Land Ho!

Our land offer has been accepted!!! The sale is moving forward as of noon today, April 24!!

We looked at a lot of properties, and none of them were quite right. Either they were neat parcels, but so far from towns we had some trepidation, or they were wonderful pieces of land besieged (sometimes on all sides) by really run down, just depressing looking places. This little piece, when we rolled up to it (on a different day than this, it was just before the Nor'easter rolled through that we first saw it) and thought, "hey, this is really neat. We could do something here!" The road is a quiet one, just 2 miles from downtown Belfast, but apparently in another dimension for the way you feel there, with a horse farm on one side and a huge acreage on the other (this acreage is owned by the people selling the acreage to us) with a marvelous Maine style farmhouse with huge attached barn (these are some of the most fantastic homes out here, and they are everywhere! It's such a shock to the eye, still, to be seeing these antique capes and interesting homes all over the place, they were such a comparative rarity in the other places we have lived). The acreage is just over 18 acres, with light tree growth covering much of the land, and a beautiful little stream toward the rear of property. The stream runs all year long, and we are hoping to be able to source a bit of micro-hydroelectric power from it once we are settled in a bit more. It's surprising how difficult it is to find information about this type of renewable, but we've got a few leads and will keep trying. The stream is also one of the few left in Maine with it's original stocks of native brook trout still doing their thing in the water. This is pleasant! Lots of other wildlife on the property, wild turkeys for one. These were nearly extinct in Maine for sometime, but have made quite a re-bound. I think they may wreak considerable havoc in the garden, and we are already plotting some ways of dealing with them, though frankly, these evasive measures are quite unimpressive for the time being! Deer as well, coyote, fox, we also saw a small and beautiful quail moseying about while we looked at suitable building spots...this was a surprise and was a reminder of our funny old friend Mr. Pheasant from Point Roberts, who is sadly no longer among the moseying. The birds are still new to us, and I'm having trouble identifying them without better views. We have seen the eastern blue jay and cardinal that I remember from childhood in MD, the mourning doves are prevalent, and their lovely sombre cooing is ever so evocative - which is a lovely thing to be re-introduced to! Also, flickers are abundant here as there, and Shawn saw a pileated woodpecker while down near the stream. There are some other birds we haven't been able to identify yet. And hopefully many more we've yet to spot.

One of the most wonderful things sound and animal (or amphibian) -wise are the peepers that are chorusing their mad love songs all over the rear of the property. Outside our little cottage rental here, too, the night is alive with their sounds - a wonderful ringing, happy sound. I love it! They start pretty early and ring the day and night away - making the night inviting, even if it is still chilly in the night hours.

This land is lovely!! There are some pine, particularly further back on the property, some firs, quite different from our familiar douggies out west, some white birch, (ahhhhhh!) alder, an ancient and currently dilapidated apple tree or three up in the front of the property, some maples, identifiable in that their red flowers are out already, and some what are probably young oaks and other things that we just aren't sure about. It's more than twice as hard to identify trees right now as our spring is quite late this year (even given that it comes later to this part of the country than the warm Pacific Northwest) and the trees are just coming into bud. It's going to take a lot of time!

The land is level, with a slight slope that will make for a good walk out basement, and aid in drainage provided we place ourselves high on the slope. It's very lightly wooded in many ways, and is yearning for some management! We have some high hopes for this adventure, and will keep posting. Thanks for all of your good wishes and words of encouragement! They are much appreciated! Cheers!