Water's Edge

For quite some time I thought I should sell this house. It was built in 2003 as a place for family to spend summers on the water. But a divorce, the death of my parents, and adult children moving away, made that impossible. Except for a few weekends when I would come out to get away, the house sat idle. The housing market crash of 2008 rendered it worth a lot less than I had paid to build it. Maintenance suffered and upgrading no longer made sense. I thought perhaps it was time to demolish and start over.

But then the pandemic hit, and I found myself fleeing apartment living in the city and taking refuge in this house. I was grateful for its beautiful natural setting and the chance to roam the woods and fields around it. My stress and anxiety dissipated. I learned to read the weather as it blew up the Chesapeake Bay with all its force. I timed the sunsets to drink in the stunning performance of color and sky and water, seemingly just for me.

But I was not alone. Deer crossed the meadows morning and evening. The resident fox occasionally sauntered down the garden path. All kinds of birds arrived in the spring, often flying through the gaps of the buildings, nesting in the many trees that had been planted. Geese, ducks, and even a pair of osprey took up residence near the water’s edge. The majestic blue heron perched in the shallow waters and once in a while a bald eagle could be spotted overhead. Small and large critters like turtles, garden snakes and geckos crawled in the garden, around the house, and under the decks. Summer brought with it beautiful insects like the praying mantis, shimmering dragonflies, and the monarch butterfly.

This house, I discovered, had hidden virtues - not just for me, but for the other living creatures around it. I decided it was important to preserve it. Big and small projects ensued. Among them, new, insulated metal cladding to replace rotting plywood siding, energy-efficient, weather-tight windows, water-saving plumbing fixtures, reduction of the planted garden and parking area, removal of collapsing trellises, and roof repair.

For a new grandchild, rather than building an addition, a small room was created within the loft. As the pandemic raged on, friends arrived from the city and a small kitchenette was installed in the guest room. With increased circulation outdoors and the creation of additional outdoor space for cooking and lounging, the house was perfect for Covid living.

Craftsmen and laborers from the area who came to work on the house were people I would not normally have thought to befriend, based on their political stickers and gun racks in their trucks, but my solitude had changed me. I sought their company and found kindred spirits.

As it turns out, the renovation project in these strange times not only saved the house, but it opened my heart to the real architecture of our lives - the nature around us and all the creatures that live in it, including us humans.