Sixteen years ago we bought a small plot of land, six acres, just outside Hartsville in Tennessee, 30 minutes from downtown Nashville using Bootlegger’s Highway.
The land was basically just fields – no electric, no water, nothing – but we’ve ended up making it a home, a small farm, with a house, a cabin and numerous barns and sheds, a long driveway and of course the animals including cows, goats, a donkey, chickens and ducks and somehow, five dogs!
Before we did all that, when we’d come to visit, we’d walk through the fields down to the woods. There are a lot of beautiful trees on the land but one stood out to me and now years later it’s still my favorite tree. We used to sit under it but at the moment it’s on one of the animal pastures keeping our Pyrenees, Springsteen, cool under its shade.
The wildlife is wonderful- deer walk freely across the fields, and there are possums, raccoons and skunks.
Years later and two thousand miles away to the west in Joshua Tree, California, we now have our very own, young Joshua tree, again on an empty plot of land. It’s in the heart of the desert but only 10 minutes from the heart of the small town of Joshua Tree itself.
The difference between the landscapes of course is obvious- in Tennessee there’s grass, wooded hills and trees; the Joshua Tree land is desert – dry and sandy with a dirt road to the property and the mighty national park in the distance. There are cactus plants and smaller trees and the main wildlife seems to be desert rabbits and coyotes! (we’ve even seen a roadrunner!).
We had hoped to start this new project this year but COVID-19 put a stop to that but hopefully next year we can start it with a vengeance, putting a house on there.
We did learn quickly in Tennessee about permits and utilities etc., and made a few mistakes which I hope we did learn from! I’m sure we’ll make a few more in Joshua Tree but hopefully nothing serious as our new adventure continues.
Jon Johanson 