Okay, so not an overly original title, but it has been a long day as I had a bit of a 4-10 split training day with a early morning and a late afternoon delivery. Instead of space between, I recorded a customer-specific video video, which means that I have been talking nearly without break for 13 hours straight. When I finally got home, I had to remove wall panels for an hour and a half as the electrician is coming early tomorrow morning to put in a new electrical box, as the current one is the original.
This house (built in 1963) actually has two separate electrical lines coming in, as originally there were two families living here, one upstairs, one down. While the kitchen was removed some time ago, the room (that will eventually belong to 
But, just after finishing up - my daughter, who was eating her evening snack at the table with my wife said, "look" and pointed. Expecting to see a squirrel or perhaps a rabbit, my wife was surprised to see deer in the yard - and called to me. I was able to grab the camera (which had a 60mm macro lens on) and snap a couple shots before a passing car chased the away. These are the first time I have ever got pictures of deer - and only the second time I have seen them this close in the wild - as they are about 10 meters from our kitchen window.
This is a good sign, as there are some fields about 500 meters down the road and perhaps if I am lucky, I will be able to head down there in the evening or early morning some time and get some nice pictures of them grazing, something I have always wanted to capture. I will need a longer lens. These are white-tail deer, which are introduced into Finland and are considered a little bit of a pest - but they are prettier than moose and reindeer, which are native - Kind of like the introduced Swedes compared to the native Finns.
I know that this is nothing special for many people, but I have been living on the 5th floor of an apartment building for the last 6 years and before that, in the middle of the city in a small apartment. Having deer walk through the garden is exciting - even nuisance ones - we foreigners have to stick together.
When we told friends we were buying this place, most laughed and thought we were joking as they have never pictured us as anything other than "city slickers". This was emphasized by the sheer amount of work that it requires - as well as the tight schedule we must keep to adhere to the loan terms. it is funny how impressions of others are developed on what people see in a moment, without considering that there is a lot that they don't see. Most people who know me in Finland and know that I grew up in the country, still can't picture it. "Are you sure you can live in an old house?" has been a common phrase, even though I grew up in a house that was 40 years older than this one, on land that would occasionally have the "neighborhood" sheep wander through.
While I am looking forward to getting this place the way we have planned (plus compromises), I am so far really enjoying the process and the honest work aspect of it, where I get to create something "real". It is quite different to the paid work I have done for the last 25 years and is more similar to the feeling of when I paint or draw - albeit, with a little more sweat involved and sawdust in my hair. It is nice to see things devolve as I tear them down and hopefully, evolve into something I appreciate even more, because it is mine - and not just because I paid for it.
Ownership comes in may forms and while some think it is just because something is held, I still think that the way it came into possession is a large part of the story. When you work your ass off for something, it holds more intrinsic value than if one might have more, for doing far less. Part of the benefit of doing is that once done, it can never be taken away - even if what was created or held can be.
Thanks for the upvotes deer.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]