When I came back from Africa for good, fifteen years ago (long story), people asked me, What is the most exotic country you have ever been to? I answered, This one. Truly, the United States is one of the most impressive countries when it comes to natural beauty. We came back in late winter and I was wowed by the snow and icicles. Then, spring came. I was blown away by the flowers and the trees, even though I hadn't been away from this country for long (on and off for 10 years). What an incredible place this is. And then there are the birds. Back then, I could not believe the beauty, grace, abundance, and colors of the birds of North America, and I felt special that I could see them every day. And I still feel that way.
As a naturalist, I say that birds are a girl's best friend. I completely rely on them in the forest to tell me what is going on. When I was trained in nature awareness, my teacher, Jon Young (www.wildernessawareness.org), taught me that there are five different calls that are important when paying attention to the birds. Each call has a different meaning, and there are different behaviors to observe as well. Birds will tell prey that a predator is approaching. Birds will tell me if a crazy person is in the forest. Jon has amazing stories about what birds can communicate.
In Vermont, I had a small group of chickadees adopt me. Sometimes when I went into the forest, they came along, and I could hear them saying, Here she comes, she's going into the forest, the one who feeds us, the one who lives in the yard! It was often quite sweet. There have been times when I have been soundly scolded by chickadees, too. For those who have been scolded by chickadees, you don't forget.
I first heard about Belvedere through my realtor, Jim Duncan. He listened to what was important to us and then said, consider Belvedere. I read the website, thought about it, and called up Stonehaus saying I want to be a homeowner and a businessowner. I am researcher, a scientist and a healing arts practitioner working with children in nature (www.belvederearts.com/resources.php). I said, if you are designing all these pocket parks as a part of your neighborhood, then you might want to consider the research on children and nature. I directed them to the powerpoint presentation under Resources on my website, but the good research can be found at the Children in Nature Network.
It was clear from our early communication that Stonehaus had a big commitment to providing a good natural environment for the residents of Belvedere. I was able to give the organization a complete presentation on the research of children and nature, including recommendations on how children use the land. Landscape architects involved in the project attended. On the way out of that presentation, I heard chants of "Jim Duncan." Yes, he matched us up.
I am hoping that other residents of Belvedere will help in the design of the pocket parks, making them friendly spots for the birds. I can see Blue Bird houses and park designs for other birds down by the Storm Water Park, and plants that encourage butterflies in other parks. Early designs for the Village Green and nature trails reveal the intentions of Stonehaus to make good on their claims to get children off the couch and into nature, harkoning back to days of old when children played outside all the time. And then the birds will know us, and tell our stories.
So, I say, Stay True Stonehaus.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Getting Outside Help
As we see the house exterior coming to completion I am grateful for a decision we made some time back to hire a builder friend of ours to look over the "stock" design and specifications and make suggestions and recommendations. As competent and friendly as I have found the people at Church Hill Homes, I think this is an area where any new home buyers can ensure that they are a participant in the process, rather than being a passive consumer.
In our case our builder helped us with our design, as well as our understanding exactly what we would be getting in the package. Design changes he suggested were:
As our friend put it, "you will be coming home to this house for a long time and you want to be really happy with how it looks to you, especially the front." He is also fond of asking this question: "In ten (or twenty) years, how much will the additional cost of doing what you really want seem - while you will have enjoyed the benefit of your decision the entire time."
In our case our builder helped us with our design, as well as our understanding exactly what we would be getting in the package. Design changes he suggested were:
- Extending the front porch the full width of the house, rather then the 2/3 width in the stock design.
- Substituting the casement windows on the second story front with double-hung windows to match the top and first floor windows. I'll post a photo when the windows are actually in.
As our friend put it, "you will be coming home to this house for a long time and you want to be really happy with how it looks to you, especially the front." He is also fond of asking this question: "In ten (or twenty) years, how much will the additional cost of doing what you really want seem - while you will have enjoyed the benefit of your decision the entire time."
Friday, April 4, 2008
Spring, Dens and the Zone
"Kate, Kate! A deeeeeennnnn!"
