When President Boyd K. Packer was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he and his wife, Sister Donna Smith Packer, decided to move closer to Church headquarters so he wouldn’t have to spend a lot of time commuting to their home, which was then in Lindon, Utah. They found a home on enough acreage where they could have a garden and keep animals and birds so their children could have daily chores. In those days, before widespread development, the home was essentially in the country.
They bought adjacent land on which he and their sons cleared a path through a dense thicket of trees and bushes and created a pond. Ever since he was a young boy, he enjoyed painting things in nature, particularly birds. The little pond and surrounding woods attracted all kinds of birds: geese, ducks, pheasants, oriole, pine siskin, waxwing, redpoll, evening grosbeak, goldfinch, and woodpecker.