What would you like to see happen on New Island?

    A back road going somewhere on New Island's eastern coast...

New Island has been sort of my alternative residence since the mid 1990s. I've had a lot of fun writing the island's history, drawing the maps, creating the coins, flag and all the other documentation from paintings of the landscape to the land-claim deeds. 

I've also enjoyed sharing stories here about events on New Island and about some of its residents and visitors, such as Alan Faramond.

Now I've come to a weird place - where should New Island go from here? What should happen to or on New Island that would be REALLY COOL?  

What would you like to see happen there?

--more stories, such as Alan F. goes to Roger's Dreamland?
--a major geologic change, such as volcanic Mt. Hayes erupting?
--a major discovery, such as finding out who the Old People were? and what happened to them?
--a deeper look into the mysteries of New Island's existance, of Roger's Dreamland?  
--more on the spirituality of New Island? The politics? The locals?
--tell me something that you might want to see: ___________________________.

Also,

--Does New Island feel, on some level, like a real place to you?

--If you somehow "knew" it was real, what would you do there?

I'd really like to hear your thoughts or questions! Use the comment box or send me a note to mothesart@gmail.com.

Thanks,  

Lee

Everyone Should Have Their Own Private Beach House

               Create your own home or retreat on New Island!

A cottage of your own with a patio and plenty of private beachfront is easily attainable.

Or  you might like a place right over the waves! 
Any kind of house or retreat is possible - you are the architect.

Of course not everyone has $1 million to spend on such a place, not to mention the cost of taxes, upkeep, insurance, utilities and all the rest to maintain the place. So...

New Island is a place that allows you to build your own dream home, beach house or retreat. You may claim a building site on the island and create your own place there. You will get a deed and a custom-drawn plat map for your site, plus a painting of your second home, farm, shop, studio or other retreat. Your site is unique, and YOU choose where to locate it on the island. 

Here's how this works:

1. Explore the island. To get started, go to New Island! This website has a ton of information about the island and some of the things that go on here. The Citizen Package has everything you'll need to help you further explore New Island, and to decide where you want to claim a site of your own. Follow the link below to receive the New Island Guidebook, maps, boat and train tickets, a New Island coin, postage stamps, and a green card to prove you are a New Island citizen!

http://www.oceansanddreams.com/booksmaps/the-new-island-citizenship-package

The Citizen Package ($65) contains all the materials you need to start 

exploring and enjoying New Island.

2. Claim your site. Once you become a citizen, Lee will help you locate the right building site for you by answering any questions you might have. You can then let him know what size painting(s) you prefer. 

3. Build your Dream Home. From the location you have chosen, Lee can then help you create your Dream Home. Once we consult on the type of house or other place you might want to create, he will then make a sketch of your place based on your desires. When you approve of the sketch, he will proceed with your painting. 

Your dream house or other retreat will be pictured on the site you have chosen. We can include an insert of the view from your site and a floor plan in the painting as well.  See the examples below.

Once your painting is completed and shipped, Lee may include your project, with your permission, on the Owners' Page on this website. You'll see what others have built on the island as well!

Here's how to get there:

The Citizen Package includes the New Island Road Map, the Guidebook, tickets, a roger coin, a green card, and other artifacts as shown above. Use the link below to order yours for $65:

http://www.oceansanddreams.com/booksmaps/the-new-island-citizenship-package

If you wish to claim a building site, up to 20 acres, on New Island, get the Claim Package 1, which includes your deed and a hand-drawn plat map of your site. The other Claim Packages include one or more original watercolor paintings of your dream place. All packages include consultation with Lee to help you select your site on the island, and to design your dream home.

Package prices vary with the size of the original watercolor painting you choose:

Citizen Package - everything but the deed, plat map and the painting: $65.
Claim Package 1 -  a deed, plat map of your site, up to 20 acres: $400. 

Claim Package 2 with deed, plat map and an 11" by 15" painting - 900. 
Claim package 3 with deed, plat map and a 15" by 21" painting - 1200.
Claim package 4 with deed, plat map and a 21" by 30" painting - 2400.
For each additional rendering, such as of the view from your house, and a floor plan, add $400.


