Beautiful Waterfront Patio in a Native Habitat Nature Sanctuary

Hidden off a main road, you'll find our special slice of paradise welcoming guests looking for a unique and beautiful space. Across a bridge over the creek, our unique home offers a stunning private patio, gardens and landscape in our nature sanctuary perfect for your small gatherings, private meetings, writer and artist retreats, meditation and yoga workshops, or as unique and beautiful backdrops in your next photoshoot. The patio spans the back of the main house on the island where we live surrounded by a creek on all sides where it overlooks both the water connecting at the lower point of the island and a waterfall/dam. The outdoor dining area is perfect for a privately catered meal for up to 10 people. We provide table, seating and can provide table settings upon request as well as some beautiful, ecclectic serving bowls/trays from our collection. If hosting an event with apps only we can provide an additional folding table set up for buffet service. We request that is using disposable plateware/serviceware that compostable items are used (we recommend banana leaf plates, non-bleached napkins, wood utensils but any compostable items would greatly help with the ecological mission here at the sanctuary). We have some private chefs we have worked with and are happy to recommend. Please note at this time, caterers must bring food prepared as our kitchen is not available for onsite food prep. We have a fridge in the garage caterers may use and a cooking firepit should your chef want to cook something over an open flame in the yard. Across from the dining area is a seating area complete with umbrella that overlooks the outdoor fireplace, wild pasture, native pollinator garden beds and water flowing by. For private meetings or gatherings that do not require seated dining, we can accommodate 20 guests. Each patio area is approximately 200 sf connected by a walkway- that is the only square footage listed here. The actual areas outside the patio mentioned below are not included in square footage. Please inquire about specific areas for more details. Walk down the old stone staircases to descend to the yard and shade garden where below the canopy of a cedar tree you'll find a small seating area of lounge chairs to sit and relax at the sound of the water. In the upper yard you'll come upon the second bridge which crosses the dam and contains 2 benches to sit and meditate or look downstream as the creek peacefully stretches out in front of you. For those looking for idyllic nature or rustic backgrounds for photo and video shoots, giant old stone retaining walls around the property, many plant areas, and the water itself provide an abundance of options. If arranged in advance and depending on the time of year/safety of water and weather, bookings for photo/film shoots may enter a part of the water if they're looking for special shots in the water. When renting for a photo or film shoot, we can make arrangements when discussing your booking to provide access into our home if you need places to change/do makeup/hair etc. When renting our outdoor spaces for your event which are attached to our home, we provide access to a restroom inside our home. If also renting the cottage for your booking, the cottage has it's own private restroom as well. As part of our work here to create a native wildlife sanctuary, we have generated an abundant firefly population so during their season which tends to be end of June into third week of July you may inquire about booking a private firefly viewing event. Sit outdoors in the darkness of the field and enjoy watching the trees, meadow-yard, and water light up with the magic of these beautiful creatures. We do ask during firefly viewings that viewers make minimal sound and we turn off all outside lights which helps support them being active. If you love photography, we recommend long exposure shoots on your equipment to fully capture their beauty. This is our home but we have been in hospitality a long time and will of course be absent during bookings unless you request our services. We also offer a second listing which is a private vintage cottage complete with working fireplace for those winter weather gatherings if you would also like interior spaces to use for a meeting or small gathering. The cottage sits above the creek with a deck over the water. Please let us know if you would like us to also provide the information for this listing. Please review rules and special considerations in advance to ensure your event would be a good fit and then reach out about your event and let us know if our space can make your event a memorable one.