Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Neighbourhood Watch

I would like to introduce all you prospective bidders and potential buyers of the cottage on the previous post to the greenly lush neighbourhood in which it is nestled.  Indeed, in our perambulations here, you may even stumble upon another appealing abode that just cries out to you to rescue and love it as you would a lost puppy.



Here we have a view of the landscaping, carved out by no finer artist than Mother Nature herself.



Natural walkways and bridges are fashioned from logs found in the area.




There is plenty of material in the slough to work with and make wonderful sun decks for all your summer party needs, or even that extra guest house for those visiting blog friends.  They're sure to love that plein-air, vented feel and the straw-filled mattresses.




Logs are in place already to lever this leaning lady level.  Don't you love it?
Sounds to me like a ready-made weekend party!



 
 Cottage life.



Dream a little dream and envision the transformation of a Finn Slough fixer-upper into a cozy country charmer.

Next visit I will take you inside a renovated cottage.  I guarantee that you will be pleasantly surprised.


(textures in photoshopped pictures are courtesy of Shadowhouse Creations)

37 comments:

  1. I'll take the pretty red-doored cottage, please--never mind that it seems to be sitting in the middle of a swamp!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well, Jann took my first pick, so I will go with the log ready one! I think it is quite nice. And you are quite the real estate agent, Ms Louciao. I do believe that you missed your calling!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I wondered about "the neighborhood" as it does have bearing on the fixer-upper. Would one want to live in that little place in this particular neighborhood? Maybe we fix up the whole area?

    Bises,
    Genie

    ReplyDelete
  4. jann,
    Location, location, location! Never mind the swamplike surroundings--this is in the Vancouver lower mainland (very low, I admit) where square footage is at a premium. Besides, after all that dry Sicilian heat you're used to a little damp will do wonders for restoring the dewiness to your skin.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Audrey,
    I've been poring over real estate ads for years, dreaming of moving on--or to horrify myself with prices by reading them when visiting Vancouver. If jann's funding falls through, you are definitely next in line for the red door cottage. I think you are definitely a woman of vision to see the potential in the other one, though!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Genie,
    I see your fascination with Paris has perhaps lessened your taste for places a little more...shall we say, "rough around the edges." If we bloggers each claim a cottage and make a community of the place, I'm sure that in no time at all it will be as enticing as, say, Montmartre. And really, wasn't Le Marais district in Paris originally built on a swamp? Maybe someone will even open a bistro here!

    ReplyDelete
  7. aw now you're teasing me! Muuuuum, Big Sis is teasing me!!!
    I'd get my big brother onto you but I suspect he is still standing at the gates drooling, and dreaming a little dream or two of his own.

    ReplyDelete
  8. It appears that the leaning lady has the shakes.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Were you there on a day when everybody had been evacuated, or did the inhabitants run for cover when they spied the camera in your eager little hands.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Fingers crossed that Jann's funding falls through. Poor Jann, not even realizing that what she refers to as "a swamp" is actually considered to be water front property the lower, lower, lower Mainland!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Saj,
    Saj for mayor of Finn Slough, I say! With your experience of open concept dwellings, liquefaction as grass, living out of boxes, and a handy way with alcoholic beverages, you'd be a shoe-in. Would I tease my little sis? (what are big sisters for?!!)

    Our BrOwen is probably still standing at the gate trying to figure out how to unlatch it.

    ReplyDelete
  12. DCW,
    Not only the shakes, but I fear her timbers may be shivered.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Shirl,
    Thanks for pointing out another great selling point of life in the slough: quietude! No lawns to mow, no yard work to keep up, none of that "busy-ness" most home owners become slaves to. I suspect everyone was inside enjoying pleasant afternoon naps or a nice cuppa. I may have seen a lace curtain twitch a bit as I passed by.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Audrey,
    Sometimes more waterfront than anticipated! Imagine waking up some mornings with the water lapping right at your front doorstep!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wow you really have an ability to find places with character.. there was a day when we would have jumped in with both feet and tackled some of these projects you have presented in the last few posts, but we have conceded that we have run out of energy .. someday it really would be nice to snuggle down with a good book with nothing pressing or any time limits..
    I love what you have done with the photos in your manipulations.. very Cool!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Gwen,
    Much easier to manipulate pixels than timber! You both probably just need to catch your breath, and then you'll be thinking..."What now?!" Conversely, you could adopt a line from a song that's popular on CBC's Drive these days, "I'm not lazy, I'm just really laid back."

    ReplyDelete
  17. What a world you are living in? Filled with so many adventures, chances to create and breath. Thank you for sharing !

    Please have a good Thursday you all.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Robert,
    Yes, I feel it was a great privilege to discover life at Finn Slough. I have a friend who actually lives there. It was a glorious day.
    I hope your weekend will be glorious as well!

    ReplyDelete
  19. It is very lovely to my eyes - I'm already planning my visit - spring must be pretty good there. xx

    ReplyDelete
  20. Yes, gates have always been a problem for me, as I came unlatched years ago...

    Actually, I was down at the town hall going through their city zoning and ordnance archives. If we can ascertain that there is no rule or regulation which would forbid wallowing in the mud here to my heart's content as a property owner, in public, dressed only in mud and swamp grass, then I'm in, for sure, this is too good to be true, I figured there must be some catch to it. If there is a "no wallowing allowed" law on the books, then I just wouldn't be able to adapt here, no matter how beautiful these shanty shacks may be...

