As I mentioned in my earlier post, as soon as we close the deal on our waterfront property, I’d start blogging about the land, the plants and animals that inhabit it, the overall ecology of the region, and the process around building as close to a net-zero low-impact home as we can. Last week the deal was finalized so today I’d like to introduce you to the property.
But first I want to say, the title of this post notwithstanding, this land isn’t just my land (or more accurately “our land”). Sure, we paid the money and there is a piece of paper on record that says it belongs to us. And yes, we are going to build a house on it. But everything you see in these photos was here long before us and, if we do our job right, will still be here long after we go. In the meantime, we are merely stewards of this tiny piece of earth, responsible for the well-being of the plants, animals, lake and surrounding watershed.
Alright, now let’s take a walk …
It is a 5 acre wooded lot …
With just over 300 feet of shoreline…
And barely enough space to build a small house. In fact, ecological issues and geological constraints around the building site were the reason that the closing on this property took so long. I’m going to talk more about that in a future post. For now, just take a look ..
Now let’s meet some of the neighbors … (click to enlarge)
And look for signs of neighbors yet to show themselves…
And finally, take a look at a tiny portion of the many plants, fungus and lichens here –most of which I have yet to learn …
As I mentioned, I’ll be blogging more about all of this in the upcoming year. For those of you who want to follow along, all of the posts will be tagged “Sweetfern” for easy reference.
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