Here are some projects on New Island:

A larger stone house, with veggie garden and cat,
on the eastern coast near the settlement of Sunrise.
(a 15" by 21" watercolor)

Another view of the same house, with the Wicklow Mountains in the background.
(a 15" by 21" watercolor)

A sculptor built his dream residence, studio and gallery further up 
in the Wicklow Mountains, overlooking Otter Bay.
This 21" by 30" watercolor includes the view from his house and its floor plan.

This 8" by 12" concept sketch, in pencil, was included in the package.

A Wisconsin couple wanted their dream home on New Island's northwestern coast,
overlooking the ocean, and adjacent to the Yellow Hills Wandering preserve.

Here is the pencil concept sketch completed before beginning the painting.

Sophia St. Andrew, who actually lives in Tasmania, 
established her own mansion and museum
near the town of Skegness, on Putney Bay. 
(detail of the original 21" by 30" watercolor)

                            Here are a sample deed and plat map:

Trish de Beaupre claimed a site near New Island's northernmost point, 
and received this Grant Deed.

Ms. de Beaupre's chose a site in Section 1, Plat 2 at the northern end of New Island.
Her building site is described on the deed above.
This plat was drawn up specifically for her, 
since she was the first to claim a site in that area.

All 34 sections are described in the New Island Guidebook.

Contact Lee Mothes with any questions, or to claim your New Island building site and to create your dream house or retreat.  

Email: mothesart@gmail   Call/text: +1 920-858-2636.

Thank you!

Yellow Hills Tower House is Finished

The Yellow Hills Wandering Preserve is adjacent to Judy and Lyle's new round house.
Their deeded site enjoys both ocean and river frontage.

On Petrel Bay, next to the humble but all-year-flowing Wonder River, Judy and Lyle's house-and-inn has been completed. It is situated along the North Bight Path, so it is easily accessed by hikers and wanderers passing through. Judy and Lyle's site is guaranteed by the deed below issued by the Commonwealth (me!).

Building sites on New Island include a plat map, the deed above, and a painting of the owner's dream place. Owners may choose the location of their site using a map of the island.

A map of Section 2: Judy and Lyle picked their site on Plat 11,

which is marked in red on the plat map below. 

They are the first to claim a site on this plat.
Others claims on this plat will be marked Site no.2, Site No. 3, etc.

Anything is possible in one's imagination! 

Tower house to be built in the Yellow Hills

Client's concept of the house, sketched by the architect.
Stonemasons from Beaulah will camp out on the site and
build this tower in the upcoming weeks. 

Just north of the Yellow Hills Wandering Preserve on the island's northwest coast, Judy and Lyle, from Wisconsin, USA, will build their dream getaway place. They will occupy the top two floors, while the ground floor will be made available as a hostelry for travelers. The North Bight Path, which passes just to the right of the house in the picture above, is a popular trekking route!

Stone masons have been hired and are now collecting sandstone from a nearby hillside for the project. The site adjoins the Wonder River (visible in the foreground, above). This is a short all-year stream fed by generous springs a few miles inland. Water access is important since this site is at the edge of the Sheffield Desert. However, there is enough rain to sustain wild geraniums, poppies and ghost-gum trees in these hills. 

Here is where it is:

New Island is situated in the Indian Ocean west of Australia, but it can be challenging to find the place in reality.
See other posts to learn how to get here.

The Mysterious Disappearance of the Scroll People

The abandoned site near Mojo Point, where the Scroll People tried to start a community.

