Monday, June 06, 2011

Flathead Lake morning

A spring picture of Flathead Lake. I like this time of year. The air is cool in the mornings and somehow that improves the coffee.

I rode my bike along the shore after breakfast. It felt good to be on a bike again. I rode past many new large expensive homes. I guess I should admire their size and the wealth of their owners, but it just made me sad. One guy had a yard fitting of the finest neighborhood in town. Many places had fine green lawns actually, but this guy was spreading fertilizer or weed killer on his perfect lawn. All I could think was how out of place it seemed. How the fertilizer would end up in the lake. How no average guy would ever be able to afford to live there after this old codger croaked.

Well I guess that's just the way it is. Flathead Lake is going to end up being one big expensive front yard for the wealthy. I guess it already is. Gone are the days of Aunt Mildred in her little modest cabin throwing pots on her potter's wheel. Gone are the days of modesty.

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4 comments:

Jules said...

Could a person have a perfect little lawn with a modest little cabin still?

I don't think all modesty is gone, just that there are certain people who have the mentality that bigger is better. But, having said that.. yes, gone are the good ol' days. Nothing's like it used to be, even when I was a kid.

In the end, it doesn't matter what everyone else has as long as you're happy with what you've got. I'm glad you still enjoy your peaceful setting there and that you had a nice bike ride, even if it did seem tainted of negative thoughts.

don said...

An average person can't afford a place on that lake now. The land is valuable, they move in and build bigger and bigger, the taxes go up and up,. No I'd say that they days of modesty are gone.

It's not the best idea to try and have a perfect lawn there along the lake. It's one thing to mow, but fertilizer and weed killer find their way into the lake. Big houses use a lot of water too. Dishwashers, washers and dryers.. All of those places are on septic systems.. It would be another matter if there was a sewer system.

I guess I wouldn't mind but these old guys all seem to be of like ilk. They aren't fun to be around. It's one of the reasons I stopped playing golf. There were too many of them on the course.

Quiet Paths said...

Yep, it makes me sad too. I sometimes wish the Big Arm state park were 5X's the size it is.

don said...

I agree. I'm lucky enought for the time being to have access as my father had the presence of mind to buy at a time when Flathead was remote and there wasn't much interest.

Now the very wealthy think nothing about building a McMansion on what was once isolated and natural. I remember as a kid going up to highway 93 along the lake and waiting and waiting for a car to come along. Looking across the bay at night and seeing only a couple of lights. A modest cabin along the shore was quaint and left a small footprint. Now anything goes. Like the castle on the top of Cromwell Island.

That's a scar that will never heal.