Moving to Belleville, Ontario -The Old East Hill

Have you considered a move to the Old East Hill in Belleville, Ontario? Do wide streets lined with giant Oaks, Maples, Spruce, Beech, Pine, Crabapple and Ash appeal to you ? Do you love the charm and feeling of a century, historic or heritage home that has stood the test of time ? Do you love antiques and peaceful neighbourhoods where residents still sit on verandahs and read the evening paper, cherish their beautiful gardens and greet eachother with a friendly greeting ?

There are currently numerous homes for sale in the Old East Hill ranging in price from

$131,900 to $359,000. To receive a list of all properties currently available in the Old East Hill area of Belleville, Ontario, with full details and pictures attached,

please feel free to contact me.

I can be reached either via email at jsmith@royallepage.ca or via phone at 613-922-5978 (direct line) or 613-966-6060 (office/pager).
Jo-Anne Smith, B.Sc., Realtor®, Royal Lepage Proalliance Realty Ltd., Brokerage, Belleville

Take A Step Back In Time - Make Your Move To The Old East Hill today !!

Cultivating Our Own Gardens

We are all in a steady process of cultivating the gardens of our lives, becoming our best selves , the selves we were destined to be.

The ending of Candide, by Voltaire, illustrates this quite well :

" "There is a concatenation of all events in the best of possible
worlds; for, in short, had you not been kicked out of a fine castle
for the love of Miss Cunegund; had you not been put into the
Inquisition; had you not traveled over America on foot; had you not
run the Baron through the body; and had you not lost all your sheep,
which you brought from the good country of El Dorado, you would not
have been here to eat preserved citrons and pistachio nuts."

"Excellently observed," answered Candide; "but let us cultivate our garden." "


We are here to cultivate our own garden....to learn how to best do
that, how to live without doing harm as much as possible .

To share with others who we feel are on our path and share our same values. A kindred soul, is one who is happily tending their own garden and we notice one day that their garden runs along side of ours and that we are growing the same stately snapdragons, only in different shades.

Their shades compliment ours and we find rest in admiring , at the end of the day, the beautiful moss covered paths and old trees that they ask us to walk amongst with them.

We feel at peace with this fellow gardener. We continue
to tend our own gardens , but we notice, that since we have begun to take respite now and then in their garden, ours is growing lovelier and more serene.

A kindred soul is our compliment. One who enhances our life.
I am leaning towards the belief that kindred souls can be in our lives for
moments, days, years or a lifetime. Kindred souls who enter your life do
not bring disharmony to it. If they do, they apologize for their
transgressions and leave the relationship in a good place , even if
you are not meant to be 'forever' kindred souls.

In cultivating our own gardens, I feel the trick is in learning how to
recognize kindred souls that are on our paths for a short time or
forever.
This comes from within. This comes from not fooling ourselves in any
sense. This comes from using all of our gifts of intuition and
instinct.

I guess this is the beauty of cultivating and designing our own
gardens...we can choose whatever we want to have in our garden and
place it wherever we like.
We create places of beauty where fellow travellers can stop for a rest
and a drink from the sparkling stream that runs through the little
field of heather.
By placing a moss covered bench in your garden, or an old twig chair
by a birdbath, you might find now and then, that an unsavoury type has
stopped by.

But, if one day when you are walking around looking for poppies to
deadhead and admiring all the little warblers singing in the silvery
branches, you find an old traveller sitting on the bench with a smile
of love and wisdom as you chance upon him/her, have a seat yourself
and visit awhile.
This just might be a fellow traveller with a great message for you
from far beyond....or , it just might be someone who is there to share
in your garden and has brought a sack of scion wood and seeds that
produce the most beautiful plants of mystery and ever changing beauty
in your own garden...

©JoSmith

The Nuance of a 'Neighbourhood'

It’s 5:04 am . The morning greeting of a Baltimore Oriole in the tall Blue Spruce
outside my window is a continuous song of thankfulness and 'hello!'.
Crow calls from a distant Oak as he begins his early morning rounds. Phoebe adds
a soft ‘pee wee’ pee wee’ from a Japanese Maple branch, not to be outdone. The day has begun
and how blessed I feel to be brought into the new day in such a fine and beautiful way.

The birds of the Old East Hill are as much a part of the fabric that comprises the feeling one has here of permanence and time immemorial, as the trees and the wide
streets and majestic homes are. All things tie in together to form a symphony
that plays to the souls of visitors and residents as they go about their daily lives.
How wonderful it is to be serenaded by such subliminal background beauty !

This is what makes a neighbourhood loved. The things your conscious mind is not aware of
unless you slow down and actually take note. However, now this is where the beauty of this comes in,
your subconscious mind is busy gathering information at all times and as it gathers,
it condenses everything it gleans into a general feeling it gives back to you, unaware
that something is working in the background at all times.

