.
A client stopped by my office today for a little chat, and somehow we got on the subject of the un-necessarily cutting down of trees. I shared with her my recent anger over a very naughty monkey having cut down a perfectly healthy red oak tree, just so he could have wood to burn in his backyard fire pit, which he had going every night during his drinking binges with friends.
We can’t help forgiving people for the idiotic things they do, but because of what he so selfishly did, I told my visitor today that my forgiveness came with a hook, and that being my calling upon karma to level the score. She fully agreed with me, along with saying that if we cut a tree down, we should always replace it with another. So very true.
I’ve lost count on the extra number of trees I’ve planted in my lifetime, and most of all, the “Three Graces” which I planted a number of years ago which were the replacements for two Dutch Elm trees which had fallen due to the Dutch Elm disease that had ravaged the Midwest. When thinking about replacements at the time, I decided to go with the native Sugar Maple, and as chance would have it, we had an acquaintance who had volunteers growing in his back lot in a small town not far from here. I went out there with pails and burlap, and managed to dig up five of them. When I got them home, I had already ear-marked various spots, and thankfully, four out of the five managed to survive to this day. They are now exceptionally beautiful trees that are worthy of Fall pages in calendars depicting North Iowa.
It makes me a little sad when thinking how little our young get out and really plug themselves into the workings of nature, because there’s no doubt in my mind that if they’d immerse themselves deeply enough, there’d be many “great lovers” coming out of it. There’ve been many writings about how therapeutic gardening is, and one of my favorite sayings goes something like, “If you want to grow closer to God, make sure you spend time alone in your garden.” One of my favorites has always been St. Francis, who’s highly revered by the earth-friendly to this day, who spent nearly his entire life getting to know God all the more while communing with nature.
I spoke to someone later today who always seems to be in the know regarding farm prices, and it didn’t surprise me when he mentioned that in just two months, the price-per-acre of farmland appears to be weakening. I suspected he was going to say that considering how many variables we now have coming into play within the arenas of farming which have in the past, been taken for granted as being cast in stone. Yes, there are going to be some struggling farmers in the Midwest who’ve over-leveraged themselves, just for the sake of greed. I’ve always understood need, but never greed.
Tonight’s one-liner is: There have been only 268 out of the past 3,421 years, free of war.
