the need of being versed in country things

The birds that came to it through the air At broken windows flew out and in, Their murmur more like the sigh we sigh         15 From too much dwelling on what has been. Yet for them the lilac renewed its leaf, And the aged elm, though touched with fire; And the dry pump flung up an awkward arm; And the fence post carried a strand of wire.         20 For them there was really nothing sad. But though they rejoiced in the nest they kept, One had to be versed in country things Not to believe the phoebes wept. --Robert Frost's "The Need of Being Versed In Country Things. "

Often in my visits to farmhouse ruins, I find myself meditating on these words by Robert Frost. It's too easy for me to fall prey to romanticism, to look at decaying homes and feel a melancholy ache for them. Frost's words remind me what a narrow and human-centric view that is, however; for as these old houses decay and sink back into the earth, Nature is simply reclaiming what's rightfully hers. In the Springtime especially, they burst with vitality... the songbirds rebuild their nests in rotting rafters, chipmunks emerge from slumber behind walls and mouldering sofas, while the new vines and wildflowers venture up against this makeshift arbor. I felt so rejuvenated and fresh myself as I listened to the drip-drip-drip of melting ice upon buckling floorboards in this hillside Italianate manor. This house must've been lovely to us once, but now it's lovelier to the wild things :)

 And if you'd like to get a better look at the house,  I have many more pictures here!
It's a fascinating place, very far gone in decay but rife with period charm.

I'll leave you with a snapshot from my car.
No snow here... looks like Spring has found us in the Green Mountains!! :)