That is the call I hear almost all afternoon. The boys are looking into every hole and crevice and proclaiming them to be dens. Even small holes in the meadow are "field mouse dens." They are disappointed if I don't look at every one and engage them in the art of seeing. I ask them questions around most of them but I am pushing the boys toward the Magic Zone and I had a spot I wanted to explore on the way. This is not good nature awareness etiquette; one must not have an agenda while out in the forest. We (those of us trained in nature awareness facilitation) seek to create a feeling of timelessness. But, I know just how much time I have out there, and having been at the edge of the Zone last week, I wanted to go there again, AND explore the creek beds.
Having been rewarded by my experience at RiverRun with the many spring flowers and skunk cabbage, I want to see if the same species grew here in Belvedere. They don't. Not many flowers are growing now along the creek bed, and the water source is part of the water for the Belvedere House (an original structure in Belvedere), so Pam tells us to be careful. We quickly walk down the creek and into the flood plain. Standing in the creek bed there, the boys begin to spin stories about how this place was a hideout during the World Wars. They want to play and I should stay and be with them but I urge them on.
We walk along the floodplain, occasionally going to the side of the Rivanna River to explore. I am looking for owl pellets. The kids find more dens and scat. Nick is particularly good at this and I am in awe of what he sees. This guy has tracker potential, and when he walks into an area where a red fox has been and correctly identifies the smell of fox urine, I know for sure he has a gift. He is a quick study. I only showed him that once before. Along the way, the boys name different land marks. Kids do this naturally and I will use the way they see to make a map in the end. The HideOut Tree, The Place With The Old Car, The House Tree, The Bomb Shelter. And on and on. It is a technique called Songlines.
The boys discover something that looks like intestines in a puddle. Those are eggs, I explain, toad eggs. And the pull them out to look at them. Awesome. (For a good explanation of the different kind of frog and salamander eggs see http://www.fishpondinfo.com/egg.htm. I especially like Robyn's questions to answer about eggs at the end of the page.
Finally, we are at the Zone, and just two steps in we are rewarded with fresh beaver sign. The area is covered with blooming Spring Beauties which give the area a kind of ethereal glow. What makes this area different than the rest of Belvedere? It gives it additional magical weight. We turn left down the creek. The boys start harvesting what they call "magic sticks" (just so you know, they don't know I call this place the Magic Zone) when we stumble across an old skeleton of a small deer without the skull. The boys are in awe and begin to paw through the white bones, identifying the parts. Look, says Nick, I can put this one on the end of my stick! He has a small vertebrae.
"This place is Treasuretopia," my son says. I smile. Yes, it IS, and I need to get the boys back to the car. We are out of time. I hate that. We have a long way to go, and as we walk back, deer scatter through the woods around us. Next week is spring break for the kids, so I want to come back and spend more time. I will be Zoneward Bound.
That is the call I hear almost all afternoon. The boys are looking into every hole and crevice and proclaiming them to be dens. Even small holes in the meadow are "field mouse dens." They are disappointed if I don't look at every one and engage them in the art of seeing. I ask them questions around most of them but I am pushing the boys toward the Magic Zone and I had a spot I wanted to explore on the way. This is not good nature awareness etiquette; one must not have an agenda while out in the forest. We (those of us trained in nature awareness facilitation) seek to create a feeling of timelessness. But, I know just how much time I have out there, and having been at the edge of the Zone last week, I wanted to go there again, AND explore the creek beds.
Having been rewarded by my experience at RiverRun with the many spring flowers and skunk cabbage, I want to see if the same species grew here in Belvedere. They don't. Not many flowers are growing now along the creek bed, and the water source is part of the water for the Belvedere House (an original structure in Belvedere), so Pam tells us to be careful. We quickly walk down the creek and into the flood plain. Standing in the creek bed there, the boys begin to spin stories about how this place was a hideout during the World Wars. They want to play and I should stay and be with them but I urge them on.
