Summer of Discovery
Posted on 28. Jul, 2008 by Laura-Jane - Whimfield in House, Inspirations, Outdoors
Before we bought our house (and its accompanying 63 acres), it had been for sale and sitting empty for years. When we first looked at the property in person, it was January; every square-inch was covered in snow, and all living plants looked like wooden sticks.
As I have but a rudimentary knowledge of all things natural, my skills at identification can only be used to recognize dandelions, daisies, and maple trees. Thus, I certainly had no idea which brown sticks were what or what to expect. The real estate listing didn’t give much indication as to the state of the property, as the description was limited to “Old house on 63 acres, needs major work. Good luck.”
We took possession in March. By April, the snow slowly began to recede.
By May, the landscape began to turn green.
By June, there was lots of green and a plethora of lush blossoms.
It is now July’s end, and every day we seem to come across an eye-widening number of edible delights (not to mention the flowers and the birds!).
Our property has a large “yard” around the house, about twenty-five acres of cleared (but running wild at the moment) fields, and about thirty-five acres of woodland, within which we have discovered:
tiny wild strawberries,
raspberry canes,
14+ apple trees, all dripping with fruit,
a pear tree,
and yesterday, when I came across a cherry tree in full cherry-dom, I almost cried.
To think that all this bounty resurfaces every year, on its own, from underneath such a thick burden of ice and snow seems impossible–but yet it is true.
How, why, or who, I don’t know; suffice it to say that it’s a miracle no matter how one looks at it. Nature, I love you.
Andrea >> Become a consultant
Jul 28th, 2008
This fills me with hope, not just for your farm, but for life in general.
Vicki
Jul 28th, 2008
So much to discover. It must feel like finding a hidden treasure. Enjoy!!!!
Nicole
Jul 28th, 2008
What a beautiful piece of property you call home! These are the very kinds of photos I was talking about in citing your blog. Just gorgeous.
Jason
Jul 28th, 2008
That’s incredible – your own nature preserve, grocery store, and ogre-den (I assume – I don’t actually know what part of the country you’re from).
Anonymous
Jul 29th, 2008
how sweet to make these discoveries.
I hope you can make use of these fruits – when we lived at the end of Chinook Avenue , I used to fret over the harvest of our dozen apple trees going to waste! Ask Antonie (dad) to bring his Dutch apple pie pans so that he can make his apple pies while he and Shirley are with you! And start saving your jars and other containers (if you haven’t started to already) preserves or apple sauce!
with all my love from your down-to-earth non-whimsical mother!
Toni
Jul 31st, 2008
Yummy!!!!
Laura-Jane
Jul 31st, 2008
Yes, when I wrote this I was in love with nature. Today, I am all sour grapes: two wasp stings, torrential rain ruining some of our exterior page job, and black flies galore…
Every day is an adventure. There’s no bad without good, as the snow/fruit shows as well.
Thanks for writing, my friends!
christy
Sep 21st, 2008
black flies!! oh no!! i was just thinking how your farm looks like a dream come true but i dont do black flies. haha. i still think it is a dream-like though.
Laura-Jane - Whimfield
Oct 23rd, 2009
In retrospect, now that we’ve been here for two summers, the first summer (which I wrote about here) was really bad for black fies, but summer 2009 was not bad at all. And the black flies are terrible at the beginning of the season (May/June) but they decrease after that. Then it’s mosquitoes. :)
In 2009 the bugs weren’t that bad at all compared to 2008 though, for whatever reason.
Whimfield, Modern Pre-Industrial Living in Prince Edward Island at Canada Blog Friends
Dec 24th, 2009
[...] Whimfield: Summer of Discovery to glimpse the passion for nature that drives Laura-Jane and read how she ‘discovered’ [...]