Living on a Hill

Before we settled in TN I was a little nervous about living on a hill.  It was the fear of the unknown.  When the chairman of the board and I looked at houses, we put any with a sloped driveway at the bottom of the list.  Over time we started thinking a sloped driveway was ok as long as there is a flat place to park the car. 

My outlook changed after we went on a trip to Darjeeling.  The people that live in the Himalayas know how to build houses on hillsides.  We saw places where the terrain was so steep that the entryway next to the main road was the 2^nd or 3^rd floor.  We ate at a Tibetan restaurant between Darjeeling and Kalimpong.  Entering it from the roadside 3^rd floor front door, we walked around to the balcony where we had a beautiful view of the valley.  The access to the outhouse, however, was a steep goat trail from the road way down to ground level.  Neither of us descended to use the facilities.

Some of our initial concerns were snowy roads and mowing the lawn.   K & P live on a hill, so I learned from them.  They watch the weather and keep enough supplies in the house to last for the short period of time it takes the snow to melt after a storm.  Their beautiful landscaping does not include much grass.   

In the end, we bought a house on a hill.  The driveway is slightly inclined.  On some afternoons, across the hollow (pronounced holler) we hear the UPS truck “gun it” to get enough speed to reach the top of an unusually steep driveway to make a delivery.  By listening to the BBC in Africa for many years we learned that naming houses is an old British custom.  My proposal for our house is, “Buzzard’s Glide.” The chairman of the board has not yet voted in favor of the name.  Feel free to put pressure on her.  When buzzards glide up our valley, they are often at window level. 

Over time, we learned to live in a house on a hill.  The view is great.  We bought a rear wheel drive Husqvarna walk behind mower and love it.  It easily handles the hills.  Now I pity those that live on flat ground, and would not want to live anywhere but on a hill.