A little glimpse of the place we are learning to call home. Sometimes when I am walking the children to and from the school I catch my breath in wonder that our dreams have finally been realized.
Owning acreage is something that Nathaniel and I have dreamt of for over 16 years. This will be the fourth home that Nathaniel and I have owned, and while I don't think it will be our last, we plan to make this our home for the foreseeable future. We are thankful that our kids are young enough to enjoy the adventure of transforming our land into something that we can all enjoy for many years to come.
Our upstairs is still largely unfinished, partially because we have been stockpiling firewood for the winter ahead. When its not raining, we find ourselves, hiking, meandering down to the pond, or working on the goat shed.
For the first time in my life I intend to paint everything white. I am dreaming of shiplap, painted cabinets and a breakfast nook. The pee soaked carpets been removed and Nathaniel and recently ripped out the existing kitchen. We now have some drywalling to do, subfloor to replace and floors to install. I am going to be giddy when the first section of flooring is installed.
Our land may not like much as it is heavily forested and irregularly shaped, but it is ours and it is full of potential.
This is the view from the other side of our pond. We are oping to transform this blackberry, scrub infested section of land into sheep pasture. I envision a little dock here with a rowboat and a willow tree.
Nathaniel is exciting about harvesting some of the mature trees on our land for lumber. Whenever I spot a tree like this I whisper a little morbidly - you are going to be a deck some day :0)
Bushwhacking is something I have always enjoyed. Growing up in Tahsis I didn't have access to all the programs that children in the city do. So instead of being shuffled around in a minivan to various programs, my sister and I would spend hours hiking in the wood behind our home. I think it developed a sense of adventure, confidence and curiosity. Armed with a buck knife and a coil of rope, we felt invincible. I love that I am going to be able to give my girls a similar childhood.
While aspects of our property are beautiful, others are an eyesore. We have a few derelict sheds on the property, our deck is disintegrating off the front of our house, blackberries have infested the area where our garden will one day be and the doors all need to be refinished. Thankfully the structure of our home is sound. While the roof has a bit of moss, it relatively new.
What used to be a swimming pool is now an ivy infested hole in the ground filled with bulrushes.
Needless to say we have had a lot of burn piles and have filled an entire DBL bin full of garbage.
I have managed to clear the majority of brambles off our home but I think we will be clearing blackberry bushes for years to come.
As I sit here and write I can hear an excavator hard at work fixing our pot hole ridden driveway. One project at a time, one day at a time.
