April 30, 2016

New Neighbours



In many places in Consumerland there aren't neighbours any more. Since we are too busy working and consuming to get to know the people that share our locality, we now have something more like "residential proximity associates".

Linda and I spent a decade living in a housing cooperative in Edmonton, AB. Not only did we know our immediate neighbours, we knew everyone in the entire 60 unit intentional community. We worked and played together, and it was the best neighbour situation we have ever had the pleasure of living in.

Since moving to Nova Scotia 2 years ago, we have discovered that our neighbours are one of the best parts of our  new living situation. This week we are celebrating getting even newer neighbours. Our small community on the old potato farm is growing, and we welcome the expanding diversity.

We didn't see when they set up house right next to ours. Packing light, they burrowed in and settled down seemingly overnight, possibly to raise a family. If so, we can expect 2 to 8 baby neighbours to emerge from their eco-friendly earthship home any time now.

Soon Linda and I will go over with a nice plate of roots, tubers and insects, introduce ourselves and welcome the new residents to the neighbourhood.


8 comments:

  1. LOL Welcome to the neighborhood! I met some of my neighbors last summer - a whole family of stinky, striped cuties! I'll be keeping an eye out for them again this year. ;-)

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    1. We haven't seen many mammals yet, but besides groundhogs (I like 'marmot' better) there must be lots of skunks, racoons and porcupines around as well. The deer are coming up out of the forest at dawn to eat newly sprouted grass in the field behind our home.

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  2. Good luck with your new neighbors. I know their cousins in Pennsylvania. lol They can do some serious damage to your crops if you're growing any veggies this summer. They also smell pretty bad. That being said I'd rather have them next door than the two legged residential proximity associate that I have now. He bothers us so much that we need to put a fence up to have any privacy in our own backyard.

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    1. We haven't established a garden yet, and don't have any bushes or flowers to worry about. We read that they find such things very tasty. So sorry to hear about your R.P.A. We don't miss the neighbours we left behind when we moved here. It is a difficult situation for all involved. I hope it gets resolved to your satisfaction.

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  3. Anonymous5/02/2016

    We've had a family of groundhogs living under our shed for generations now. I so enjoy their antics all summer. Luckily we don't grow any veg here or I know they would make short work of it. I do leave them offerings of food from time to time. Curiously they don't always eat it!

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    1. I remember you mentioning this before. You must have good energy for them to stick around. How awesome to be able to watch wild things right at home. That has been a major priority for Linda and I since leaving the city for more natural surroundings. Go where the wild things are.

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  4. One of my greatest joys of living here for 20 years is watching the wildlife and seeing who shows up! New creatures are forever setting up house and sometimes moving on. I could fill a small encyclopedia just writing about all of them. My fascination and curiosity makes me feel like a little kid again.

    You have a good looking neighbor! Cute as can be!

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    1. Fantastic. I would read that small encyclopedia. Feeling like a kid is to remember a time when we weren't as messed up by things as we are as adults. Back to a more pure time when the important things were still important.

      Linda and I watched a splendid male ring neck pheasant (with two camouflaged females accompanying him) stroll through the field behind our house today. And our course our marmot, too, which we hadn't seen for a few days. I love their relaxed schedule - must have been sleeping for a while.

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