Turtle Rock Farm

I live in an 112-year-old house,
built, obviously,
thankfully,
before electrical air conditioning,
with cross-ventilation:
windows and/or doors
on the north, south, east and west.
There’s almost always a breeze
blowing through my house.
There is central, electrical air conditioning now
but I don’t have to use it very often.
If the breeze turns hot,
it’s usually late afternoon
and I shut the windows to keep the cool in
and by evening can open them again
to let the cooler night air through.
And if it gets into the three-digits,
I shut all the windows
and turn on the electrical air conditioning.
But almost always
in the warm months
I get to sleep
with the windows open
and a breeze blowing through.

Guests to Turtle Rock Farm
who stay at the old farmhouse
usually tell us
what great sleeping it is
to sleep with a breeze.
It’s one of those simple experiences
we’ve forgotten
and that is important:
napping,
sleeping
in the soft breeze.