522 Pine

I was happy to see cars parked in the driveway of my old house at 522 Pine Drive. The gazebo looked good. The Carolina jessamine I planted long ago has finally covered the roof. When I moved away two-and-a-half years ago it still had a ways to go. The thatch across the roof and along the back is now thick, making for the shady gazebo I wanted.

I planted the blue spruce in the photo above in the spring of 1999, shortly after I moved in. It did well for a few years, but then, despite having been fed and watered, it began to grow spindly. When I left Pine Lake the sprucewas taller than me, but it seems shorter now, and, due to loss of foliage in the lower branches, is in danger of coming to be a Dr. Seuss tree. I'm not certain anything can be done with it. It just doesn't, I think, get enough sun.

Other vegetation is flourishing. The rose of sharon have grown thick and tall. They developed from a single two-foot branch I planted in the early 2000s. The Japanese maple, seen below, is tall and spindly, just like the one at my house in New Jersey. I suspect they both need more sun and someone who knows how to trim them. It might be too late for both.

The house itself was looking a little sad due to a blue tarp on the roof. The roof is clearly new, so I suspect there was problem with the installation. I was always afraid the roof would develop a leak, but it never did despite shingles that had gone smooth with age. I lowered the sale price by $5000 because it really needed a roof. How ironic the leak comes now, rather than then!

It doesn't show in the photos, but there seems to be a wooden ramp at the front of the house. I didn't look closely enough to see if it was finished or still a-building. I suspect the latter, as I didn't notice railings.

I miss my little house in Pine Lake. It's not that I don't live in a bigger and finer house now, and a house on a lake at that; it's because I miss the uniqueness of the land and people of Pine Lake. I am looking forward to my next visit.