When I started looking for my home, I was really clear about two things:
1. I did not want a yard or yard work of any kind. I’m an age where I no longer have to pretend that I enjoy working with plants. I know that it is part of the American Dream to mow one’s own lawn and weed one’s own beds. I’ve done it, and I’m done with it.
2. I did want some sort off private places where I could be outdoors. There are few things better than relaxing with a glass of wine on a warm evening as the sun goes down alone or with friends (for those of you who remember what it was like to have friends over). I’ve also wanted to have a small fire pit to enjoy into the darkness.
My house delivers both of these requirements. I already showed the balcony off the living room, but this is only one of three private outdoor places. My favorite place is the small patio immediately off my bedroom. This little secluded haven sits next to one of the streams that give my complex Stream House its name. Though the patio is not fully enclosed, the bushes and trees give it a real sense of separateness from the other houses, and very rarely do I see other people.
The shaded bedroom patio is a perfect place for morning coffee or reading in the afternoon. The sound of the stream is calming, and in the last two weeks I have been joined by ducks and their babies. It contributes to the feeling that the downstairs bedroom is a retreat for the body and the soul.
Be safe, be strong