Saturday, October 4. 10:50 am.

As I walked down Washington St, the wind blew leaves on to my face as if announcing that fall was finally here. Only the sound of the wind and the occasional passing car were my companions on this walk. With the streets relatively empty, I could freely observe the houses on this block. Many of them had their lawns scattered with orange/brown leaves with the grass barely peeking through. Others had lawns with the leaves raked to the side, a sign of the different habits of the neighborhood. Each house, too, had its own unique architectural character.

This house, in particular, caught my eye. The vines were creeping up the walls giving it an almost desolate and abandoned feel to it. The lawn was overgrown and there was no person in sight. With most of the curtains drawn, I almost couldn’t tell if it was truly abandoned or if the vines were for decorational/aesthetic purposes.

On the right side, there was a mini garage. Like the house, the garage had was surrounded by greenery and there were many leaves covering the driveway. There was no car and the only thing I could make out was the US flag hanging by the window. Nearest to where I was standing where the recycling and garage bins and they were full which suggested to me that this house is currently inhabited.

This house on Division street had a very different feel. Its drive-through was all pavement and its front lawn had a pretty selection of flowers. The tidiness of the yard complemented the quaintness of the house. Its style and architecture suggests that it was built at a different time than the rest. At this point, I took a pause in my stroll and thought back to the houses prior to this one. I noticed that some houses on the block had this “wild” feel to them with the way they let the bushes grow almost as if letting nature intertwine with their home. Others were more like this home.

Continuing on my walk, the lack of people on the streets began to feel strange. But, I was assured that life did indeed exist based on the pile of toys shown above. From a distance I observed the toy cars and the bag of additional trinkets that sat innocently on the sidewalk. I wondered briefly if they had been left there intentionally or if they were abandoned. Questions that will remained unanswered. I turned a corner and arrived at the main street where I spotted the Northfield Community Church.

The Northfield Community Church sits at the corner of Division St and 8th St. Serving the Christian community in Northfield, the church has a short history given that it was established in early 2017. At the time of my passing, the church was closed so I was unable to get additional information from any members about its history. As for the actual structure of the church, it’s made up of brick and has a trimmed lawn. It shares a back parking lot space with Northfield Insurance.

The vast parking lot stretched out before me, empty except for two cars oddly tucked away behind the church. I found this slightly unnerving, given the silence. I had already peered into the church windows, called the office line, and rapped sharply on the heavy wooden door, all without a single reply. I reasoned the lot might serve the local area, connecting as it did to the neighboring backyards, perhaps providing community parking.

And if that was the case, then the the people living in this quaint lime-green house, would have access to the lot as well as any services that the church and insurance place offer. Seeing the lime color of the house reminded me of how colorful the houses in Northfield tend to be! From where I am, many houses are a dull gray or beige. As I stood there taking this picture, I admired the trees that graced the sides of the house. Their green leaves provided a stark contrast to the blanket of brown leaves on the ground but together they seemed to create a passageway. The small well tucked further added to the peacefulness of the scenery. While I felt tempted to explore further, the sun was beginning to hit its peak and I was without any sun protection or source of hydration so I decided to begin to speed up my walk.

Northfield Insurance was closed when I walked up to its front door or more like I realized it was closed when I tried pulling on the front door. While the interior was hidden through its black tinted screens (I tried peeking through the windows and couldn’t see anything), the outside had a modern style architecture. Clean, sleek, and minimalist. To my surprise, Northfield Insurance has been serving Northfield residents since 1948. Whether it has undergone a remodeling or relocation, I do not hold that information as of writing this (October 5). Similar to the Northfield Community Church, its lawn was a perfect shade of green and was neatly trimmed.

As I continued my walk up Division St, I encountered Witt Bros, an autocare center that has been around for 50 years. Following the pattern of my previous vists, this was also closed. However, from my observations, it had a similar brick fashion to the church with dark windows and some trees in the back area.

I wrapped up my stroll by walking up to the Northfield NAPA Parts. I did not take a picture of this store given that the employees would have a direct view of me and I didn’t want to look any more suspicious than I already did. The store had a bright blue and yellow sign with a few advertisements on the windows. This marked the end of my two blocks.