The ninth anniversary of my retirement

Today my mother would have been 101. Every day I remember my parents for some reason or other and it usually brings a chuckle to my mind. I suspect they would be pleased to know that we are going to return to Australia later this year and live in Urangan. We have agreed on a price for the unit so all we have do is buy, pack and move and of course, arrange for a permanent resident visa for Marianne. Somehow we will get though it.

As usual, each of these anniversary blogs shows photos of the community and I sometimes refer back to them to see what was going on back then. This blog will feature the area behind our house.

In summer our house is usually not visible because of the leaves on the trees.  It sits beside the end of 'Rock Road' which is our drive way.

The marsh area behind our house. There is actually another property between us and the marsh but the owner is not allowed to build there because it is a protected area.

Our view towards the bay where we can see the water and the big ships that pass through the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal.

The English navy fleet sailed up the Elk River in 1777 carrying soldiers who took part in the Cooch's Bridge battle in nearby Delaware. It's reasonable to presume that some sailors landed in this location.

The remains of Rock Road going down the hill to the marsh.

Looking back up Rock Road. Curiously it is situated exactly on the 76th degree longitude.

The area by the marsh was initially used as a dump by the early inhabitants of the community. There were also plans to turn the marsh into a marina but they were scuttled.

Our round house off to left.

There is not much evidence of the dump left now and most of the objects have disintegrated over the years. There used to be a sofa, fridge and a tv set.

There are a couple of gullies that lead down to the water and the local deer often congregate there. It is not uncommon for us to see a dozen or so deer trotting past.

For many years we had this area to ourselves.

Many trees have fallen over during the 32 years we have lived here.

American Indians used to live in the local area. I could well imagine that they lived right here since it is well protected, close to the water and with abundant wild-life. By the way, Captain John Smith of Pocahontas fame explored this area.

Phragmites grow in the marsh.

They are an invasive species and don't serve as food for the local wildlife.

They are pretty however.

The deer have created this path beside the swamp. It's probably thousands of years old.

A beautiful winter's sky. 

The only trees with leaves at this time of year are the holly trees.

There are also thorn bushes.

If you go back to the satellite view of the area, this is the tip of the peninsula near the 'Google' word at the bottom of the map.

This tree with the large curved branch used to be a favourite of the local kids. A rope dangled from the branch and it served as a swing. It was exciting swinging out over the swamp.

The remains of the rope. Robin gave it plenty of use and I did plenty of pushing.

It has been years since I walked down into the area. It's not safe to walk here in summer because of the ticks and the various other biting insects. 

More holly.

This gully used to be popular with young boys who would construct forts among the roots of this tree.

I used to walk down to the area at least once a week and carved out an easy path which I name the Birdsville Track after a famous track in outback Australia. Eventually, houses appeared and I stopped walking in the area. It had lost its 'secret world' feel.

Daffodil shoots. It has been a warm winter so far but we are supposed to get some snow tomorrow.

And back to our house. It may well be the last time that I do the Track since we have agreed on a price for the unit we like in Urangan, Australia. If all goes well, we will move there permanently in the July / August time-frame. We have been privileged to have live in this beautiful location for over thirty years and we did not want to move to a place in Australia that was inferior to what we enjoyed here. We think we have found it. I have started the packing.

Our other travel plans are somewhat up in the air this year. I have detailed plans for Argentina and Scotland, but we will have to find opportune times.