Eight Years Later

I arrived on this mountain to stay, high on the low spot, exactly eight years ago yesterday. On my first full day here, a cozy cabin to live in was just a plan on paper. This is what I arrived to.

A lot has changed. My intent to remain here for the duration and into the beyond is still the same.

My father and I built a cozy little house for me to live in. I moved a lot of rocks during lulls in construction. My first hastily erected wall that some said would fall down is still standing seven years later.

Seven years later the basement patio is still an unfinished project. One day. The need to make a living has gotten in the way.

It is quite cozy inside. The unexpected interior has been known to cause jaws to drop.

Every thing I need fits into 340 square feet according to my realtor friend who says the loft doesn't count. I count that and the front porch too. That makes 555 square feet. It is cozy and just the right size.

There are orchids that live in the house with me.

Four years of concentrated effort on house building has been followed by four years of dedicated effort at garden making.

The results are starting to show. The coherence of a wild cultivated garden is emerging from the Lush.

Where once there was a tangled mess of vines and brambles, form, texture, paths, walls and multitudes of blooming things are now at home. Some I planted. Many more arrived when I gave them room.

The very nature of the Tall Flower Meadow has changed.

In the shade another kind of wild garden grows.

Native woodland plants are being added on a regular basis.

The cabin is cozy. The garden is spacious. About one acre of my two and a half is actively tended. With no boundaries, I assist tending two more acres next door.

Up by the roadside in the only level, full sun place on the mountain

Is the roadside vegetable garden

With its wild flower surround.

Yes there is a vegetable garden in there. The people passing by may only see my head and Uncle Ernie rising above the blooming wild things. They often stop when they see me, a man in the wilderness gathering tales from the scenic byway.

Eight years later you can stroll comfortably through the sunny utility meadow. There is much more to see now with the choking layer of clematis vines almost completely removed. I keep editing. Bulbarella keeps planting.

With two cats in the yard, when they are not passed out on the couch, it's a fine house and very, very fine gardens, eight years later.