Walkabout

When Krista and I first came out to have a look at the property back in the fall of 2009, we knew it was 87 acres, but we didn't really have a concept of just how big that was. About a month after that first visit, I came back to the County by myself and (with our phenomenal realtor Mark Gardiner) drove along two lengths of the property. That sure seemed big, but it still didn't give me a good sense of the area. Yesterday afternoon, Krista and I went on a little walkabout with our current houseguest, Guy Doucette, to see what we could see.

Here we are (Guy with umbrella, Krista with hood, and me with camera) at the  threshold of our adventure of discovery. That last white carpet of snow seemed designed just for us, beckoning us to walk deeper into the woods. On the other side of the trees on the right is Clarke Road, maybe only 20 metres away but, except when the rare car drove by, it seemed to me that we were already deep in the woods.

This is what that pathway leads to: a giant open field. Perfect for UFO landings.

This is a different field. I thought I saw remnants of crop circles but Krista assured me it was a deer route and that it was just trampled grass.

Same field as above (I think...there are a lot of fields broken up by lines of trees); the first field pictured is visible past that first line of trees. This one is good for lying down in and looking at the stars. Until the UFOs land.

Guy heads back to the house. He'll be staying with us for the summer to help us establish Small Pond Arts during its first year, but he's already eager to get to work. His talents and skills are many, and you'll definitely be seeing more of him on this blog --and certainly if you visit us in person.

Just to the left of Guy you can see the silo, and just to his right is the roof of the former horse barn. This is our backyard. Or the backyard of the backyard of our backyard.

Signs of spring on a rainy day: moss and fungi on a fallen fence post. Our property is alive with vegetation and wildlife; we've only seen deer tracks and poops, but the birds are beginning to nest in the nearby trees...and spring's greening effects are just around the corner.

This would be the backyard of our backyard. The actual backyard (as reckoned by suburban standards) would usually end at the back of the shed just to the left of the house, next to the pool.

Even though it was a little chilly and drizzly, our walkabout was wondrous, elating, and it gave us a pretty good idea of how big our Small Pond is.