29/07/2024
Inheritance
Taking care of this land has been my responsibility since I inherited it from my father. My mother had died about five years earlier. I know my father had hoped I would protect the land. We had discussed it. He knew that I wanted to continue enjoying it as it is, as a place to walk, watch birds, spot animals, enjoy the changing of the seasons, and gather firewood for my woodstove, which in winter almost completely heats my little house. I do have an oil furnace to use when keeping the wood fire is too demanding.
My father warned me that caring for the land is a lot of work. He created grass paths that need to be mowed and bridges that need to be maintained. Trees sometimes fall in inconvenient places. While I had a good idea of what is required, at the time I didn’t know that the work to be done would expand to include eliminating invasive plant species, which seem to be increasing in number and kind.
Having lived in my own house on a corner of this land for two decades before my father died, I had no desire to live anywhere else. Inheriting about 14 acres of this land seemed normal and inevitable, just as I took over the ownership, care and love of my father’s little dog Thomas. Of course I would look after both, no question.
While this inheritance was expected, that’s not to say that I don’t appreciate it. To inherit is to be given a gift, even if discussed and anticipated. I could never have afforded to live as I do in this part of the country, without the generosity of my parents. To add almost 14 acres of beautiful, varied land to my corner parcel near the road, gives me joy and security, knowing that my cherished lifestyle of enjoying the property can continue, even while adding to my responsibility.
Yet I don’t have children who could inherit the land in their turn. Nor do my close, younger relatives seem to share my passion for nature. It was unclear what might happen to the land upon my death. The worst was possible. It could have been divided up, sold, its forests logged, its wetlands considered a nuisance, the whole property used in ways that bring the greatest financial return.
My father would not have wanted that. I don’t want that. The solution to these threats was to place a conservation easement on the land, if it qualified for that. It’s important to limit the uses it can be put to, and in general, to protecting the land in perpetuity. In other words, forever.
Within 10 years of my father’s death, and I hope well before my own, I entered into a conservation agreement with a land trust, Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy. With this done, I
have achieved an important life goal, to protect this beloved little patch of land.
Excerpt from The Gift of Land: Living With Nature, a memoir, by Gloria Hildebrandt. Available through the General Store section of the website: neviews.ca/product/the-gift-of-land/ .
The Gift of Land: Living With Nature, a memoir by Gloria Hildebrandt A fascination with animals. A love for a piece of land. A complicated family. Gloria was a child when her parents bought some unappreciated acres of scrubland in the country north of Georgetown. Over several decades, her father nur...
