Marietta, GA – September 1, 2026 – In 1961, Frederic Buse and his wife, Dot, traded apartment life for a small house on five wooded acres in the New Jersey countryside. Neither had any real experience living in the country.
They were about to get one.
In Try-N-Find-Us, published by Author’s Tranquility Press, Buse looks back on the eight years that followed, preserving the mishaps, projects, surprises and lessons that turned an unfamiliar property into a home. The book is part memoir and part practical account of what happens when enthusiasm meets the realities of rural homeownership.
Even finding the property made clear how different country life would be. Turkey Hill Road sat near the Musconetcong Mountains and was reached through a 50-foot-long stone tunnel. Beyond it were fields, woods and the couple’s new home. The property included a stream, towering trees, an old barn shed, a well house and even a two-seater outhouse.
The name Try-N-Find-Us came from Buse’s father, who thought the location deserved the description. A sign went up by the road. The joke became particularly fitting when Buse tried using the name while ordering lumber and the person on the other end hung up.
Country living soon supplied plenty more material.
There were unexpected taxes and a party line telephone. A washing machine failed. Water carried iron particles. Trees had to come down. A garage had to be built. Over the years came drought, flooding, snow, a broken well pump, encounters with wildlife and the constant demands of maintaining an older home. The book’s contents unfold almost like a household diary in which the next repair or surprise is rarely far away.
Yet Try-N-Find-Us is not simply a catalogue of things going wrong. Neighbors step in when help is needed. Nature becomes part of everyday life. Buse’s engineering instincts meet problems that cannot always be solved according to plan, and experience gradually replaces the couple’s early uncertainty.
Looking back, Buse describes those years as an experience he would not trade and one that helped them grow steadily through physical, mental and spiritual challenges.
For anyone considering an older home, dreaming about country living or remembering the lessons that came with a first house, Try-N-Find-Us offers something worth carrying forward: the practical realities of homeownership are often learned only after the keys are already in hand.
Try-N-Find-Us is available for purchase on Amazon.
About the Author
Frederic Buse graduated from New York State Maritime College in 1958 as a marine engineer and held a Coast Guard third engineer’s license. His career included work with Ingersoll Rand, service as an engineering representative for the Hydraulic Institute, contributions to pump handbooks and industrial journals, and 26 U.S. patents. He later became a Penn State Master Gardener and reports annual bird activity to Cornell University.
About Author’s Tranquility Press
Author’s Tranquility Press helps authors bring books to market through publishing, publicity, marketing, and distribution services.
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