We walk along the floodplain, occasionally going to the side of the Rivanna River to explore. I am looking for owl pellets. The kids find more dens and scat. Nick is particularly good at this and I am in awe of what he sees. This guy has tracker potential, and when he walks into an area where a red fox has been and correctly identifies the smell of fox urine, I know for sure he has a gift. He is a quick study. I only showed him that once before. Along the way, the boys name different land marks. Kids do this naturally and I will use the way they see to make a map in the end. The HideOut Tree, The Place With The Old Car, The House Tree, The Bomb Shelter. And on and on. It is a technique called Songlines.
The boys discover something that looks like intestines in a puddle. Those are eggs, I explain, toad eggs. And the pull them out to look at them. Awesome. (For a good explanation of the different kind of frog and salamander eggs see http://www.fishpondinfo.com/egg.htm. I especially like Robyn's questions to answer about eggs at the end of the page.
Finally, we are at the Zone, and just two steps in we are rewarded with fresh beaver sign. The area is covered with blooming Spring Beauties which give the area a kind of ethereal glow. What makes this area different than the rest of Belvedere? It gives it additional magical weight. We turn left down the creek. The boys start harvesting what they call "magic sticks" (just so you know, they don't know I call this place the Magic Zone) when we stumble across an old skeleton of a small deer without the skull. The boys are in awe and begin to paw through the white bones, identifying the parts. Look, says Nick, I can put this one on the end of my stick! He has a small vertebrae.
"This place is Treasuretopia," my son says. I smile. Yes, it IS, and I need to get the boys back to the car. We are out of time. I hate that. We have a long way to go, and as we walk back, deer scatter through the woods around us. Next week is spring break for the kids, so I want to come back and spend more time. I will be Zoneward Bound.
Why Belvedere (Bret's Thoughts)
Taking a break from obsessing about our house, I thought I would add my piece on why I am looking forward to living in a community like Belvedere. It certainly seems implausible that someone who moved to Vermont just five years ago in an effort to find wilderness and independence is now moving into a neighborhood with small yards and neighbors close by.
Like Kate I am passionate about nature and the outdoors. I have studied survival and nature awareness and have served on the board of directors of a wilderness school. Like many who rediscover the beauty and power of the natural world I really felt a need to "get away" from the city and suburbs and be able to live with nature around me, with land around the house to wonder in. That was a large part of moving my family to Vermont. And that is still a fine thing to be able to experience.
But what I came to realize, slowly, grudgingly, was that as much as I felt it was "right" for me, it was not the best thing for my family. In Vermont, even though we lived close to town, we still had no close neighbors with children for ours to play with. So we were constantly arranging play dates - which might involve a 20 minute drive to and from the other house - repeated again for pick-up.
The sheer physical distance also affected my relations with friends who I had hoped would be a close community when we moved there. Instead, with most of us busy with work and children and geographically far apart we had to settle for a more remote community where we would gather for occasions, but we lacked the close-knit support network that would have made a huge difference in all our lives.
Furthermore, when I really faced up to it, I realized that I was not completely healthy in that environment. I work from the house, and the isolation plays into my solitary nature, leaving me a bit lonely for ... well, neighbors. And as much as I loved that land, the people, and even the winters, a part of me simply missed the mid-Atlantic forest I grew up in. And most of all I missed being close to my (and Kate's) family.
So when we decided to move to Charlottesville we faced the choice that I believe many have: to live in a neighborhood close to or in the city, or to take advantage of the beautiful land in the surrounding counties and to some extent, re-create our Vermont experience. As they say, it was no contest. Every time I felt drawn to the countryside I found myself thinking of more driving to and from play dates and other children's activities. And I would find myself looking forward to the first time my son could just "go over to a neighbor's house to play". (That has happened here already in River Run, by the way - hallelujah!)
Living in Belvedere will mean compromises in how I choose to live. I do not have the same level of trust that Kate has that everything will come together as planned. But as I told another Belvedere prospect a few days ago, I view the community as a place where the easel and paints have been laid out but it is up to us to really paint the picture. From what I have seen, heard and read, Stonehaus is doing a huge amount of work in designing and creating the structure and nature of a successful community. To fill out that community, to give it life, vibrancy and fullness is the task we home buyers face.