      The sparsely populated northeastern coast has historically been visited upon by outcast groups attempting to settle on it's often steep slopes. The Japanese fishing families, who arrived in 1807, and are still there, can lay claim to being the first.
      In the early 1970s, about 35 quasi-religious seekers who called themselves the Scroll People hiked to this blustery spot (above), and built crude huts out of local stone and some canvas they brought with them. They were certain the world was going to end very soon in a nuclear holocaust - it was written on The Scroll, which they claimed to have found in a cave. They had lived communally in Putney, but their constant pleading with people on the street to "End all wars now!", and then ask for money, aroused the attention of the local Soviet authorities.
      After two of their leaders were sent to a work camp for six months for "public nuisance behavior", the group, led by the wild-eyed Carla Fingle, packed up all they could carry and took the Islebus from Putney (with a change-of-coach in Wheatland) out to Oakland. They then hiked the remaining five miles to the remote beach shown above.
      At that time, the group was thought to include 27 adults and eight kids, all in pretty good health, according to neighbors in Putney. They often came in to Oakland for food and supplies, though they told the locals they were, "on their way to complete self-reliance". They never applied for Tribe status.  They eventually became more secretive, and showed up in town less frequently. Since their area was far from the Path System they saw few visitors, and increasingly discouraged those who ventured too close.
      About six years after arriving, they completely vanished, leaving only some piles of stones that were once the walls of their dwellings.

      The mysterious Scroll, somehow preserved, was anonymously delivered to the Putney Library in 2005. It indeed foretells the end of the world, and outlines the causes and subsequent scenarios, names the world leaders responsible, and offers a dateline beginning in 1962 (the Cuban Missile Crisis) and ending in 1999. It was written in elegant longhand on eighteen feet of sheepskin vellum, and is thought to be the original. 

66. Spring in the Fall

Wild poppies and desert miandra blooming near Capricorn Point, on the northern coast.

Alan's spirits were much improved once the rains finally let up. There was so much rain that a few weeks later, wildflowers covered most of New Island, especially in the usually dry north. 

Alan's spirits were also much improved when Michelle showed up, on her own. They spent the rainy days hunkered down in his apartment, only venturing into Hazel for groceries and sometimes supper at Rudy's Place. They both had much to talk about - stuff that was in the recesses of their minds, but that, for whatever reason, they could not quite verbalize before. 
What did Michelle plan to do?, what did she need?
What did Alan really want, or need?  Does he want to hang out with Michelle? (Yes.) Should he continue with his 105-picture assignment? (Probably.) 
So what are they going to do? (We'll see.)


Meanwhile...

I'm taking over for a while while Alan figures things out. 

In the next several posts, I'll spotlight places on New Island that might be of interest - and tell a little about these places. (Every place has a story!)

Stay tuned!

Lee/Rusty Mothes

65. Michelle (This is the last entry of the story of Alan, for now. Scroll back to Post no. 1 to begin.)

Like anywhere else, New Island sees its share of rough weather,
which may persist for days on the southern coasts.

Alan was speechless, and then he stuttered... 

"Michelle! How, um... Wow!"
"Well, I hope you're glad to see me."  
"Oh, yes...yes I am.  Come on in, I'll take your pack and your coat." He hung up her dripping coat on a hook by the door, and helped her take off a large backpack he didn't know she owned.

"Oh, you're pretty wet," he said. I have some dry clothes, or a robe if you want to change." 
"That would be nice."
Then he practically ran into his bedroom and put some some sweat pants and a flannel shirt on his bed. "The room is yours," he said, "I'll make some tea," and then just as briskly he went into his kitchen to heat up the kettle.

She came out a few minutes later, her wet hair combed back, and looking tired yet robust after being in the weather. 
"How are you feeling?" he said, as he stood in the kitchen doorway. 
"Tired, weary, and very glad I made it. I uh, hope I'm not disturbing anything..."
"Oh no, I've been sitting here for several days, really, waiting for this rain to let up so I can continue my sketching assignment. You're lucky I wasn't out there somewhere."

"Got a hug for me?" she asked. 
So they stood there for several minutes while the kettle began to shriek. 

"Here, let's sit, he finally said, and he poured the hot water into two large mugs. "I hope you like Scottish Breakfast..." 
"Oh, yes, anything is fine actually." Um, do you have anything to eat? I only had a snack on the train ride."  
"Oh, sure, sure...um, how about a couple of eggs and maybe pancakes? I'm getting hungry too.
"That'll do it," she said with a grin.

64. Guess Who?

Alan worked on the drawing for the next six days, since the weather continued to be rainy and chilly for just as long! The gallery downstairs remained quiet - no sign of Adrian or his friend Joanna. At first Alan fretted at the lack of company, but then he realized he had gone on for hours, and eventually all day, without a thought about it. He was almost content in his isolation.

