Beautiful waterfront log home, 2347sf, with towering cathedral ceilings and open floor plan. Two docks, brick paver circular drive and parking, and detached two car garage. On first arriving at this home, you will notice a large live oak shading the main entrance to the large, circular driveway made up of colorful brick pavers. Parking your car in front, it’s a short walk up the brick walkway, past the flag pole, to the brick patio and slate front porch of the home. Those bricks that make up the walkway and patio have a history. They came from the streets of Jacksonville after the Great Fire of 1901. Entering the home through the leaded glass door, you will see that it has soaring, timber framed, cathedral ceilings and an open floor plan with lots of windows that bring the natural surroundings indoors. The large stone fireplace is for those nippy nights that Northeast Florida will occasionally have in the fall, winter, and early spring. Log home construction is a wonderful insulator, and along with the 5 year old metal roof and artesian driven heat pump, this home stays warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and keeps the utility bills low year round. The floors are tile throughout the first floor and bamboo upstairs in the loft and master suite, except for the master bath, which is also tile. The kitchen and downstairs bath have granite countertops, updated fixtures, and hand crafted cabinet doors. This home has two enclosed porches, both of which are also tiled. The smaller porch does not convey in the square footage and makes a wonderful office with built in bookshelves, a cathedral ceiling of its own, lots of windows overlooking the natural outdoors, and its own entrances front and back. The larger porch makes a fantastic game room or family room and is surrounded by sliding glass doors that open to let the lake breeze in, or you can step outside onto one of two large decks, one of which that is partially covered. And if it’s too hot or too cold outside, this porch has its own 2.5 ton heating and cooling so the games or gatherings can continue year round! The porch and decks, along with the main formal living area, are all separated by glass, making this three space combination perfect for hosting huge gatherings where all the guests are seen, yet quiet conversation can remain quiet. Moving outside, you will find the house situated in the middle of the property, private but not isolated, and on high ground with no flood insurance required. There are many fine trees and shrubs that add color all year. One side of the property is lined with Azaleas and Dogwoods – a thick wall of color in spring. The summer is full of color too with many flowers, Crape Myrtles, and Magnolia, while the red bloom of the Camellia keeps things colorful all winter. There are some surprises too as the previous owner has planted many varieties of exotic plants around the property. Many of these we don’t know the names. Perhaps you might know? Link to pictures. Most years, the orange and persimmon trees bear more than enough fruit to share with friends and neighbors. The apple and pear trees are only a few years old and very small, but will still surprise every now and then. Here is a partial list of some of the trees and shrubs on the property: Evergreen/Shade/Ornamental Live Oaks Sycamores Florida Aspens (Chinese Tallow) Gums Cedars Pines Boxwood Bamboo Sega Palms Flowering Dogwoods Magnolias Camellias Crape Myrtles Tulip Tree Azaleas Fruit (one of each) Apple Pear Orange Persimmon While the trees are many, the property is not dark and closed in, but bright and open, as nearly all of the junk trees, the so-called “limb droppers”, are gone, having found their way into the home’s stone fireplace. Walking down to the lake, across the expansive back yard, it might occur to you that there is more than enough space for a very large garden. The soil on the lower half of the property is quite good for growing a wide variety of vegetables including tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers that spice up summer sandwiches for shaded picnics by the lake. To your left, there is a thick patch of woods providing privacy that would also make a very nice nature trail. To the right is a thick stand of bamboo, a favorite for its delicate, brush stroke beauty and utilitarian toughness. On very calm days, the Lake is a mirror, rippled only by the huge wings of Great Blue Heron or Great White Egrets who glide in just above the surface to hunt beside the dock. They gather here for good reason as there are many fish in the lake and some are quite large, approaching three feet or more. The community holds a fishing tournament each year, but you will find some boats out fishing most mornings and evenings, weather permitting. The Herons and Egrets do not seem to be quite as particular about their fishing weather. There are many other interesting birds here as well including hawks, falcons, and owls. If you are not accustomed to owls, they might surprise you at first. They do not hoot alone for long. Where one hoots, there will soon be many, each trying to out hoot the others. The very personality of the Lake will change depending on the hour, day, or season, offering something for everyone that never seems to intrude on the other. The gathering of water skiers or wake boarders, sun bathers, and jet skiers waving to each other in the afternoon sun of a hot Summer Saturday is book ended by the quiet, low sun solitude that kayakers and fisherman long for. When summer is over and the weather begins to cool, the natural beauty of the Lake literally shines. At sundown, when the night is first dark, the Lake will glow brightly for a while, cool blue, and then darker, fading into night, as if it too were going to sleep, not to be seen again until the morning sun burns off the thick layer of fog it covered itself in during the night. If it seems to you, that this place is a living thing to me, you are right. You cannot live here for long and not feel the same.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Nov 2013 18:23:15 +0000