L'Heure Bleue: the Blue Hour of our Life

A natural heritage worth preserving

My dad used to say that everything starts with a dream. That's not bad motivational advice for a dreamy eyed seven year old who wanted to become an astronaut/brainsurgeon/rockstar. I never became one of those. I chose another profession, but as I grew up, I realized that dreams do come true if the timing is right and if you work hard enough. In a few weeks, ours will come true and we welcome this event with deep gratitude and great excitement.The pastoral tranquility along the Saint-Laurent River on the Chemin du Ruisseau-Jureux in Saint-Irénée, Charlevoix will be disturbed by the roar of heavy construction equipment.

After two years of dedicated planning to build our ecological and energy efficient residence in search of an international certification of excellence, we will know the result of all those long Canadian winter evenings pondering our dream house when we would refigure calculations to simulate energy consumption patterns. How's that for romance. Later, we would seek expert advice wading through various schools of thought on what is truly a green energy efficient house. Every green argument seemed a moot point.This is where we truly discovered the differences between architects, engineers and builders. Everyone preached differently based on their profesionnal experience. Truthfully, it all boiled down to professsional ego, but that again is moot. But foremost, beyond this planning is the immense moral and ethical responsibility of where we will set up stake. Pardon the pun, but this is the only level playing field that we encountered in this green building odyssey. Where you live matters most.

A last look before construction starts

As we contemplate the sea to sky glimpse into the universe where we will live, the cheery wind swept meadows bordered by blue mountains contribute to this sense of belonging that calls us to protect them. This heritage goes beyond what is historically significant. So as I look around our little piece of heaven by the river, it is only natural, that it will tell our story as we leave our mark ever so gently. It is with this awareness that we put on paper a residence that must meet up to all these expectations.


The residents of Les Domaines du Ruisseau-Jureux share a collective vision that architecture must blend in and not interfere with nature. This discretion not only means a smaller carbon foot print but also protects the beauty of the area.To build your residence here is to become part of a collective work of art as each house finds its niche on the vast canvas between sea and sky. Guidelines from both the municipality and the developer serve as architectural standards. On paper, you would think that all the houses look the same to comply with these strict guidelines and yet, like the artist who owns a particular brushstroke, the owners of these homes are putting their personal touches from the traditional to the modern with the same noble building materials.

 

Wind swept fields of flowers greet us every morning

Sundays, at Les Domaines, as we sit looking out on the wide blue expanse of the Saint-Laurent, we notice cars slowing down to peek at our houses and to take a glimpse of the water. As the cars creep slowly down our winding road, this is the closest they can come to the shore in our area. They come to see the river and the fields of flowers nestled between rustic apple trees, wild roses and lupins as well as glorious lilac along our perch fences. The wild flowers have their own signature during the season to add a colorful movement to the green joyous expanse complementing  the blue of the water. Often one sees a car lingering to read the signs bearing the names of our homes that read like a long poem from one house to the other to evoke the bucolic theme of a carefully crafted haiku.

Our house is called L'Heure Bleue which means the Blue Hour. Actually, it keenly translates our personal philosophy, a quiet wisdom that makes us smile. The blue hour is the most coveted time of the day for photographers. It occurs twice a day, at the exact moment when the night kisses the first light of day and again, during the evening, when the last breath of the day announces the starry night. It is said that the blue hour of the morning is the first instant of the day when the birds begin to sing, the trees stretch their branches, the scent of flowers and fruit is at its best. The evening blue hour expresses the recognition of having lived a day that was truly blessed by nature.

The blue hour: a time when nature pauses to reflect

This is what we want for this house, our last as Pierre and I often say when we are asked to describe it. L'Heure Bleue is our plan for an active retirement for just the two of us with our family and friends. As the wind that comes from the Saint-Laurent lulls the wildflowers around our house, we will be transported daily to embrace a deep gratitude and well-deserved peace.