My New House

As my legions of fans are no doubt dying to learn, I have completed my move(s) and real estate transactions. I now live in the Berkshires (Adams, MA) about 10 miles each from the Vermont and New York lines, in a pink Victorian with a sloped half-acre lot. The Victorian is about one-and-a-half times as large as my Natick house, yet cost less than half as much as we got for Natick (even though its buyers struck an astute bargain). I can walk to a supermarket, restaurants and shops in the town center. Given that my new lot is basically in town, and is all in close visual proximity to an ornate Victorian, the style of gardening will be somewhat more formal (i.e., symmetrical) as well as more baroque and neat (rather than casual and woodsy).

I moved a dozen perennial divisions from Natick, and engaged in some “radical pruning” (including cutting down a magnificent 40-foot spruce which was crowding and shading what used to be a mostly sunny raised northwest-sloping bed). More recently I have accepted plants from family, moved some free “shrubs” (more like whips, of Euonymus alatus, and shovels-full of Vinca minor from my neighbor), and planted 100 bulbs. (My wife planted 100 more.) Here’s a photo of my family at our new house on May 21 (the first time we toured it). I think the pink rhododendrons are rather wasted in front of the pink house. The back slope (where I’ve done almost all of my work) is hidden behind the house. Many of the spring bulbs are naturalized in the grassy slope to the right of this image.

Settled and unpacked in a permanent (as much as anything can be predicted to be) place, I expect I will be back on the blogging more regularly (not that that is setting the hurdle high).

Your New House

First of all, this is a shameless plug for my house, which sits on one end of an aqueduct trail in Natick, Massachusetts, 1.3 miles from the Natick Community Organic Farm and the local elementary school. It just went on the market for $589,000, and there should be an Open House on Sunday May 7th.

The house’s details and photos can be found on newenglandmoves.com or Realtor.com by town and price, or by MLS number 70376174

http://www.newenglandmoves.com/Listings/SingleFamily_NewEnglandMoves.htm?id=1010628056

The house, at 160 Cottage Street, Natick, has 4 bedrooms and 1.5 baths, 1900 square feet and 1.37 acres. Part of the land is the aqueduct path itself. In advance of putting my house on the market we sold the town a hiking easement to ensure that the trail’s current but unofficial use will be able to continue (i.e., hiking, skiing and biking are good, but no horses due to erosion issues, and no motor vehicles except for aqueduct maintenance).

Anyone wanting to use the trail in either direction is welcome, despite the legal fiction No Trespassing sign still on my property (put up by the MWRA, not me, presumably to reduce their liability if someone gets injured on this very flat and easy trail).

It’s been great living here, in large part because of this trail, which gives my wife in particular the opportunity to bike the children down to the school playground and organic farm (basically a free zoo), and to meet the many neighbors who walk their dogs and bike and cross country ski here. The wild turkeys crossing the back yard are pretty cool too.