Our Home in the "Endless Mountains"

Region of Northern Pennsylvania

 

 

 

Windy Willow Farm

 

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

The house was originally built in the 19th century, and was completely remodeled in 1983.  It has 7 rooms, including 2 bedrooms and 1 bath, for a total living space of 1535 square feet.  It also has an attic and a full basement.  There is a deck which extends across the entire back of the house, a large pond and a very spacious pole barn.  The entire property contains 15.5 acres.

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

 

Here is what you see when you first drive onto the property.

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

This is the view across the road as seen from the front of our house.  The woods on the other side of the road extend for the entire length of our property.

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

This is the view of our place standing in front of the house and looking northward on the road.  Our property extends as far as you can see along the right side of the road.

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

This is the view of the barn and the road standing in the driveway entrance and looking southward on the road. Our property line extends as far as you can see along the left side of the road.  The total frontage of the property is 1,375 feet. That is more than a quarter of a mile!

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

This picture was taken on the top of the hill to the north of our place.  The row of trees crossing the meadow in the near background to the left of the road marks the northern boundary of our property.

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

This is a picture of Amy standing in the meadow.  The house is in the background to the right and the barn to the left.

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

This picture was taken further north in the meadow, but still a distance from the northern boundary of our property.

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

 

This picture was taken near the northern boundary of our property looking southwards towards the house, pond and surrounding mountains.

 

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

 

This creek runs the full length of our property about 40 feet from the eastern boundary of the farm.

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

 

This is a picture of the rear of the house and the back yard taken from the edge of the meadow.

 

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

 

Here is a closer view of the picnic bench and stone patio in the back yard.

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

 

This is a picture of an old swing and of the willow tree from which the farm derives its name.

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

This is the walkway around the north side of the house.

 

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

This is the path that leads from the back of the house to the barn.

 

 

Here are a few pictures of the barn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos of the barn remodeling project

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

Here is a picture of Amy standing in front of the willow tree and (her twin?) walking over to the pond.

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

The pond is wonderful.  It is spring-fed and 18 feet deep at its deepest point. It has both perch and bass and is suitable for swimming. 

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

The house has a nice spacious kitchen, lots of counters and cabinets and a small breakfast nook (to the right).  The door in the background opens out onto the deck that extends across the back of the house.  There is a sliding door in the breakfast area which also opens out onto the deck (see below).

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Breakfast Area

 

 

 

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

The picture below was taken standing in the living room looking at the dining area and the kitchen in the background.

 

 

The following three pictures show:

1.  the dining area as seen from the living room

2.  the living room

3.  the view out the living room window

 

 

 

 

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

This picture was taken standing on the deck by the kitchen door looking southward.

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

This picture was taken standing at the southern edge of the deck looking northward.  The pond is located in the rear of the picture.

 

 

.

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

This is a picture of the backyard taken from the deck.

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

Fall is a beautiful time of the year in Susquehanna County. The colors are spectacular!

 


The first two photos are of the Tunckannock Viaduct built by the Lackawanna RR in 1915 . . .
 

 

 

 


The next two pictures give you a good idea as to what the general landscape looks like.  Most of the farms in the area are dairy farms or grow alfalfa to sell to dairy farms . . .
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This is a shot of one of the many lakes that dot the county . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a shot of Tunckannock Creek . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a typical back road near our place . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 


The next two pictures were taken at the intersection of our road and one of the other roads near us . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a shot of the farm next door to us . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These two pictures were taken. in front of our property . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


The following photos were all taken at our place . . .
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

Below are a few pictures taken of the farm in the winter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Which is why I am glad I installed a wood-burning stove . . .
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

. . . and stocked up on plenty of wood.

 

 

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

 

 

There is also a wonderful variety of wildlife on the property.  Everyday we are visited by turkey, squirrels, rabbits, deer and over a dozen species of birds.  Amy and I love to stop what we are doing just to watch the different animals interact.

 

 

 

 

(All of the following wildlife photos were taken during a single day.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of our favorite visitors is an enterprising squirrel who likes to help himself to the food left out for the birds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Angus spends hours just sitting on the back of the couch staring out the picture window absolutely enthralled.  It's his TV!

 

 

 

 

 

 

And when friends visit, they like to join him.

 

 

 

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

 

In September 2013, one of our apple trees was blown down.  It produced Winesap apples, Amy's favorite.

 

 

 

Clearly, the deer were happy, as an increased amount of apples and leaves were now within their reach.

 

 

 

One of our other neighbors was also quite pleased with the situation . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tony* was able to get nice and fat on all of the apples that were now where he could reach them.  He was able to put on plenty of weight to help him through his winter hibernation.

 

* We named the groundhog "Tony" because he reminded us of Tony Soprano.  We also call the chipmunks "Johnnies" because, with their mouths filled with seeds, they remind us of John McCain.

 

 

And he doesn't have to walk very far to get them.  The downed apple tree (which is just to the right of the photo below) is not more than 20' from his burrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now you can understand why you don't see

much of Amy and me on weekends!

 

 

It is very hard for us to leave the farm each week.

 

 

However, we do hope our friends will come to visit.

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

 

Home