htbrown Loc: San Francisco Bay Area

I went up in the hills yesterday to the old Belgum estate. In its day, it was a fancy house for a well-off family. Later Dr. Belgum ran it as a sanitorium, a place for rich folks to send their embarrassing relatives to dry out. When I first started going up there more than thirty-five years ago, the foundations were clearly visible, although saplings were already established. The old driveway in was overgrown in grass, but the border of white rocks was still there. A pear orchard was associated with it, and though the trees were old, they bore fruit abundantly.

Today some of the foundations are still visible, and others you have to hunt for, like the little set of steps shown below. The drive has long since vanished, overgrown with trees and shrubs, and a stream has cut through it. The calla lilies thrive, in spite of the trees dropping branches on them, spreading far beyond their former borders. In the pear orchard, there are only two living trees standing, and three dead ones. But one of the living is in bloom, so perhaps it will make a few more pears before its long night.

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Foundations in what appears as a bank

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Calla lilies thriving under a palm branch

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The pear orchard. One of the living trees appears on the horizon to the left of the foreground tree.

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Pear blossom not yet open

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UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Beautiful tour!