    Also, I guess this property is right at sea level ? Isn't this area overdue for an earthquake with ensuing tsunami ? Well, maybe if the shack were transformed into an ark, capable of sailing in rough seas if the water level suddenly rises... could be a plan.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Lulu,
    Don't forget your thongs! (either pair)
    xo

    ReplyDelete
  22. BrOwen,
    There you go again, using that international poetic driver's license of yours. Surely you mean "unhinged" rather than "unlatched"?

    I'm sure it would be a treat to beat your feet in the Fraser River mud but if you want some real wallowing, you'd be better off coming to visit us here along the Fundy shores. Mud up to your...toady eyeballs. And I know just the guy who'd get out there and wallow with you (I think I'm busy that day).

    And BrO, ixnay on talking about the unamitsay--I'm trying to make a quick sale here (before having to make a quick sail as you've suggested).

    ;-D

    ReplyDelete
  23. I'm SO inspired by the art you have created from these great photographs of neglect and decay. Bravo!

    ReplyDelete
  24. a beautiful spot. love the name too.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Bonnie,
    Oh yes--neglect and decay r us!
    Glad you like it, too.

    ReplyDelete
  26. sukipoet,
    Thanks for venturing over, it's so nice to see you in these parts. I'm happy that you like what you found; the slough really is a fascinating place.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Ah, most wicked one, what a way with words you have...

    Though I can't imagine why you would want to be elsewhere if your man and your brother were in for a bit of a wallow in the deep mud baths of Fundy... you could at least take pictures of the epic event... as we delightfully frolicked...

    ReplyDelete
  28. BrOwen,
    I hope you will pardon me the cliché but, at the thought of certain mud-wallowers frolicking together, the mind boggles! No, I'm certain I'm busy that day. You'll have to rely on your other sister to record the event.
    (BTW--did you hear about the 6.4 tremblor on the BC southern coast yesterday? No damage done but...)

    ReplyDelete
  29. There's something quite picturesque about these tumbledown places. I think how nice it would be if they were all fixed, it would be a nice place to retreat to. At least in the summer :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. Yes, I saw the story about the Vancouver quake, and immediately thought of this place and you... fortunately it sounds like it wasn't too damaging ?

    Oh dear, I can't imagine what results might start pouring out if your mind were to start to boggle...
    :-)

    And finally, I just saw a comment you left today somewhere which says : "I am blinded by delight!" Couldn't help but think of that old song with the chorus "the future's so bright I gotta wear shades"... it that why your lovely skull icon is wearing shades ? Blinded by delight and a dazzling future ?
    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  31. if i am totally blown away by these, then i can only imagine what Owen feels, with his fascination for decayed buildings!!! :-)

    such superb, rich and yet restrained hues, the little photo next to "cottage life" looks to me exactly like a Courbet landscape...

    ReplyDelete
  32. Jenny,
    I think there is a section of the slough that has been more gentrified but I didn't have a chance to see it. As you say, much of its charm is its tumbledown aspect. Definitely a retreat from the hurly burly of big city living. Perhaps best experienced in small doses, such as weekends...in the summer...

    ReplyDelete
  33. BrOwen,
    I asked my mother about the "quake" and she said she hadn't noticed a thing. The feeling is that it's Vancouver Island that will be hit hard and act as a sort of buffer for the mainland. Who knows. We pays our dues and we takes our chances.

    Blinded by delight, yes, that was me over at Karine's. Of course, I can't put my finger on that song reference of yours (oh master of the obscure lyric!). I was thinking more along the lines of the Manfred Mann rock anthem, Blinded by the Light (but I won't subject you to linking to it).

    As for wearing sunglasses, as Cory Hart sung it (ditto with the non-linkage)

    "I wear my sunglasses at night
    So I can, so I can
    Watch you weave
    Then breathe your story lines
    And I wear my sunglasses at night
    So I can, so I can
    Keep track of the visions in my eyes"

    Glad we got this all cleared up.
    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  34. Roxana,
    Thank you so much for the Courbet reference! I was searching my memory bank for the painter the scene reminded me of and I just couldn't put my finger on the artist's name.

    I strongly suggest that we do not attempt to imagine what Owen feels, about anything, at any given time as such folly may well cause our synapses to short circuit!

    ReplyDelete
  35. LOL !

    Speaking of Courbet, it was seeing his painting "Enterrement à Ornans" in the Gare d'Orsay Museum in Paris which inspired me to travel to Ornans, his birthplace, his resting place... those white cliffs in the background hooked me.

    But best, yes best not try to imagine what a toad may be dreaming of...

    ReplyDelete
  36. Owen,
    Amazing, isn't it, how standing before a painting can be a moving experience. In this case quite literally as you moved on to witness those cliffs in person. I love le Musée d'Orsay. When I was in Paris in 1998 (?) I was thrilled beyond all measure with the many Bonnards on display. But just the building itself, and the way the art is exhibited, and the light of the place is wonderful. Maybe one day I'll get to return...

    I hope you don't mind Roxana and I talking about you behind your back, as it were. Ah, but there are no secrets here...the contents of my Décolleté are exposed for all who wish to look.

    ReplyDelete
  37. I came, I read, I took a nap to digest, and dream some more...

    ReplyDelete