On that sixth day, a Thursday, a cat appeared at the door, wet and scrawny, meowing to be let in and fed. Alan was never one to turn away a cat, especially one so demanding, so he opened a can of tuna and dumped it onto a plate. The cat was voracious!

Alan sat and watched the cat, a rather handsome orange-striped tabby, patiently lick itself back into respectable shape. The cat looked up at Alan, then wandered off to Alan's bedroom, probably to sleep. I wonder where he came from? He looks like a 'he'; maybe I should name him 'Barney'.

Alan decided the drawing was finished for now and he signed it off. This one was larger than he had ever attempted before. It was nice of Adrian to have given him the large sheet of paper!

As Alan was thinking about making some supper, he heard the sound of feet thumping on his back stairs...someone was coming up - maybe the owner of the cat, he thought.

Just as the visitor began knocking on the door, Alan opened it. At first he couldn't tell who it was under the hooded rain coat, until she said brightly, "Guess who?"

63. The Rain Continued for Days

The weather kept Alan inside, so he spent the next several days working on this drawing.
The sky is nearly completed, and next are the surf and beach. 
(He works from the top down to avoid smudging the graphite with his drawing hand.)

The sky stayed gray, and a chilly wet wind brought showers and mists on and off for several days.  Alan spent the time at his table, making a drawing, and trying not to feel too bummed about the weather. During a lull in the mist, he walked down to the beach to sketch the waves. The water was catching the pale light from the broken sky as an obscure sun tried to break through. The challenge of doing this in graphite, with some odd drafting pencils he had brought along, helped keep his mind off of his isolation blues.

He also posted a letter to the Tourism Office, asking if they might be interested in buying a Tera Bike solar-powered trike, available at Rothschild's Bike shop in Hazel. He then listed the savings in time and energy this bike would provide, and that it would still belong to Tourism for other uses after he was finished with it. Who knows? It's worth a try...

During another lull, Alan needed a break and some company. (I'm not a hermit!) Adrian hadn't been in his gallery for the last three days, so Alan put down his tools, rummaged in his kitchen for some crackers and cheese, and walked the mile-and-a-half to Adrian's house.  

It turned out Adrian had company. There was a tiny blue private car parked next to Adrian's bike, and when Alan knocked on the door, a tall, very dark-skinned woman opened it. Adrian was right behind her, and he said, "Oh, Hi, Alan...Um, Joanna, this is Alan, the guy I told you about who lives above the gallery." 

Joanna graciously smiled, offered her hand, and said, "Come in, Come in," and Alan sheepishly smiled back at them and walked in.

Alan hadn't heard about this Joanna person, and he felt embarrassed at having barged in unannounced. "I...I hadn't seen you in a while, Adrian, so I thought 'd come over and say Hi...Uh, good to meet you, Joanna."

"Likewise, Alan." 

Alan soon got a vibe that these two were wanting some privacy. " I probably should have called you, maybe on your gallery phone..."  

"Oh, that's fine Alan, I'm glad you stopped by. Everything is okay there, right? Um, I've just been a bit busy since Joanna's been here. As a matter of fact, we were just getting ready to go to Victoria for a few days, but otherwise we'd love to have you stay for a chat." 

"Oh. Yes. Everything is fine...uh, okay, well, you guys have a nice trip," and Alan backed out towards the door, then, "Oh, can I borrow your bike again?"

"Sure, sure, no problem" 

Alan was intrigued more than put off by Adrian's abruptness. He was happy to get the bike, and proceeded to ride it directly into Hazel. There he bought some groceries for a few more days of hunkering down, since the rains weren't showing any sign of ending soon. As he was riding back to his lodgings, a steady drizzle had resumed, but at least the wind had died down.


  

62. Murky Feelings on a Murky Day

The beach on Putney Bay, below Alan's apartment, on a rainy day. 

Early the next morning Alan heard rain on the roof. 

Around 4 am he was awakened by a dream where he was in a room somewhere, being angrily chastised by his mom. His ex-wife Barbara and Michelle were there beside her; they didn't say anything but they seemed to be siding with his mom like a panel of judges. He couldn't remember what the issue was about, but it brought up memories of similar actual events when he was a kid.
   
