From My Room With a View

One of the things that caused us to fall in love with the little house we are renting here is the beauty of its surroundings. The pictures embedded in this entry are actual photos of our home. The links show things I haven't managed to capture on film myself yet.

In order to best appreciate some of the loveliness of our backyard, I have situated my desk near the window so I can glance out as I work. As a result, it is not uncommon for my eye to be drawn to movement outside... most often a rabbit or a squirrel, or perhaps a cardinal, which, as State Bird, is quite appropriate.

Our house is situated on a small stream, which attracts wildlife of other sorts as well. Damselflies and dragonflies frolic, and the water teems with tadpoles. We have even encountered a turtle when he surfaced to breathe. We have also spotted a millipede and a katydid of rather prodigious size, and I have encountered black and yellow mud-dauber wasps in the house on two occasions. We've found that there is quite a variety of spiders here, as well. This one pictured above right has built quite an imposing system of webs in a holly bush. In the early evening we sometimes spot fireflies flitting about. As for those creatures that manage to find their way into the house... MooMoo, as bug sentinel, will find them. I have learned that when she is staring intently at something, it behooves me to look, too.


We have yet to see the deer that roam around in the wooded area beyond the stream, but our neighbor next door spotted one last weekend as she read on her deck, and I look forward to seeing them myself.

On our first visit to the house, I encountered a small gray snake near the stream. Thankfully it wasn't a copperhead, which I have come to understand are common around these parts. We have been advised to create a "snake stick" from an old broom handle to be used to sort of rustle the brush in the more over-grown portions of the yard, thus alerting any snakes that we're coming in, so that they may, avoid wasting their precious venom on us. We promise, we wouldn't appreciate it!

The only gardening we have managed thus far is a bit of the sort that one can do in containers. We have some rosemary, purple basil, culantro, Italian parsley and garlic chives growing, most of which we bought at the farmer's market in town. We have some small flavorless wood strawberries growing uncultivated in our back lawn. They are pretty, but as they aren't appetizing, we just enjoy they way they look.

Our street is pretty quiet. We don't get a whole lot of vehicle traffic, though it isn't uncommon to see a mom out walking with a stroller or a couple with their dog. From our new porch bench, we can sit and watch the neighbors walk by in the evenings. I have noticed two families with collies out for a stroll, and the sight unfailingly reminds me of Lassie... I must say, Lassie looks right at home here.Though the city is now home to about 18,000 people, this street feels much like the very small town this once was not so very long ago.

The trees here are very lovely. We have a variety of deciduous trees on the property, including a weeping willow and a cluster of maple trees. I should not neglect to mention the most prominent evergreen, as I have plans for it come December. (Not to worry, the plans do not include cutting it down!)

Our one sadness about the trees is that they are threatened by the beautiful but devastating kudzu vines that have made such a nuisance of themselves since their introduction in the Southern States. The vine is really quite lovely, creating cascades of green from the tree tops, to the forest floor, but its 12-inches-per-day growth pattern means it quickly overtakes the trees, eventually killing them. Most of the kudzu visible from our yard is technically on property belonging to our neighbors, so there isn't much we can do about it.

I don't seem to tire of the beauty outdoors. I sometimes find myself staring out at the leaves rustling in the wind, or I watch a bird scavenge for grubs in the lawn. There's something so peaceful about our little patch of nature. I look forward to watching it transform along with us as the seasons change.