A floating home on Peconic River for $125K

WHATEVER FLOATS YOUR HOME

If you want to live on the water -- literally -- this floating home on the Peconic River is on the market, with an asking price of $125,000. "It's a different lifestyle," says the owner Danielle Gisiger, adding, "It's fabulous." There's no lawn to mow and you can fish right from the bedroom window, as well as enjoy nature all day long, Gisiger says. "I have a crab trap, and there's dinner," she says with a laugh.

She and Michael Mahon, her life partner and business partner at the 73 Main boutique in Riverhead, have lived part-time in the floating home for 12 years. It sits on a 30-ton barge at the Riverside Marina. Standing 31/2 stories, the house -- a Sundance -- features a spacious living room with a cathedral ceiling, an open dining room with a 360-degree view of the water and an open kitchen that leads to a terrace.

Of three bedrooms, the master is on the top level and has a 20-by-20-foot terrace overlooking the river. The bathroom was recently renovated. There's also a cast-iron stove.

The marina is small and private, Gisiger says, noting it's a quick drive (or kayak) into town. The docking fee is $667 a month, plus there is an additional charge for the use of electricity. (It's up to the buyer to discuss docking terms and fees with the dock master.) The floating home can be towed to another location, Gisiger says. For more information, call Gisiger 917-969-5542.

YES, THE FOREST FOR THE TREES

There's a good reason that there's such a variety of rare and specimen trees surrounding a 2,714-square-foot, four-bedroom, 21/2-bath Colonial in Brookhaven. The 1-acre parcel was once part of the 20-acre tree farm called Brook Nursery, says Garry King of Marylou Swan Realty Corp., who is marketing the home for $420,000.

The woods are dotted in part with Austrian pine, white pine, arborvitaes, upright and spreading yews, Alberta spruce, balsam, Douglas fir, junipers, Leyland cypress, cedars, variegated cedar, Norway spruce, dogwoods, magnolias and Kwanzan cherries, King notes.

And since there is a town covenant regarding tree removal, they are here to stay.

That is, unless Mother Nature has other ideas.