The dream voices faded into the strident sound of rain on the roof. Awake now, he suddenly wondered how his mom was doing these days; he hadn't spoken with her for a couple of years. Same thing with Barbara. His mind slogged through situations with both of them where he thought he should have been more in touch, should have called or written more often. But what would they talk about? Also, he realized, they didn't bother to get in touch with him during much of his time in Michigan City...

Once it was light outside, he got up, wrapped a blanket around his shoulders and looked out his front window at the heavy clouds and dark water. The waves looked pretty rough for this part of the bay. The dark beach and murky sky triggered those feelings of isolation that have been bothering him. He worried that he might possibly be a loner, a recluse, perhaps a hermit at heart. But he knew he wasn't a misanthrope; he really did like people in general. He realized that maybe he was simply not that attentive or tuned in to those that he was close to.

And now he is on this island that seems to be separated by more than just miles from anywhere he has been before. Is the whole place on some other plane of existence? 
And so, therefore, is he? Are his mom and Michelle (and the real world) completely out of reach? He's not sure how much of this he wants to know!  

And then again he feels real enough here, and everything, including the friends he's met, feel real enough too. That's something.  

61. Alan Discovers Solar Bikes

Sketch of a Tera Bike solar-powered road and path conveyance.
The Hilltop Tribe imports Kittwiesel Eco Trikes by Hase of Germany,
then adds the solar-roof, battery pack, electric motor and the cargo bay.
At 32 inches wide, this bike can take on New Island's rugged Highland paths,
and carries 350 lbs. The battery will last up to two hours with no pedaling. 

After the library, Alan rode over to Rothschild's Bike Shop to look at bikes. 

Several ancient-looking bicycles, with 1950s-style frames and trimwork, were lined up in front of the shop. They were so nicely restored that Alan thought that this might be a collectors' bike boutique! However, a good-looking used Malvern Outback with fat tires, one gear, and a large wire front basket was tagged at 2 rogers, 500 pence, or, "2/500". That seemed cheap enough.

A friendly-looking older fellow approached, and said, "Hello. Don't know if I've seen you before..."

"Oh, Hi. I'm Alan. I'm staying above the art gallery down the road." 

They shook hands. "Good to meet you, and yes, I know the place. I'm Rothschild, and how can I help you?"

"I need a bike." 

"I see. For just you or will there be cargo? For short trips or long? Over flat land or into the Highlands?"

The questions gave Alan pause. "Well, I have to go all over the island in the next few months, with my supplies, and sketch pictures for the Tourism Office. I can travel by train here and there but most of these places are path-access only. I just came back from my first trip out to the Hook and to Capetown, and it took days just to get to one spot to the next. I'm thinking that a good bike might save time..."

"Ahh, walking is fine for the young people, and these bicycles are okay for a trip to town, but you, young man, could use a true overland conveyance!"

He then led Alan inside the shop to a display of solar bikes - long, low, three-wheeled contraptions with cargo bins behind the seats and roofs covered with photo-voltaic cells. 

"These beauties are built by the Hilltop tribe, outside of Putney. They import Kettwiesel Eco trikes from Hase Bikes, a company in Germany. Hilltop started their own Tera-Bike Works in 2007 to adapt recumbent bikes into solar-powered path conveyances. The roof carries enough cells to give these bikes a powerful boost, plus offers weather protection, especially from the sun! The cargo bay behind the seat holds about 100 lbs of gear. It rides like a dream...would you like to take it for a spin?" 

Alan could tell this was a sales pitch, but he was nevertheless enchanted. "Hmmm, I think this is just what I need! Uh...how much for one of these?"

"Oh, take it out for a ride first, then we'll get into that..."  

Alan watched as Rothschild wheeled an electric-blue solar bike out the front door. "It's easy enough - just climb into the seat, pedal with your feet and steer with these steering handles. These grips are the brakes. Down here is a switch to turn on your motor to help you get up the hills, or just cruise without pedaling. This thing will ride over rocks and bumps and does well on soft ground. We've even added a handle in front so you can pull it out of the mud!"

