I tried to rationalize at the end of each hunting day that in spite of coming out of the woods empty handed, I was still having such great fun. Sure, I can say I’m having fun but not that heavenly feeling you get from a successful hunt. It was more to a degree where I can say.” Hmmm that was a good, almost successful hunt; I’ll try again next time”. Also, to stay away from feeling down about my hunting skill and luck, I’ve dropped the seriousness in my hunting and laughter seems to be the primary rule of the game. I found the time to see the humor in every situation I’m in, even if it means laughing at myself!

     When Armen, my husband and I met Matt Carbone, his daughter tagged along with him that cool, bright November Saturday. She was eleven and had the refreshing exuberance of innocence and an inquisitive mind. Her pretty blue eyes matched her father’s eyes. She did not hesitate to embrace me as her playmate for that day. I listened to her cheerful chatter about her school, speak lovingly about her mother who was a teacher and she fondly referred to her two other siblings as babies she needed to look out for. I can tell Matt had a good family life, through his happy daughter. I was glad to have her for company to enjoy the new found land.

   
Matt Carbone Family with Author

 For that moment there was no age gap between us, just two souls enjoying the day. We were running across the field, feeling the breeze on our faces.  We were filled with excitement to be one with nature, corny as it may sound but very true. We were like bees curiously smelling the scents and examining the wonderful colors of all the wild flowers that dotted the field of hay. The beautiful feeling of that moment was fleeting but this child showed me how uncomplicated happiness can be.      

   The year was 2003 when Matt (real estate agent) sturdy in structure, typical of an outdoorsman showed us the 9 parcels of land for sale. The moment we met him, a warm camaraderie bonded the three of us. He was a hunter and he immediately understood  our desire to find a good piece of land. Before meeting Matt, I had a pretty good idea what land I wanted. When Matt sent me the map via e-mail, I fell in love with Lot 4.  Lot 4 was 5 acres bounded at the back by acres and acres of State land, a dirt road in front & fields on both sides, which were also for sale. It also had a crystal clear, running creek that started on top of the mountain 5 miles from our lot. The creek called “Wilcox creek” (a trout creek) cuts across our lot and runs down toward a wide river miles away through the State land. The bottom of the creek was slate rock that formed multi graded steps which created breathtaking falls of various heights. Before the creek makes a sharp turn away from Lot 4 a 7 foot high water fall empties into a pool of water where anyone would be tempted to take a dip.

 
Wilcox Creek runs through Lagazo property.

   The one problem I had however was convincing Armen to buy land or anything that would require a considerable amount of money. When we first started life in the United States, Armen and I had reluctantly embraced the American way of purchasing everything on credit. After the euphoria of being able to buy anything via credit card, during the last few years we found our feet on the ground, struggled and managed somehow to stay clear of debt. Our goal was to leisurely enter retirement with no major financial burden. As prudent as he was, after he saw the land, he was so excited to convince me that buying it would boost our morale for all the unlucky experiences in hunting. Calmly, I said “If that is your decision, by all means let’s buy the land!”  Inside my mind a resounding “YES”! Echoed over and over!  Was that a female victory cry or what? It is always more rewarding to get those things you really want by letting your husband think he made the final decision.  Ha!

 
Our Land on Mile Square Road, upstate NY

  My husband showed the area to the children and when they saw our excitement, they bought the adjacent Lot 5 (22.5 acres) bounded too by State land at the back and left us in charge of the whole area. Was it a trick to railroad us to be busy with the land to get us off their backs? We will never know and I don’t want to know. I always want to think they bought the land to please us and that makes me feel good.

      The closing of the property was like drinking wine rather than taking a dose of medicine. It was brief and yet significant. Brief, because it took us only 15 minutes to sign the papers and a little time was included to meet and know the whole family of Matt Carbone (Took a picture of the entire family). Significant because that day began a new era of our hunting lives!! 

To be continued……