First Impressions

On the positive side, the bush was dense yet easily negotiable for walking. The small building appeared habitable and sat perched upon a hill with an admirable view of the bush to the south and below. This also meant that there was an unobstructed location to set up solar panels and/or a wind turbine. 

Aesthetically, the property was certainly the most pleasing one we’d seen and this was nowhere more evident than on the building site. Twenty metres or so to the west, bordering the clearing and in full view of the cabin stood a majestic white pine, my favourite of the conifers. To the south and east, the hill gently sloping away from the cabin was populated with a small stand of sumac which would put on a gorgeous flame-red display in the fall. And their seed pods would not only attract birds but be a ready source of sumac tea. They also had the advantage that they were short in stature so as not to obstruct my view. To the west and north of he house was a clearing with a radius of approximately fifteen metres, lots of room for parking and the setting up of tents or campers should I get a large number of guests all at once. To the north was mostly second growth mixed bush dominated by several large aspen. And finally, immediately to the east and a couple of metres from the cabin was a small grove of luxuriously foliaged cedar trees. A convenient spot for the birds to hide as they waited to dart in to the bird feeder I planned to hang just outside the house. This was also on the road side of the house so contributed to my privacy. 

But I’ve saved the best for last, not a single blade of grass. It’s the manicured kind of which I speak here, that most evil of all urban evils, unnatural, high maintenance, water craving, overly fertilized, herbicide loaded patches of green that adorn millions of yards in this country and whose sole purpose it is to serve the vanity of it's owners each one trying to outdo his or her neighbours.  What a tremendous waste of time and effort to speak nothing of the environmental damage. Never again will I find myself begrudgingly bowing to the pressures of my neighbours to mow the lawn. Now that’s true country living.