The bike felt heavy as Alan moved it into place to climb in, but it pedaled easily out onto the street, and was also easy to turn. Sitting low, he felt much more at ease than on a regular bicycle - he could stop and just sit in it without putting a foot out.

"Wow, I like this thing. The price?"

"For you, 99 rogers, and I'l throw in a water bottle for free."

Alan had to think a minute on the math: That sounds like about 2200 dollars! Well, I'm sure it's worth it - I've never seen anything this advanced in the states...

"Umm, okay...I'll have to think it over.

60. The Next Morning

Alan did this watercolor from the boat - a warm-up sketch of
Spirit Island with North Cape in the distance.
Alan was only beginning to grasp the actual size of New Island.

Alan felt a little better the next morning, though something unsettling was running through the back of his consciousness. But once he had his coffee and started thinking about the day ahead, his murky feelings of whatever unsettled him subsided. 

He decided he should mail his first portfolio of pictures to the Tourism Office. He had heard Adrian moving around downstairs so he went down with the pictures and his mug of coffee in hand to say hello. Adrian was just pouring his own coffee when he looked up, smiled at Alan, and motioned to the two chairs in the gallery.

They both sat a minute, then Adrian said, "Soooo, what are your plans for now? ...I'm just curious."

Alan's mind had drifted off. "Oh! Well, yesterday I saw the library in Hazel, so I'm going there today to get something to read. I suppose I'll need to get a card. I also want to mail my drawings to Margaret at the Tourism Office. Then I'm going to hang out here for a couple of days before I head north toward Putney, where more places are waiting for pictures."

"Wow, leaving again so soon..."

"Oh, and here are my first batch of sketches..."  Alan spread them out on the floor between them.

Adrian looked them over carefully, picking each one up. "Whoa, not bad! I can recognize these places easily. I think they'll like these."

Alan let out a deep breath, or a sigh. "Thanks. It seemed to take forever to get these first nine done! That tenth one I painted on my way over on the boat. Anyway, I feel like I'm going to be wandering around for a loooong time to get to all the 105 places that they want pictured! At first, I thought the island would be easy to walk across in a couple of days, but now I see it's much bigger than that!"

"105 pictures?"

"Yes, here is the list - the one I showed you before I started out."

Adrian studied it much more closely than the last time he saw it, looked at the pictures on the floor again, and then he said, "You know, I've been thinking we could collaborate here. I've noticed our styles of landscape painting are similar - and I have already made paintings of several of the places on your list. I was just thinking that maybe we should slip in some of my work to help free up your load. I'll be able to get rid of some old art, and you'll get the credit! Also, I could also use the income. Do you think they'd mind?"

"Hmm, dunno. I could ask about it in a letter and slip it in with the pictures. That would help me get these done a little sooner. By the way, they are only paying me five rogers each for these. Will that be enough?" 

"Five rogers? They're getting a good deal, in my opinion! It'll have to do, I guess."

They sat in silence for another minute, then Alan gathered up the sketches. "Um, I should probably buy my own bike, but can I borrow your's again to go to Hazel? 

"Oh, sure. I bought mine from Rothschild's bike shop in Hazel, which has a lot of used bikes and a few new ones. It's around the corner from the grocery shops. And that's a fine library in Hazel. They have a surprisingly large selection of books and movies put out by our locals."

So Alan mailed the sketches and a long note to Government Hill, and then rode over to the Hazel Library. Getting the card might be a problem - he realized he didn't have an official street-number address. The Librarian, a lovely young woman, allowed him to write "The Apartment above the Gallery on the Road west of Town." on his card application. "Now I'm almost a resident," he grinned as she stamped his card. As she handed it to him, she replied, "Probably more than you think, Mr. Faramond." 

Her statement startled Alan, but beyond, Hmmm...I wonder what she meant by that? he mentally set it aside.

In the stacks he found a well-worn novel, The Magician's  Assistant, by Ann Patchett, an American author he liked, and then spotted a hefty non-fiction volume titled 50,000 Years Ago, with a subtitle reading - Everyday life on New Island during the dawn of the Old People. It was by Harriet MacAuley, a resident of Putney. 

This should do it, he thought.

Next stop, the bike shop.