LOT 17 SOUTH SHORE ROAD

A bewilderingly lovely 98-acre parcel of land attached very nearly to the sometimes wild, sometime mirror-like waters along the south shore of Amherst Island, just a short, reliable ferry ride from the mainland less than thirty minutes from Kingston. The land - not quite flat, more an undulating emerald and lemon sea - stretches north to the horizon, far enough that the curve of the earth feels visible, like a raised eyebrow. Look hard enough and there are the foundations of an old home here near the front, set in the middle of a heady profusion of century-old lilac.

Build yourself a new home in the same location, perhaps, all steel and glass and humbling blue views to the south. There is an old watering hole further back, at the tail-end of the trails you'll work over the years into the grasses. Let the neighbour run his sheep here, he'd love that.

Farm the land yourself, or just look after it. Even better, let it look after you. Explore the limestone shoreline across the road, or make for the nearby sandy beaches.

The woods teem with birds (and more than the odd birder). The island is both vibrant and unspoiled, all stone wall and near-deserted country road.