The Road, or Grown Old

I didn't have a project in mind when I left for the farm this morning. I just wanted to make a point of getting out there since I hadn't for a couple of days.
Once I was there, I did a couple odds & ends: shoveled some mud out of the corner of the house; started taking down the unnecessary fence next to it. Once I got to the point where I needed tools that I hadn't brought, I decided to go for a walk and scout out locations for next month's Camp. I already have an idea where the camp will be, but I walked further out for a spot for a latrine.
That field is overgrown with brambles in some places, so even though I found a good site, I worried that it might be treacherous to find in the dark of night. Just as I wondered if an alternate route might be found, I looked up and found it.
Five steps from where I was standing, there was a clear path. Standing on the path and looking to the left, and then to the right... This is a mostly-clear, quite broad path. I followed it back to the campsite, and imagined it lit with tiki lamps. Perfect.
I followed it back to the latrine site and beyond. It goes on quite a ways (the My Tracks app on my phone tells me it is 0.34 miles), almost to the far end of the property. I even wonder if it would be possible to build a bridge across the creek at that end, and use that as the entrance to Rosewater. There is research to be done, there.

That is not the only research I am interested in doing. The path is not only long, but consistently broad, and it looks like, but for the creek, it would connect to the road. I think it may have actually been the main road, back in the day.
The other end would have crossed the creek close to the house, and that section of the creek has washed the ground away dramatically over the years. I wonder if that issue might have been the reason for relocating the road.
I now have a greater curiosity about the history of the property, about its boundaries and its use. I wonder if there might not be a use for the local public library, after all.

When I came back from my nth tour of the road (I didn't accomplish much there today, but I certainly got some exercise), Andrew, Shiloh, and Ricky (the neighbor kids) dropped by. They told amusing stories of ways they've broken each other's bones while playing around. There is no sign of bitterness among them, just a reckless enthusiasm. They know that sometimes, you just get hurt.
They have grown up playing around the same stretch of creek that I did growing up. I told them about the dams we used to build, and about the kids that used to live in their house. I've only talked with these kids a half-dozen times, but they've grown on me fast and I'll be sad to see them go when they move next month.

...

Shortly before I left for Texas after the New Year, I noticed some broccoli was growing in the garden Leslie and I had planted back in August. When I returned, it was looking wimpy from the cold, so I took a bunch of leaves from the compost and set them around to protect it.
Today was a lovely day, so I cleared the leaves away to give the broccoli some light.
Before this broccoli, all that had grown (from hundreds of planted seeds) was a single collard (which was wicked delicious, I must say). But today I noticed another collard, and two sprouts of kale!
I was wishing earlier that it would snow (oh, snow settling at Rosewater is possibly my favorite sound), but if these plants are the benefit of a mild winter, well... I'm not as disappointed as I could be.