Yet to some extent, the very choice of living here will involve every resident to some extent in the experience of the Belvedere community, because of the way it is designed. I believe this is one of the main things that sets Belvedere apart from the the co-housing communities that are also gaining popularity - and is actually one of the things that I like. People will be free to contribute to the extent that they like, given their time, interests and personal nature, and that is just fine.
I am ready to help Kate in any way I can in settling our family here and in helping build the kind of community that is satisfying for us. I will still have nature close by - the oaks, sycamores and tulip poplars I love. I have red clay to track in. I look forward to Saturday rides from C'ville Bike and Tri. And I get to do it all while living in a beautiful, energy-efficient house that I have helped make special.
Like Kate I am passionate about nature and the outdoors. I have studied survival and nature awareness and have served on the board of directors of a wilderness school. Like many who rediscover the beauty and power of the natural world I really felt a need to "get away" from the city and suburbs and be able to live with nature around me, with land around the house to wonder in. That was a large part of moving my family to Vermont. And that is still a fine thing to be able to experience.
But what I came to realize, slowly, grudgingly, was that as much as I felt it was "right" for me, it was not the best thing for my family. In Vermont, even though we lived close to town, we still had no close neighbors with children for ours to play with. So we were constantly arranging play dates - which might involve a 20 minute drive to and from the other house - repeated again for pick-up.
The sheer physical distance also affected my relations with friends who I had hoped would be a close community when we moved there. Instead, with most of us busy with work and children and geographically far apart we had to settle for a more remote community where we would gather for occasions, but we lacked the close-knit support network that would have made a huge difference in all our lives.
Furthermore, when I really faced up to it, I realized that I was not completely healthy in that environment. I work from the house, and the isolation plays into my solitary nature, leaving me a bit lonely for ... well, neighbors. And as much as I loved that land, the people, and even the winters, a part of me simply missed the mid-Atlantic forest I grew up in. And most of all I missed being close to my (and Kate's) family.
So when we decided to move to Charlottesville we faced the choice that I believe many have: to live in a neighborhood close to or in the city, or to take advantage of the beautiful land in the surrounding counties and to some extent, re-create our Vermont experience. As they say, it was no contest. Every time I felt drawn to the countryside I found myself thinking of more driving to and from play dates and other children's activities. And I would find myself looking forward to the first time my son could just "go over to a neighbor's house to play". (That has happened here already in River Run, by the way - hallelujah!)
Living in Belvedere will mean compromises in how I choose to live. I do not have the same level of trust that Kate has that everything will come together as planned. But as I told another Belvedere prospect a few days ago, I view the community as a place where the easel and paints have been laid out but it is up to us to really paint the picture. From what I have seen, heard and read, Stonehaus is doing a huge amount of work in designing and creating the structure and nature of a successful community. To fill out that community, to give it life, vibrancy and fullness is the task we home buyers face.
Yet to some extent, the very choice of living here will involve every resident to some extent in the experience of the Belvedere community, because of the way it is designed. I believe this is one of the main things that sets Belvedere apart from the the co-housing communities that are also gaining popularity - and is actually one of the things that I like. People will be free to contribute to the extent that they like, given their time, interests and personal nature, and that is just fine.
I am ready to help Kate in any way I can in settling our family here and in helping build the kind of community that is satisfying for us. I will still have nature close by - the oaks, sycamores and tulip poplars I love. I have red clay to track in. I look forward to Saturday rides from C'ville Bike and Tri. And I get to do it all while living in a beautiful, energy-efficient house that I have helped make special.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Latest Photos
We stopped by the site yesterday evening and I was able to walk inside the first floor and finally see the results of our design process. (I might add here that it is extremely useful to live or rent fairly close to where a new house is being built. In our case we deliberately chose a rental close to the Belvedere site and in the same school district - although school districts can and do shift from time to time).
