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have no lawn. My one little acre is landscaped to resemble the wild
environment that existed here before development began, using domestic
species of the plants which would have occurred here naturally.
There are groundcovers to feed the
creatures: plants like sweet woodruff, boston ivy, virginia creeeper, and
periwinkles.
There are protected plants: such
as jack-in-the-pulpit, bloodroot, smooth yellow violet, and
three varieties of trillium.
And there are shrubs: huge
rhododendrons, cedars, dogwood, mock orange, japanese plum,
and forsythia. |
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The
property is wooded with majestic oak trees (some of which may be
over 200 years old), maples, cherry, and bass, with honeysuckle understory.
There is one each of
hemlock, spruce, pine, japanese maple, and even a mulberry bush. |
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are squirrels living in the eaves, mice (sometimes in the kitchen), two
families of groundhogs out back, an occupied bat box out front, at least
one opossum down by the creek, numerous chipmunks, and there are two families
of raccoons living in the same hollow tree. My compost is always
eaten before it has a chance to become soil, and many of the beasties
go thump in the night. |
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Deer
come to visit, hawks nest, and we sometimes see eagles, including, occasionally
a bald eagle. The carolina wrens nest in my flower pots, and
one family actually grew up in the garage. The cardinals, bluejays,
chickadees, and mourning doves nest farther from the house. The nocturnal
birds, like the barn owl, I do not see, but I know they are there
because their voices haunt the night. |
45Kb |
The house came
with an Eagle, drawn with felt-tip
marker on a bedroom wall. |
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Birdies |
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The house was
designed and built in 1967
by an little-known architect
who owned and lived in it
until he sold it to me.
Although it has design defects
and severe deterioration,
which I am remediating,
it is distinctive and beautiful in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright.
It has the same sense
of belonging to its site
as the famous Fallingwater,
in Ohiopyle, (Bear
Run), Pennsylvania,
but because of the
deterioration, the leaks,
and the mildew problem
(now mostly conquered),
we lovingly call the
house
RisingDamp.
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