Rose Hips & Mysteries

I explore new territory the way a cat does. I move out in increasingly larger circles and see what I can discover. I’ve found both the mostly ordinary and a couple of mysteries so far. There are, what I believe to be, rugosa roses growing wild all over the island. The most prominent feature of them at the moment is their gigantic hips. Even Jamie is impressed.

The first of the mysteries shouldn’t be possible in a society built on, and consumed, by ownership & acquisition. Across the cove from me is an old structure which was used for boat repair (among other things). You can tell by looking at it that nobody has stepped foot on it for a long time.

Coincidentally, next door to me is an old Victorian home nobody has lived in for years. It must have been an impressive showplace when it was newly painted and the stained glass shone.

Ask anybody about these two structures and they tell you nobody owns them. It’s a little more complicated than that … muddy legal situations with estates. This means, though, that nobody can buy them, or rescue them, or tear them down. Apparently it is accepted that at some point they will both just collapse.

See this door? It’s not really at an angle, it’s just a bad shot. But look at the design of it. I can tell you first hand that it is constructed beautifully. I can’t find out anything about it though. The previous owner doesn’t remember a time when it wasn’t there – and her family lived in the house for 75 years. The first owner built the place in 1937, so I guess it’s possible the door is that old.

I wonder if it was made by a ship’s carpenter during a slow season. I found another door, which is obviously by the same person, just up the street. I’ll look for more of them on the island and maybe someday I’ll find out who the artist was (or is).