Does Your Home Have A Name?

Three decades ago, when I moved to this house in the country, it was much smaller than it is today.  It was spider infested and swathed in shellacked plywood inside.  It was ugly and cramped, run down and overgrown.  But I had great hopes for it!

I recently asked a friend to put my chickens to bed while I was out of town.  Her husband came with her and as they passed the side door, he asked about the tiny sign painted near the top step of the old porch. She said it must mean something to me, and it does.

My very first day in this house, I named it Kellswater after an old Irish ballad. ~

I'd brought my Newfoundland puppy with me and her name was Kelly. ~

She was a special baby, born by C-section and never with her mother or litter mates.  The breeder bottle fed her until she realized the pup would never be show quality and was glad I would take it off her hands. Kelly never had any idea she was a dog!  She never knew I wasn't her mom!  Maybe I didn't know it either, because I carried that old dog when she could no longer walk.

The chorus to the song is ~

Here's a health to you, bonny Kellswater

For it's there you'll find the pleasures of life

And it's there you'll find a fishing and a farming

And a bonny wee girl for your wife.

And it was everything I hoped it would be!

We've had fishing in the lazy, old Grand River. ~

When Farm Girl was little, she tied a rake to Kelly and pretended to plough the yard.  Today, her daughter helps Grandma with my chicken farming. ~

My son-in-laws found it a perfect place to find a bonny wee wife. ~

I hope all of you have or find your Kellswater, for it's there you'll find the true things in life!