My farm house was the only place I have loved enough to call a home. I loved driving down that gravel road with the windows down and radio up. You could smell the fresh country air as you started the long winding trek up the gravel driveway. There is the shade tree, Perfect for a tire swing I always thought. At the top of the hill, you had to get out and open the cattle gate. The huge year was perfect for playing in. The barns were always a good hiding spot to get away from the siblings. Especially in the hay loft.

You can smell the fresh cut grass. The smell of the cattle, though sometimes overwhelming, always lingered in the air. You could smell the rich mud after it rains and in the basement it smelled of mildew and was infested with spiders but that never stopped us from convincing people to go down there. Summer nights you could sleep with the windows open and wake up to the scent of the morning dew. Mom would sometimes have the house smelling like breakfast. My favorite was waking up to the smell of bacon in the frying pan.

At night the coyotes come up to the back field and whine at the moon. The cows make little noise at night except for the sparatic lost calf. The river runs through the lower field and you can hear it loud on days it was full. The occasional mfour wheeler drives by, or a tractor puts along the gravel. Sometimes you can even hear the neighbor kids playing down in the low water creek.

The old walls were rough and easliy crumbled under pressure. The carpet had years of wear on it. The basement was made of stone and carried somewhat of a dungeon-like atomosphere. Some of the wallpaper was peeling off from us kids running our hands on the walls up and down the stairs. Cold mornings were a shock when my feet would hit the kitchen floor shocking me awake.

Tasting the fresh air on a brand new morning was quite exhilerating on the farm. You could wake up and open the window, climb out onto the the roof and just breathe and appreciate the clarity. In the attic the dust was so thick that it was hard to breathe but upon doing so you could taste the grit.

The most beautiful view was right from the front porch. The house was on a huge hill and you coud see for miles. The river at the bottom of the hill. The corn fields to the left. The shed and barn to the right. In the spring when the river would flood the fields we would be stuck on the hill cuz we couldnt get out, but it looked as if we lived on an island in the ocean and were surrounded by water with only the tops of trees sticking out. the bluff that ran along side of the house was my favorite part. It stood about 30 ft high and even had a little cave hidden in it.

So many events took place out there on the farm but the one that sticks out the most is my 16th birthday. I was having a huge bonfire and invited everyone I knew. People that i didnt even know came out that night for the party. My mom left so she wasnt a part of the drinkin that was going on and thats when the party really got started. We had people around the fire, people riding the landlords fourwheeler. there was a group in the shed listening to music and a group in the barn, swingin on the rope back and forth bewtween lofts. I was outside on top of the hay bails.I had just met Laci that night. Oh boy was I nervous. We sat on top of the bails and talked and talked and looked at the stars and admired their beauty. we played football on the hay bails jumping the gaps between each one and tackling eachother into the crevaces. We soon went inside and up to my room. I opened the window and we climbed out and sat on the roof and watched everybody below running around the farm. I still remember looking up at the stars and telling Laci about the constellations i knew, then shyly looked over at her. She was smiling at me and the moon shined in her eyes. I remember my heart skipping beats as we made eye contact. My ears turned red and my face got hot as I had to look away to catch my breath. As far as I was concerend at the time, I had just had the most amazing sweet sixteen.

So many events took place out there on the farm but the one that sticks out the most is my 16th birthday. I was having a huge bonfire and invited everyone I knew. People that I didnt even know came out that night for the party. My mom left so she wasnt a part of the drinking that was going on and thats when the party really got started. We had people around the fire & people riding the landlords fourwheeler. There was a group in the shed listening to music and a group in the barn, swinging on the rope back and forth between lofts. I was outside on top of the hay bails.I had just met Laci that night. Oh boy was I nervous. We sat on top of the bails and talked and talked and looked at the stars and admired their beauty. We played football on the hay bails jumping the gaps between each one and tackling eachother into the crevaces. We soon went inside and up to my room. I opened the window and we climbed out and sat on the roof and watched everybody below running around the farm. I still remember looking up at the stars and telling Laci about the constellations i knew, then shyly looked over at her. She was smiling at me and the moon shined in her eyes. I remember my heart skipping beats as we made eye contact. My ears turned red and my face got hot as I had to look away to catch my breath. As far as I was concerend at the time, I had just had the most amazing sweet sixteen.