You can tell a lot about a person just by looking at the porch on their home. Without even looking at the surroundings, you can tell about the neighborhood that the house is in, the different kinds of people who live in the neighborhood, and how they conduct their lives.
As an example, consider the porches of some of the finer older homes on Gibson Street in Canandaigua. The porches are very formal, well maintained, and without ever setting ones foot on the property, the porch invites you to stop in for a visit. The well manicured lawns, bushes, and the shade trees all give a visual message regarding the individuals who live behind the closed doors – very organized and detail oriented. Dinner is served promptly at 6:00 pm!
Down along Canandaigua Lake, there are other kinds of porches. These are inviting too, but they speak an entirely different kind of language: stop by and we’ll go for a boat ride on the lake, and then we’ll grill some hamburgers, and drink a beer together. Perhaps you can stay long enough to watch the sun go down. There’s plenty of time to just sit and relax – why would anyone want to be working on a day like this?
And country folks love their porches too. But these porches are mostly for the enjoyment of the folks who live there. They give their owners a place to take off their shoes after a long day’s work, take time to smell the flowers, and watch the bees do their work while they rest up a bit.
What does your front porch look like? Do you ever spend any time there? Is it a mirror image of whom lives behind the front door?