We can see the full-width front porch and the nice overall symmetry of the Millmont design.
Here's the interior (stitched together from 2 shots, so the sun on the floor and some other angles are a bit odd). I'm standing pretty much at the far corner of the kitchen. In front of me will be the counter; to the right is the office and the six windows in the midde background pretty much form the southwest corner of the house. The light is delightful, the openness is delightful, and (whew) the relative sizes of the spaces look fine. We can't wait to be able to go upstairs.
We can see the full-width front porch and the nice overall symmetry of the Millmont design.
Here's the interior (stitched together from 2 shots, so the sun on the floor and some other angles are a bit odd). I'm standing pretty much at the far corner of the kitchen. In front of me will be the counter; to the right is the office and the six windows in the midde background pretty much form the southwest corner of the house. The light is delightful, the openness is delightful, and (whew) the relative sizes of the spaces look fine. We can't wait to be able to go upstairs.
Why Belvedere
I notice that the press wants to talk about the "green" homes in Belvedere. Everywhere there are articles about "green construction," and "eco-friendly building." Everything is going "green." The chatter seems to be about the house. But a home is more than a house, as realtor Jim Duncan http://www.realcentralva.com/ has said in his outstanding blog on local real estate. And Belvedere is about more than the Earthcraft home. It is the vision of Stonehaus that keeps me in the project. As you may have gathered, I like being outside. Heck,I could probably live out there and make a shelter out of sticks and leaves and be okay, so I find all the chatter about the houses to be enough already. Let's talk about a few other things.
If I understand it correctly, Belvedere is about community, it is about people, children, nature, healthy living. There is a sound philosophy of Health and Connection to the community design: greenspaces designed to encourage children's play, trails to run and walk on, an organic garden for vegetables and delivery of other specialties, and even this soccer facility. Part of the Belvedere ethos and core values is the inclusion of the non-human world as part of the community. That really caught my eye. I have never heard of a development firm purporting to design a place for humans and plants and animals, too.
When we went and stood on our lot for the first time, Josh Goldschmidt of Churchill Homes said,you have got to like people if you are going to live here. Stonehaus and Churchill have been very excited about the sidewalks and front porches, places where people can sit and connect, "cool spaces" as they are called. They wanted parking on the street so people could connect there, too, and common green places to gather, including the Civic Core. Their design follows what is our inherent plan: humans are hardwired to connect to each other http://www.americanvalues.org/html/hardwired.html. We are also hardwired to connect to nature. Belvedere is more than a home, it is a pattern of health and connection and living like this is our birthright.
My work on the land is about teaching how to connect to nature through pattern recognition, and I do that in many ways, through play, adventure, story song. I am also health practitioner trained to help heal the overwhelmed nervous system and help human beings connect to their own innate and inherent health. In the craniosacral tradition, it is called "the health in the system." Is is powerful and subtle, and I can feel it with my hands.
For me, Belvedere is about that larger pattern that is macrocosm of the inner pattern, what is balanced and right. I just attended a seminar last night about Strong Families and Communities at my son's school. We are living more isolated and disconnected than ever, and faster than ever, too. It is my hope that people moving into Belvedere will embrace the importance of building community, for each other and especially for the children. But, even if they don't, they can sit on their front porch, in their "cool space" and enjoy the view. I like that about Belvedere, too. It is completely voluntary, there is no obligation to participate. You don't have even wave at people if you don't want to, but you will still be a part of the pattern.
It's Wednesday. I am goin' tracking. See ya out there!
Kate
If I understand it correctly, Belvedere is about community, it is about people, children, nature, healthy living. There is a sound philosophy of Health and Connection to the community design: greenspaces designed to encourage children's play, trails to run and walk on, an organic garden for vegetables and delivery of other specialties, and even this soccer facility. Part of the Belvedere ethos and core values is the inclusion of the non-human world as part of the community. That really caught my eye. I have never heard of a development firm purporting to design a place for humans and plants and animals, too.
