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Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Beauty in the midst of chaos

This is my home.
Sometimes I need to stop for a few minutes and remind myself that in the midst of the chaos that is my new house, there is still much beauty in my new home.  The house is a work in progress, and will be for years, but the surrounding land, the area I live in, the nature that is all around me - that is my home.  For today's blog, instead of showing you more of my chaos, I thought I'd share some beauty that I find nearby.  The above photograph is a view taken just down the road from where I live, and it's breathtaking, even on a somewhat grey and hazy day.

Here's what you'd see on the highway as you approached my region.  Vast tracts of forest punctuated by blueberry land - that's the "bare" patches you can see.  They aren't really bare - just kept mowed down to allow the native lowbush blueberry plants to thrive.
As you enter the Wentworth Valley, you would see signs warning you to keep an eye out for moose, not to mention black bears and maybe a lynx or bobcat, and of course the ubiquitous white-tailed deer.
Then you would see my driveway, a verdant green passage at this time of year.
You would see my house, and perhaps notice that the garden beds are a bit chaotic at the moment, but I've been working quite hard on this one you see below.  After I yanked out great swaths of bishop's weed (and that battle won't be over for years either, since that weed is a tough one to eradicate), along with boatloads of mulleins, goldenrod, and other things I didn't want, I was surprised to find two healthy looking daylily plants and a nice hosta.  These could not even be seen before I started working on renewing the garden bed.  One must search for beauty sometimes!  There are lots of other former flower beds that need my attention all around the property.
This view shows you the carpet of buttercup that is presently making a lot of honeybees very happy.  You can also see one of two large Viburnum opulus (snowball bush) shrubs which have been covered in blossoms, as well as clouds of Hesperis matronalis (sweet rocket) in lilac and pink, which smell heavenly and also are a bee feasting ground!  You can see a lot of the mulleins in the foreground, yet to be removed!
Here's another picture from closer to the porch (shown roughly centrally in the picture above).  The porch itself is unfinished, so there isn't much floor to it, but the beams are in place to install the floor, so it's just another job to be done.  There is a beautiful magenta coloured rose as you can see in the middle of the picture, with an incredibly strong "old rose" scent that fills the air in the evenings.  It desperately needs pruning, but it pours out beautiful blossoms anyway.  It bloomed extremely early.  I wish I knew what rose it is.  It has probably been there for decades.
Another rose has just started to bloom and this is the first blossom I found - a captivating pale pink with heavy fragrance.  You can see some of that darned Virginia creeper in the foreground....it will take me decades to get rid of that too!
Here's the view as you turn away from the house to look back towards the driveway.  It's a wonder I just don't sit out there and stare all day, but I'd be eaten alive by the bugs right now.  The mosquitoes and black flies are very active at the moment.
As I mentioned, the porch isn't complete, but here's the view that the porch will have eventually.  Unfortunately, the property has been so poorly tended that a tree has grown up right in front of the porch where the steps need to go.  But, time will take care of this too.
So there you have it - some of the beauty that surrounds me on a daily basis.  I need to focus on that sometimes, and remember that one must take delight in the journey, perhaps even more than the destination.  I brought in some roses to brighten the kitchen, so I'll leave you with those for now.  Breathe deeply and take time to enjoy your surroundings!

13 comments:

IsobelleGoLightly said...

Oooh! Lovely! My lady has always loved Nova Scotia but hasn't been there since before even my mama and grandmama and grrrrreat grandnannas were born! She says she can't go anywhere - too many children. Hee hee hee. She says your home looks so very lovely! You need me to prune those roses! Yummy yum!

brokenteepee said...

It's gorgeous Claire. It is wonderful to live in a place of such scenic beauty. I stop several times a day and just stare. It makes all of life's frustrations stop at least for a few minutes.

Marigold said...

Very lovely. Ah, but Mullein, Goldenrod and even Bishops's Weed have their uses! You should investigate their medicinal properties. The house itself is very cute! Blueberries. Yum. Do you have those growing on your property as well?

thecrazysheeplady said...

It's going to be wonderful and sooner than you think probably. With that much character, you'll end up with a treasure!

Mare said...

Oh Claire, it looks like Heaven, even in it's imperfection! I know in no time you will have it tamed. Those roses in the first picture-are they flat,single petal and shrub like? it looks a bit like rosa rugusa to me but it is so far away i can't see it very well. I have those blooming here and you are right, they have a lovely scent. Not good for cutting tho... Be careful when clearing brush! If you've peeked at my blog you'll know why i warn you! The poison ivy is particularly tough this Summer.(shudder......)

Millie said...

Very beautiful. I can see why you fell in love with it (although I still don't know why anyone would leave Iowa). I bet Lucky Nickel is chomping at the bit to come help clear the weeds away.

Louise said...

Old roses! They smell so much better than most of the modern ones. I think you have found yourself a real treasure there, in that place. It will be interesting to see what other hidden joys like the hosta and the daylilies you find in your journey.

Alison said...

I must confess I had wondered at times why you bought this mess of a house...but now I understand. What a beautiful old property. Those pale pink roses fighting off the Virginia creeper look exactly like the ones some long-ago homeowner had planted at my childhood home. I miss those roses; you could smell them across the huge front yard. Now I can be jealous of you a little bit!

Thanks so much for sharing this beauty; I feel much better about your mental state knowing you can walk out of the mess into all of that. Bon courage for the rest of the work, but I'm glad you're remembering to...stop and smell the roses. Mmmmm.

Michelle said...

I love your house! The white, red and grey, as well as its lines, are all so lovely - as are your surroundings. You are so right to enjoy and to remember the enjoy the journey most of all. Your coming years (may they be legion) in this place will be made all the sweeter for the sweat equity you are putting into it.

angela said...

You have such alot of work to do but I can hear its a labour of love. It will look wonderful after you are done. Just remember to sit occasionally and smell those roses.

Texan said...

Very easy to see why you chose this place as your home!

Holly said...

I saw the roses and thought rose pedal jelly. You could make oodles and oodles of it. Lovely scenery, how I'd love that. My camera would be worn out in a year. LOL

Split Rock Ranch said...

OMG, Claire, you are surrounded by such incredible natural beauty! Remember, when the sight indoors makes your heart heavy and your spirit weak, step out on that porch and take in the natural beauty to nourish and replenish your soul. Wow... Thank you for sharing!