boundaries

I think it's a thing that after buying a piece of property it's natural to want to know where the boundaries lie. Just what is ours and what lies beyond. What is home and what is other.

So last weekend we walked the fence line on the west side of the property, beyond the creek. We'd heard of an old forest service road, or at least ATV trails back there, but it became obvious pretty quickly that the forest had been taking back its own for quite some time, so following a trail of any description was pretty tough. Even walking the fence was a challenge -- trees don't care about fences or the randomness of property boundary lines. 

"the road"

We're following a trail. I don't see the trail.

Keeping an eye out for the fence posts. Kudos if you can see them.

Bushwhacking aside, it was a really interesting hike. Finding the iron pins marking the corners of the property was a real triumph! It's a bit bizarre that we could find them out there but we can't find the ones at the (much more accessible) front of the property.

So while we know our boundaries now, this creek of ours is pushing hers. In Canada, riparian laws don't allow landowners to "own" a waterway. She's more like a bossy visitor who passes through as she wishes; not a rules-following member of the household. Most of the year, she's a clear-watered, burbling, fish-friendly course, passable in parts with little more than rubber boots. 

But each spring she transforms. Like one of Artist Daughter's Angry Girl illustrations she defies the sweet image of her creek status to become a thunderous, raging river. She swells her banks, grabbing what she can and carrying it along down her path. 

There's nothing we can do about it, but let her have her moment and wait for it to pass. When she settles back to her calm summer self she will be different, changing the way she meanders across our property. We'll just have to accept her as she is.

Angry Girl illustration by Amelia Butcher (used with permission)

end note: I'm having a lot of difficulty with blogger at the moment, so please forgive the erratic formatting and just be happy there is anything at all to look at.