The house is up on a mountain—maybe halfway up. The house is oval in shape, with a large deck on three sides. The deck is a few steps down, so the railings do not obstruct the view from the windows. There are two redwood sided hot tubs, and a grill on the deck. The main living area is right at the front of the curve, and has great views on all three sides.
When standing at the living room or kitchen windows, there is an amazing view. The house is situated just above a pass. To your left, you see a beautiful fresh water lake. It is wild—no houses visible except for the boathouse that holds your crafts. The lake stretches off into the distance, the shore curving and sending out little branches here and there. There are sailboats dotting it’s surface.
To the right, you can see the ocean. It is farther down to the ocean than it is to the lake. In the evenings, you can see the sun setting over the ocean. In the morning, of course, it rises over the lake. Sometimes, at night, you can hear both the sound of waves crashing on the beach and the sound of loons calling from the lake.
There is a broad lawn just below the house, dotted with ornamental trees and gardens of many kinds. It has summer gardens and winter gardens and herb gardens and a vegetable garden. In one place there is a fire pit with wooden benches surrounding it.
Near the “wild” garden, you can see what looks like an amazing sculpture. It is quite large and there are long hairy metal structures that are kind of like pincers sticking into the air in every which way—like a garden with metal flowers, some of which gleam and others of which seem darker. The “hair” is vines and ivies growing out of pots and growing up along the structures, cooling them.
This is the swimming pool. If you look carefully, you can see a little patch of blue water. The sculptures guard the pool, and hide the changing room and the storage room. They also form a wind break, when the winds are too cooling. When more wind is desired, they move to open up spaces for the winds to come through.
There are several out-buildings off to each side of the house but towards the rear. There is a guest house, a small barn (complete with ancient red tractor parked in front). One building is an old milking parlor that is now a workshop. There is also a “water house” that sits atop a spring that, due to the peculiar qualities of the mountain, always runs with clear, fresh water, even during droughts. A little further away are a series of modern buildings cut into the side of the mountain. Some are small rooms where people can work and one is larger. It contains a dance rehearsal space. There are similar spaces on the other side of the mountain.
To the South, you can see a small fishing village on the shore of the ocean, near where the river joins the ocean. It’s no longer known as a fishing village, although the fishermen still work there. It is now an artists’ community, where many interesting artists come to stay for a month or two at a time. Some of them work or rehearse up in the buildings off on the ocean side of the mountain behind the house. When artists new to the retreat meet, they often ask each other where they work, “ocean side” or “lake side.”
Sometimes there are parties held in the old dance hall, and if you are at the house (instead of being at the party) you can hear the sounds of it come wafting up the side of the mountain if you happen to be out on the deck, steeping in the hot tub.
Other times the parties are up here at the “One Day Retreat” as the house is known. Many artists and other people from town mingle with the house guests. There is a large grand piano in the living room, and often times an impromptu band will from and people will dance. At other times, there will be more formal events, where a number of performers in many different genres will perform—each with their own five to ten minute time slot.
Yah. Definitely a dream!