When we went and stood on our lot for the first time, Josh Goldschmidt of Churchill Homes said,you have got to like people if you are going to live here. Stonehaus and Churchill have been very excited about the sidewalks and front porches, places where people can sit and connect, "cool spaces" as they are called. They wanted parking on the street so people could connect there, too, and common green places to gather, including the Civic Core. Their design follows what is our inherent plan: humans are hardwired to connect to each other http://www.americanvalues.org/html/hardwired.html. We are also hardwired to connect to nature. Belvedere is more than a home, it is a pattern of health and connection and living like this is our birthright.
My work on the land is about teaching how to connect to nature through pattern recognition, and I do that in many ways, through play, adventure, story song. I am also health practitioner trained to help heal the overwhelmed nervous system and help human beings connect to their own innate and inherent health. In the craniosacral tradition, it is called "the health in the system." Is is powerful and subtle, and I can feel it with my hands.
For me, Belvedere is about that larger pattern that is macrocosm of the inner pattern, what is balanced and right. I just attended a seminar last night about Strong Families and Communities at my son's school. We are living more isolated and disconnected than ever, and faster than ever, too. It is my hope that people moving into Belvedere will embrace the importance of building community, for each other and especially for the children. But, even if they don't, they can sit on their front porch, in their "cool space" and enjoy the view. I like that about Belvedere, too. It is completely voluntary, there is no obligation to participate. You don't have even wave at people if you don't want to, but you will still be a part of the pattern.
It's Wednesday. I am goin' tracking. See ya out there!
Kate
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
The Green Hour
Yesterday after dinner, I insisted that we (myself and the children) go outside for The Green Hour (http://www.greenhour.org), even though it was misting and wet outside. I just had to get out and Bret was away on a business trip. The Green Hour says that every family should get outside in nature for at least an hour a day, citing evidence that being in nature is on the decline. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America says so (http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0709893105v1). Heck, National Public Radio says so so you know it must be true (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18698731).
This evening we are very rewarded for our effort. We slip out the back of the townhouse at RiverRun we are renting and down the hill to the creek. A herd of deer is just ahead of us, stopping to stare before sending up their white flag tails and bounding away. They accompany us on our short walk always just yards ahead of us. A HUGE Eastern cottontail speeds away from us like a silver bullet. My goodness that thing was the size of a small dog. Skunk cabbage is starting to come up next to the creek and the forest floor is alive with Dutchman's Breeches and Trout Lilly. The Spice Bush is still blooming and the creek is up from the rain. The deer bound ahead of us, and my son bounds after them before experimenting with hiding next to trees, and inside parts of them. He is wearing gray camouflage, so his hiding is good. We turn a corner and a huge deer is standing there, not 10 feet away. I swear my shoulder is as high as hers. A smaller deer joins her and they bound into forest toward Meadowcreek Golf Course. We stand in the rain and watch about ten deer browse and cavort on the course about 1oo yards away.
What a great way to end the day. Nature. You gotta love it.
This evening we are very rewarded for our effort. We slip out the back of the townhouse at RiverRun we are renting and down the hill to the creek. A herd of deer is just ahead of us, stopping to stare before sending up their white flag tails and bounding away. They accompany us on our short walk always just yards ahead of us. A HUGE Eastern cottontail speeds away from us like a silver bullet. My goodness that thing was the size of a small dog. Skunk cabbage is starting to come up next to the creek and the forest floor is alive with Dutchman's Breeches and Trout Lilly. The Spice Bush is still blooming and the creek is up from the rain. The deer bound ahead of us, and my son bounds after them before experimenting with hiding next to trees, and inside parts of them. He is wearing gray camouflage, so his hiding is good. We turn a corner and a huge deer is standing there, not 10 feet away. I swear my shoulder is as high as hers. A smaller deer joins her and they bound into forest toward Meadowcreek Golf Course. We stand in the rain and watch about ten deer browse and cavort on the course about 1oo yards away.
What a great way to end the day. Nature. You gotta love it.
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