Nature Lover or Artist's Retreat

Here are two beautiful properties available - one is a 3 bedroom bungalow and the other an open-concept one-bedroom cabin.
Each come with their own 50 acres of gardens, woods, trails and privacy.
The Main House is available for $1400 per month and you may begin to get all the information and details if you scroll down.

The second is an idyllic cabin in Central Ontario, surrounded by bucolic countryside, yet offering the wilds of a remote nature preserve. It is a very light, airy, and modern, yet peaceful, quiet, and private. You will be only a few minutes from shops and necessities but seemingly miles from civilization. There are 50 acres in which to roam, with trails, wildlife, and beautifully dense northern ontario forest. Ideal for artists, writers, musicians,  nature lovers, etc.  Scroll way down for info on the cabin.

Location Location Location

Both the main house and the cabin are situated in Chisholm Township, east on paved road from Hwy. 11 and the town of Powassan, and 3 hours north of Toronto.
Chisholm Twp abuts the northwest corner of Algonquin Park and is surrounded by additional thousands of acres of Crown Land.
The house and acreage are nestled on a little-travelled road for full privacy without being too remote. There are only 2 other houses on our road. Only 20 minutes away is the city of North Bay, accessible by highway or back roads.
The town of Powassan has most amenities, including groceries, hardware, liquor and beer stores, OPP detachment, library, community centres, ice/curling rink, tennis courts, public pool, legion hall and various shops. The area has several horse riding/boarding facilities like Knowlton Ridge and Foreshew Stables and several clubs, including x-country skiing clubs, art and book clubs, etc. There are several OFSC trails throughout, and for the gardener, it is zoned 4a.
The area is ideal for hiking, canoeing, fishing, hunting, birdwatching, camping, exploring, photography, farming, mountain-biking, x-country skiing, snowmobiling, ATVing, boating, snowshoeing, or just for relaxing, and numerous back-country roads offer the area's best.
Click here, to visit the town of Powassan's website, and view its amenities.
Chisholm Township's population is roughly 1200 people and is a farming-based community, nestled snugly in a fertile valley next to Algonquin Park. The people are super-friendly, very helpful, and welcoming to new-comers. There are growing Amish and Mennonite communities as well, which offer fresh market goods, trades, and crafts.

The Main House

If you're thinking of moving to a bucolic rural setting but want to try before you buy, or just want to spend some time in the country, check us out.. This is not a cottage, it's a year-round, fully winterized, passive solar home with all the amenities for comfort. This beautiful and private location on 50 acres is in the heartland of Central Ontario, off highway 11 and outside the town of Powassan, and only 20 minutes south of North Bay. Its a 3 hour drive straight north of downtown Toronto.
-2700 sq. feet of living space
- 3 bedroom, 1 & 1/2 bathrooms
-full cook's kitchen
-situated on a very quiet road, no traffic
- Ideal for the active, peace-seeking person who is looking for a full, enriching life. Hunting, fishing, birdwatching, skiing, canoeing, hiking, exploring, photography-- suitable for the independant, creative, and/or retired couple who love being surrounded by nature.
We are looking to rent this home for $1300.00 per month, excluding electricity and phone. In short, we would rather have the house occupied and well-looked after instead of vacant. We are currently looking for tenants to stay a minimum of 4 months beginning Dec 1, 2012.
Please read on for more details and pictures, or click on the category headings on the right hand side for quick reference.

Please feel free to email us with questions and get a contact phone number:
naturalnorth@gmail.com

Inside The Main House

This is a superbly designed and built house, with the entire southeast wall composed of windows to maximize light and heat, especially during the winter months. They look out over the huge pond and gardens, and the side door leads to a rear pond.

The main floor is an open concept dining/living area with open kitchen. There is a full bathroom and a half-bath with toilet and sink. The master bedroom and a guest bedroom are off to the right.

These are views of the living room and side door.

The house is heated with wood, with electrical baseboard heaters as back-up. We rarely, if ever, use the electrical heat. The house is passive solar, meaning that its double-walled construction, in combination with the windows, absorb heat and retain it for slow release. In the coldest winter months we do not need to make a fire until dinner-time.
Please see the "Amenities and Utilities" section for more heating details and electrical bills.

This newer shot shows the kitchen table with the magnificent view of the water.

This main room is incredibly bright and sunny, architecturally designed with an organic flavor to blend with the outdoors. Many a guest has likened it to living inside a luxurious veranda. This room measures a whopping 32' long x 14 ' wide, excluding the attached open kitchen which is an additional 11' in length.

Bedrooms & Kitchen Pics

Above are two views of the kitchen, which measures approx. 11' x 14'.

This a pic of the master bedroom, taken on a late sunny afternoon.
It measures approx. 14' x 12.5'This another view of the master bedroom, opposite the windows.
This is a view of the main floor 2nd/guest bedroom, which we use as an office when we have no guests. It measures approx. 13' x 9'





.

The Lower Level

The finished basement with it's 9' high open loft-style ceilings, includes a very large main room, laundry & workshop room, and two more bedrooms that can double as den/guest/craft rooms. Cozy up next to the fire in your second living/rec room. Here's some pics:

This is the main basement room with wood stove.
This room measures 31' x 12.5'

This is a closer view.

This is the large bedroom/studio in the basement, which we currently use as a music studio.
This is the largest bedroom in the house, even larger than the master bedroom on the upper level, measuring 19' x 12.5'.

Another view of the studio.

