In my efforts to let folks who are considering buying property on the Eastern Shore of Virginia know what living here would be like, I sometimes think I write too much about the many “Happenings” and the wide variety in the myriad of things to do here and not enough about the simple pleasures of daily life at home here on the Shore. We are very lucky to live on a beautiful waterfront parcel near the town of Nassawadox, VA, named for one of the Shore’s Native American tribes, long since vanished. And one of my cherished treats on beautiful days when I won’t be going into the office is to have my morning coffee out on our screened porch or the adjacent back deck, both overlooking the clear blue waters of a wide, pristine saltwater inlet from the Chesapeake Bay. ( On days when I’m going into the office I don’t even try to relax outside, instead I start getting geared up for another long day of everything but the kitchen sink.)
Our Bird Sheltering, Shade Producing Bradford Pear Tree Standing Proudly Between The House And The Woods
This morning, sitting on the porch very early, coffee mug in hand, the sun coming up over the tops of the trees in the orchard and just beginning to illuminate the now huge Bradford Pears in the backyard, the thought occurred to me that it probably is hard to truly understand how relaxing and peaceful it really is to live on the water, to be able to just sit and gaze at the ripples along the channel, listening to the sounds of Nature, watching the birds get a start on the day. ( We have a number of bird feeders in both the back yard where we can enjoy them from the porch and also in the front yard, hanging from a magnolia tree, easily viewed from what I lovingly call ” the library” but which is a very large south-facing room with an entire wall of windows overlooking the expanse of front yard lawn and flower beds. Over-stuffed with not only two walls of book shelves, crammed with a lifetime collection of books, but also two desks with adjustable office chairs, two comfy Lazy Boy loungers, a stereo system plus a billion and counting compilation of cd’s & dvd’s. It’s a veritable paradise for two, filled with things we love.) As I look out now into the backyard, a pair of cardinals and a couple of fat doves are pecking at seeds on the ground which have dropped out of the feeder, two tiny yellow finches are flitting between the feeder and the pear tree, trying to eat and keep safe too, and a pesky squirrel is trying to decide what to do, munch off what’s fallen on the ground from the feeder or attempt to shinny up the pole to get to the serious goodies ! Out on the inlet, an early morning waterman checking his crab pots has startled a large blue heron which gives a loud squawk-squawk-squawk as it skims over the water, searching for a more promising breakfast venue further down the shoreline.
Views Of The Water From Our Deck
When we first bought this house, there were two small Bradford Pear trees that the original owner had planted about 150 feet apart in the middle of the large expanse of lawn between the house and the woodline along the water. It seemed to me that the trees marred the view of the water from the porch and deck and I wanted to have them cut down but my husband loved them and convinced me to wait a year to see if I still wanted to have them removed. Well, that was quite a few years ago and the Bradfords are still there, bigger and taller now than most Bradfords ever normally grow. But what I came to realize over the course of that very first year was that those trees don’t interfer with the view, they are a part of the view. Miss Charlotte, our first Newfie, loved to sit under the one to the left of the porch, relaxing in the shade of its branches, scanning the woods along the water for signs of rabbits or squirrels, maybe even a deer, ready to instantly jump up and futilely chase. Now she is resting forever in the shade of that tree, her big floppy stuffed bunny buried with her for company. Songbirds adore that tree because the large bird feeder hanging from a metal staff just outside the dripline is so easy to reach from the safety of its leafy branches, they establish a sort of rhythm, eat for a few seconds, fly into the tree and look around, then back to the feeder, a careful ritual, repeated over and over by all sorts of sweet, tiny birds, singing songs we love. And although I know hawks have to eat too, when I see a soaring redtail land in a high branch of a big oak or a tall pine in the woods, I love knowing that the sweet little birds who come to our feeders are safely hidden among those Bradford leaves, the trees being too close to the house for hawks to comfortably venture near. I often think how much we would have missed had those trees been removed. Thanks Hubby, you were so absolutely right.
Cozy & Comfy– From A Cup Of Early Morning Coffee To A Glass Of Wine At Sunset, Our Screened Porch Is About My Favorite Place To Be
As I finish this post, after a coffee refill, the breeze is picking up, gently moving the kitetails of the two wind chimes positioned on opposite ends of the deck, creating gentle music. I love wind chimes and since being on the water offers breezes all season long, our deck is ideal chime territory. It’s also home to a myriad of flower pots filled with bloomers of all kinds, this year mostly in shades of lavender and pinks, including a gorgeous deep pink mandevilla, although the big pot of red geraniums may be the most eye-catching. Since we’ll be here all day today, I’ll serve lunch out on the screened porch, on our little glass-topped rattan table for four. I’m thinking cold roast chicken from last night, sliced thinly for sandwiches, bread and butter pickles, maybe a glass of well chilled Riesling, a tiny piece of Kate’s Kupboard coconut pound cake, just a sliver to satisfy the sweet tooth. After lunch, maybe an hour or two with Dan Brown’s new book, Inferno, read stretched out in a big, comfy porch chair, totally relaxed, totally into Home Sweet Home on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, the house, the water, the birds, the butterflies, the Newfies and squirrels still carefully eyeing each other, for today life is good.
( Posted by Marlene Cree, a licensed agent with Blue Heron Realty Co., 7134 Wilsonia Neck Dr., Machipongo,VA.)
Great pains have been taken to connect the interior spaces to the natural beauty of the outdoors. A bold picture window, flanked by tall doors on either side, is the dramatic focal point of the great room, presenting as it does the mesmerizing vistas of the broad blue inlet beyond. Given the very desirable southwest exposure of this home, sunsets seen through that wide expanse of glass are absolutely spectacular. ( A very important feature for those who, like moi, are not always in, shall we say, top form at sunrise but who really love a great sunset.) Another focal point in the great room is the sunstantial fireplace with marble hearth and surround, elaborate mantel with dentil molding and frieze plus raised panel overmantel. Outside, a covered tiled veranda, the epitomy of relaxation, runs the most of the length of the entire house and is the perfect place to enjoy a light lunch or savor a refreshing glass of Chardonnay on a breezy summer’s day.
