I read the books of an old Civil War vet, that collected seashells as his occupation in Florida. Can you imagine THAT as an occupation? or his preoccupation when not doing construction? Who’d want his seashells? Well, the Smithsonian did, so that justified his hobby/drive.  He searched for them all his life. What a life!

Imagine… Florida, before A/C, before mosquito control, before it changed. This was seen by CHARLES TORREY SIMPSON, between 1890 to 1920.

He told stories of walking in the swamps, with arms fully black with mosquitoes, surviving off the land, and sleeping in the houses of friends as he traveled. See? To read this, is to BE THERE, in primitive, prehistoric, natural Florida before it changed.

This is why I treasure his books so much…I can BE THERE too, See a bit of paradise, AND see the good and frightening way of life back then…. the same land, the same weather, but, au naturel facing, a fierce struggle with Nature from all directions, except the cold…there was that.

He taught people to site there house correctly, raise it up 10 feet to be above the mosquitoes, the fine tuning of the landscape around the house… his opinions, ideas all hold up from 100 years ago. 

He surely believed in seeing before you build, in his direction to build a platform to see your views and adjust your house with this in mind… 

While he was primarily a Naturalist, a scholar, an adventurer, his opinions on land, houses, and beauty hold up.  Just great reading. 

WORK FOR A LIFETIME…

Page 4. Ornamental Gardening, Charles Torrey Simpson

Add photo here

See, your work in designing a house, is what you must live with for a lifetime, and the generations of people that live in your house later on.

As he says, go slow, be honest and sincere, no shams or trickery….(shortcuts…link here..)