The beginning of the end

I haven't been kidding myself for the past couple of years—since around Thanksgiving 2012 to be exact. That was when a "For Sale by Owner" sign went up to announce that a favorite piece of real estate was on the block. I'd walked this bit of woodland and meadow almost every day during that year and the previous one, and since it was only less than 15 acres, I got to know it about as well as any spot on earth. To try to avoid the inevitable, I made an attempt to interest the two local land trusts in buying the property, but the asking price was pretty steep and the land groups were already busy with other, higher-priority projects. I certainly didn't have the money, so I just had to hope and pray that the lousy housing market would continue. While it did, I continued to walk, photograph, and document every square inch of that wonderful place. Last week, the property was placed in the hands of a very aggressive realtor; this week, surveyors, a soil scientist, and a backhoe operator converged on the acreage. The land was, I learned, under contract. I'll have a bit more time to walk the woods and fields before the end, but my hikes now feel like I'm involved in putting together a requiem. "You'll like your new neighbors," I was told by one of the workmen. I already miss my old neighbors.