The land

Long before Europeans settled here, people of the Dawnland (the Wabanaki Confederacy) lived in deep relationship with these lands and waters. This place, what is now called Aroostook County, Maine, carries layered histories of care, extraction, displacement, and resilience. We honor the presence of ancestors, stories, and ecological intelligences still vibrating through the soil.

The property spans 57 acres of mixed ecology: once-forested and recently logged woodlot, a stand of mature spruce, open field, wetland, a winding brook, and a spring-fed pond alive with frogs, fish, dragonflies, a great blue heron, and seasonal mystery. We’ve observed moose, deer, foxes, owls, snowshoe hares, bears, and a host of other kin. They are each a quiet reminder of the land’s ongoing aliveness.

There is an old farmhouse that shelters us well. It’s not fancy, but it’s warm, with space to gather, cook, reflect, and rest. There are multiple potential sites for additional cabins, gardens, or semi-wild living structures, depending on what wants to emerge through shared listening. There is also a cellar, a two car garage, a drilled well, a reliable septic system, and an off-road trail that connects to the back acreage.

We have both lived long enough to know that “land ownership” is a strange and fragile fiction. What we offer here is not property to be possessed, but a living field to be in relationship with. We see ourselves not as owners, but as stewards. We are learning, fumbling, tending, and listening.

The 57 acres we steward are located just south of Van Buren. We are ten minutes away from the Canadian Border and the town of St. Leonard. The area is Acadian, and so we hear French when we go into town.

The winters are long and cold, although getting less so in recent years. We love snowshoeing everyday in the winter, along the logging trail which reaches to to the back of the property. It is magical.

Here are some aerial photos of the property, some winter scenes, and photos of the house and land.

We moved here from the metro Washington, DC, area in 2023. We lived in Northern Virginia for twenty years and raised our two children there.

Jennifer grew up in rural New Brunswick, Canada, and she missed the peace and quiet of rural life. We imagined living in community when we purchased the property, and our vision has transformed over the past two and a half years. Now we feel grounded and ready to co-create with the right people.

To learn a little more about what keeps us busy, please visit these websites about three of our unfolding projects.