Thursday

Nathan says no one will want to come visit us if I keep writing about dead animals. So here is another bit of fun.

Sam and John

Our neighbors just moved and left us their doggy door. Sam-the-dog is not sure if he likes it, and though he can go in and out easily, he is not willing to use it unless we tell him to. John, on the other hand, thinks we got this cool door just for him!

Hi John

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With the base on the BRAC list, I thought that there would be less people moving to the base, but looking around our neighborhood that does not seem to be true. Two families across from us moved away in the last two weeks. One house is already occupied, and the other will be filled in a week or two. There are several houses around us that had been empty for months, and they are occupied now, too. We have more neighbors now than we did this winter.

To be fair, the BRAC list is not final until December, so Ellsworth could stay open. And even if it does end up closing, it will take a few years to happen. That means that people will still be stationed here - moving in and out - as usual.

So I was thinking about this during my run this morning and I have a little theory. I think that some people who would normally have chosen to buy a house in Rapid City, have decided that living in base housing is safer, if the base closes, and have chosen not to buy a home. I wonder if the housing market in Rapid City has already slowed down.

A few months ago we looked at a great house. It is so cute. It is a 5 bedroom home with a couple acres up in the hills, with big trees. We did not buy it, but it was really great, and the realtor made it sound like the house was going to sell to someone else that very day, if we did not jump on it. Nathan has kept in touch with the owners, and the house has still has not sold. Isn't that sad?