very introspective, @slowwalker.

You are seeking something outside yourself to describe something within yourself and you found it in an ivy-covered rice mill.

The ivy symbolizes tradition and the neat and well-cared for grounds suggest the owner is a person of substance, but as you say, that was under the old order when agriculture was more prominent.

Now the rice mill is simply a quaint and beautiful reminder of a way of life that used to be and a way for you to recover pieces of your childhood dreams.

A gentle and peaceful post, @slowwalker