Quiet place on the edge of the forest

An old man sat on the porch of a small house in the middle of nowhere. He stared out at the empty fields and trees, his eyes glazed with age as he saw nothing but memories before him. A single place on the edge of a nameless forest was all this little cabin had to offer for miles around - or so you thought, at least, until you found yourself alone within its boundaries, just long enough to see what you might not otherwise have noticed from your vantage point outside: how life went on here even when there were no people left in sight; when nature ruled over everything and made sure that anything that stayed within those boundaries did¹