"Homestead" (Sutton's Bay)

Driving on M-22 to Traverse City from Lake Leelanau, I glimpsed this homestead over my left shoulder. I went another mile or so before deciding to go back for a better look.  I went past it back and forth several times trying to find the best place from which to view it. The little road took me up to the farmyard where I could see some construction happening. One of the workers pointed me to the old house and told me the owner, an elderly lady, was in residence. As I came onto the porch, I could hear voices inside but no one came to answer my knock. While I was deciding what to do next, the lady opened the door and was quite surprised to see someone there. She was fairly hard of hearing but I managed to tell her how much I loved her farm and would it be possible for me to take photographs and paint there. She was very agreeable, said I could have the run of the place any time I wanted, didn’t know why I’d want to, though, just a bunch of out-buildings. She told me her name was Charlotte and I said, Same as I my mother’s. Clearly, I had a great deal more romance about the old place than she did. For Charlotte, it was a place to live and work; for me, a gorgeous array of shapes, color, light and atmosphere.