The flavour of a community or of a neighbourhood is this background noise.
The birdsong, the colours and design of the gardens, the smiles on the faces of the people as
they work in their yard or walk down the shaded streets, the shadows cast by the giant old trees as you drive along, the hustle and bustle of the morning hours and the hush that casts itself over the fabric of the Old East Hill in the after dinner hours. This is ‘home’.

©JoSmith

Corby Rose Garden

It was very still and humid yesterday afternoon when I visited Corby Park in Belleville .

The park was quiet and for a long time I was the only one there. As I walked around taking my pictures and noting the buds which had already begun to open, a man and his dog took a shortcut down the winding brick path that traverses the park.
Not long after a young Mother and her little girl began a stroll around the park. The little girl was exuberant the way only a child can be as she climbed on the masonry wall of the water fountain.

‘Look, Mom ! There’s no water in here yet !’ she loudly proclaimed. Her Mother replied to her ‘No, I wonder when they will turn the fountain on? I would love to find a white rose . Let’s go and look down there.’. They continued on their way and eventually found the white roses they were looking for.

I noticed the yellow roses are starting to open up. Numerous shades of pinks and red were also in bloom.

I re-read the history of the park on the historical plaque at the centre.

The park is a testament to the love of one man for the community of Belleville , Henry Corby, and if he was hoping to leave a lasting legacy of pride and a feeling of peace and goodwill long after he was gone, he has surely done so with this park.

The other side of the plaque reads :

“CORBY PARK

Donated to the City of Belleville by the Corby family, July 24, 1905. Renovated by the City of Belleville and H. Corby Distillery Limited and re-opened as part of Canadian Centennial Year on the 28th of June, 1967.

HISTORY

Henry Corby, the founder of H. Corby Distillery Limited, came to Belleville from England in 1832. Throughout his life he actively promoted this growing municipality, and was, in the Confederation year 1867, the Mayor of Belleville. The following year, he was a member of the first Ontario Legislature to sit following Confederation. His son, Henry (Harry) Corby, expanded the family business, and participated in numerous activities benefiting Belleville and the community at large. These included:
· donation of Corby Public Library,
· donation of public baths and pavilion at Victoria Park,
· development of pleasure park at Massassaga Point,
· establishment of Corby Charitable Fund for the Poor and Needy – still administered by the Women’s Christian Association,
· promotion of the original bridge across the Bay of Quinte,
· donation of Corby Park.
Henry Corby, Jr. was appointed a senator in 1888 in recognition of his role in Canadian life, typified by this Centenniel park.”

I don’t know if it is the ancient trees, the hundreds of rose
bushes , the mixture of other perennials sprinkled here and there , the winding paths , the old benches, or the sense of quietness and peace, but one can’t help but feel wonderful when they spend time here.

Many couples start their married life in the park where hundreds of ‘just-married’s’ have come to have their wedding photos taken.

There are no dogs, worm-picking or bicycles allowed here and if you have your wedding photos taken here, please remind your guests not to throw confetti or rice.

There are numerous comfy benches sitting under the old and giant trees; a perfect place to bring a book and your lunch on a hot summer day or catch up on an intimate conversation with a friend. Your eye will follow Gray Squirrels and be greeted by friendly Grackles and other birds as they happily wile away the hours visiting one another and searching for their lunch in the park.

If you are in Belleville it is a must see. You can find Corby Park by traveling east from downtown on either Victoria or Bridge Streets. Watch for the blue Corby Rose Garden signs at the corners of William and Victoria or Bridge and Ann .

I’ll meet you on the weathered garden bench that sits under the old tulip tree near the water fountain. Make sure and bring your camera !

©JoSmith

A Story In The Making.

The morning sun peeks mischievously around the corner of your breakfast cove window and falls upon your hand as you reach for your bone china coffee mug. Friends sit across from you and gaze out the window at the gently waving maple branches that grace your side yard. Your friends have never been to Belleville before and you are anxious to show them all the beauty that can be found here. Where should you take them?

As you gaze in deep reflection at the tiny pink roses on your Tranquility coffee mug, an idea
enters your mind . Why, you’ll take them to The Corby Rose Garden !

This time of year is almost prime for viewing the hundreds of varieties of roses in the garden as their flower buds swell and begin to open. And the scents ! Did I mention the scents ? They’re glorious ! Yes. This is a perfect place to plan to spend a few hours today. You exuberantly tell your friends about The Corby Rose Garden and they agree they would love to see it ! You decide to pack a small lunch to bring along. There are so many comfy old wooden benches resting serenely beneath the cool shade of giant old tulip trees, and the three of you have so much to catch up on . What better place than an old garden surrounded by beautiful roses
and graceful trees ?

©JoSmith