This is the 2nd bedroom/craft room in the basement. It measures 12' x 10'.

This is the laundry/workshop room, which contains a small workbench, a freezer, washer, dryer, and off to the right side, the water pump. It is 20' x 12.5'.

Outside The House

I'll try and make this short and snappy - but there's so much!
There's a total of 50 acres for your personal use. Most of it is mixed hardwood forest, with another 8 acres of organic fallow field - which you can cultivate if you wish. In front of the house there is lawn, flower gardens, a pergola, and a beautiful spring-fed pond. To the northeast of the house, off the deck, is additional lawn, a very large organic vegetable garden which is fully fenced, and a second house. This is the original farmhouse, a well-built old beast that stands opposite the new house, and basically serves as private storage.  We have never used harmful or toxic pesticides, herbicides, or products of any kind anywhere on this property.
Trails run throughout the property for hiking, biking, and skiing. Wild strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries abound, as well as deer, birds, and aquatic life. On the property are two major rock outcrops that offer wonderful views and peaceful spots to rest or camp or birdwatch or hunt.
The main view to the southeast, encompassing Bear Mountain, is vast and unspoiled. The pics here don't really do it justice.

This is one view looking southeast.


This is a view from the deck, looking south, over the water.


This is the old farmhouse/workshop.


This is your private driveway in.


This is a view of the pergola, a favourite spot to string up the hammock and have a beer.

Amenities & Utilities

Water:
The water is perfectly potable and very tasty. The house runs on a very deep drilled well, over 250 feet down. We have never run out of water, although we try to conserve anyway. The house has just had a $4000 water system upgrade: it is pumped into the house via a silent-running submersible pump and a heatline pipe, both of which run on electricity, and ensure that your system never freezes. This powers all aspects of the house's water: sinks, showers, toilets, etc. Obviously, during a lengthy power outage - which is extremely rare - you cannot run the water or flush the toilet. The longest power outage that we've had, aside from the eastern seaboard black-out of 2003, was 1 and 1/2 hours, and even that is extremely rare. Most blackouts, during severe spring storms, last a few minutes, if not less, thanks to recently upgraded power lines for the entire area.

Septic:
Pretty self-explanatory. This is where all the waste goes. We have it pumped every second year, and we will cover this expense.
A healthy septic works on its own, by the breakdown of organic matter, so we avoid putting septic additives or harsh cleaning solvents down the drains.

Electricity:
As mentioned above, the water system for the house operates on electricity, as do the back-up baseboard heaters. The tenant will pay their own electricity bills. We have never had cause to use the baseboard heaters, even on the coldest nights, and do not run the water and pump unnecessarily.

Heating:
The house is heated by a new efficient woodstove. There is also electric baseboard back-up, which as mentioned before, is rarely used. The wood supply for 2012/2013 is already in, but the tenant will still have to pay for this by supplying the following year's wood, either by purchasing or cutting it themselves. This is to ensure that each subsequent year has a good supply of dry, burnable wood. Current wood prices to purchase a face cord are about $80 per cord- cut,split and delivered, and we have gone through anywhere from 7 to 12 cords of wood in one winter. This is still the cheapest form of heating in Ontario.

Telephone:
Full telephone service, which the tenant will pay for.
Dial-up internet service is available from several local companies, including Bell Sympatico, and wireless High speed is newly installed in the township via Netspectrum.

Television/Cable:
The house is equipped with a Bell Express-Vu small-dish system available at your own subscription cost.

Included In The House:
Fridge, stove, washer, dryer, chest freezer, gas mower, gas weedwacker, chainsaw, all garden implements, chimney brush.

Info...

. We hope to find tenants who will be as happy here as us, and will enjoy and look after the house and the grounds while they're here.
We will be re-painting many of the rooms pictured here.
 The house needs to be lived in, heated and have the water-lines running in winter, the grass mown in summer. The giant pond has one culvert through which it's excess runs, and this has to be checked, mainly in spring, for beaver dams or branches and twigs that may be plugging it. The tenant will also have to have the driveway plowed/snowblowed in winter.
We will pay for septic pump-outs every second year, and chimney cleaning 2 or 3 times a year.
 Experience with a woodstove and/or cottage living would be idea.
 We will be glad to help with any projects that need doing  and tackle any maintenance that may be required. We are also willing to leave any furnishings behind for the prospective tenant.

Ideally we are looking for no more than 2 tenants, which would suit a couple of artists, empty-nesters, or retired people. Pets are welcome! The house is not child-friendly with the woodstove. We also welcome anyone who would like to bring their own farming equipment and cultivate an organic farm, or raise natural livestock.
If you have any questions or queries please do not hesitate to email us for a phone number, and come and visit us; we would love to have you.
References may be required.

A Few More Pics

You should be able to click on any photo for an enlargement.

The pergola that sits next to the water, on a foggy early morning.

A view from the pond's edge, same morning, with canoe.

This is a slightly closer view of the house.
This is a shot of the garden and garden shed, from the rear deck.

The Cedar Cabin

This is the cedar-clad on-grid cabin. It is nestled against mature woods on its own 50 acres, offering privacy and space to roam. It is equipped with one loft bedroom upstairs that has a double bed and and a single daybed. In the downstairs living area there is also a pull-out sofa. The main floor has an open-concept kitchen and living area and measures about 20' x 24'. There is a brand new SCAN scandinavian high-efficiency wood-burning stove in the kitchen. It is fully insulated.

Please visit the site here for more info and pics.