Tag: Garden

What this New Englander does…

…when it’s colder outside than a witches behind after flying over Antarctica on Halloween.

 I saw something like that on someone else’s blog and it just cracked me up – forgive  the plagiarism 🙂

 I love the beauty of snow in winter, the soft muffled silence in the outdoors,  the crystal icicles hanging from rooftops   (did you know… if you see a lot of icicles hanging from a house, it means there is poor insulation and heat that was paid for with hard earned money is escaping via the roof?  You learn something new every day! ) .

  I’m happy to report there are no icicles hanging from this old house. The bad news in that little bit of information is… the house was rebuilt so tight,  we just discovered that when you attempt to start a fire in a second fire place and the first is already lit, the house fills with smoke and the alarms go off and the fire company and alarm company both call you immediately to ask what’s going on and do you need assistance and you tell them no please don’t come it’s just smoke and everything is OK we’re cracking windows and they ask what is the password please ma’am and you… had better…. remember it.

 I didn’t.

I knew it was a pets name so I rattled off every pet I have ever owned in the past 45 years.  That’s more than a few and I’m sure there was more than an eye roll on the other side of the phone.

 What I don’t love about winter is the freak’n cold. As I get older it seeps deeper into my bones and I find just a little less joy in the season of chill.   So right about this time of year I turn to these things for comfort and dream a little dream of Spring.

 Fingerless mitts – whoever invented these – I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I used to think they were a little silly –
until I wore a pair and my silly self was much less chilly.

 Must have reading material on night stand at all times  –

Especially this kind –

 I’m planting blueberry bushes this year – might order a half dozen from this catalog

Root beer floats hit the spot and stave off boredom – this is why I shouldn’t  make resolutions.
  I don’t keep them very well.

And lest we want to tick off the alarm Co. one more time…
I now know the code and I’m seriously considering tattooing it to the inside of my wrist. 

You can please some of the people some of the time

  It may appear that This Old House and it’s acreage is way out in the middle of nowhere… however we’re just minutes down the road from the center of  what I can describe as a small New England town. We live on a scenic rural road, but to the right of us when facing the house, up on the hill abutting one of our fields is a subdivision of luxury  homes.  This is the view of that subdivision from our dirt driveway that leads to the back fields.
Our farm has been here for 200 years.  The subdivision is about eight years old.  We have been informed this morning that a formal complaint to the town has been filed by our closest neighbor in that subdivision because they can see our farm machinery from their house, see above. Their property line is right at the back of their house.  They happen to have a beautiful view of our fields. You can see from the pictures below that these fields are well maintained. There is an entire field, treeline,  drive and two stone walls between their property line and the machinery parked at the back of one of our fields.  Said machinery is still 50 yards behind me when I took this shot aiming at their house,  above. Am I clear on how far away from their backyard this equipment is located?
This view below is what they are complaining about. I was standing on the wall on our property line when I took this picture this morning. I had to see for myself just what they were complaining about.   Click on the picture to enlarge.. you will see the tops of our equipment,  and a few extra trucks are there today because we have men here helping Mike spread organic fertilizer over the hay fields. The healthy stuff, not a chemical we could have chosen.
 What disheartens me the most is that if they had any gripe at all, we are neighbors. In my opinion a decent neighbor, one you might want to have a decent relationship with simply because you live next to each other.. oughta pick up the phone and talk to each other about whatever the complaint may be.  They had no problem stopping by to ask if their child could use our fields to cut through to a friend’s house, and they had no problem asking if they could rebuild a portion of rock wall that is on our property but they consider a part of their yard.  WE had no problem oblidging because we are, afterall, neighbors. 
  Well today, as we begin spreading that organic fertilizer,  we will surely fortify the field that is directly behind them right after lunch.  I hope they appreciate that it is all organic and will make that hay field look even more spectacular come Spring.
 

This fertilizer spreader is from the 1970’s… still works beautifully.
They don’t make things like they used to.

Before and After – Side Door Entry

The side entrance was part of  a 1940’s dogleg addition. That slatted area was a woodshed and the side door and mudroom/hall to kitchen was located in the A-frame roof section to the left. There was also a very narrow staircase to the second floor.   The greenhouse, which was dismantled and sold to a neighbor, contained a narrow concrete pool.   I initially loved the pool/greenhouse and had visions of growing stuff organically, but the pool itself was tiny, no laps or jumping, kinda creepy and in need of much work. Ultimately it was in the way of moving the house back where we wanted it.
This is the same profile today.
 Hallway before the re-do… actually it had alot of rustic charm. We did not reincorporate the staircase, instead putting one in the family room going up to the loft/pool table/bar area.  (at the end of this hallway the mancave and family room are on the right – kitchen and main house on the left.) 
After
A  bathroom was installed to the left here, before you walk down the hall.  That’s  one of my 100 year old Cast Iron plants, which I just brought in from the front porch. It’s been very happy there all summer.  The old barn wood that we have on the family room and mancave walls also wraps around to the hallway here.
Mudroom door…

 

Bench picked up in an anitque shop whos  owner is very generous with his prices.  Looks to me like an old pew, maybe?  I want to call it a Deacon’s bench, but  I don’t truly know what that is, as I am new to paying attention to these things..

Bathroom door.. and this sink is the smartest idea  I contributed to the design of the rebuilt house.  It’s the DOG SINK.  All of my dog supplies are under there, and this sink is where I give them baths when they are filthy from the yard, make their meals and clean up their dishes, leashes, collars, etc.

 I used curtains and tension rods to cover the mess underneath.

This is another piece of eco-friendly furniture by my friend Art.  If you’ve read this blog in earlier days, you may remember he makes furniture out of old material from dismantled houses and barns.. like windows, doors, barn siding, etc.  There are usually atleast three different paint colors involved too….

My awesome really-cheap mirror find….

 And since it’s a miserable rainy morning made for lazyness and I’m walking around with the camera doing nothing productive anyway, here’s what we’re doing outside too…

This weekend we bought some plants for around the front walk lantern…

A few evergreen shrubs, some vibernum (favorites of mine) and coral bells.. (also favorites)

I had no idea coral bells came in so many varieties…
At the side door I have begun a perennial garden with lavendar, purple and coral coneflower, catmint…small boxwoods and packasandra (yes I know that’s spelled wrong) 

Remember my newly acquired Newport Real estate?
This is it.
The commute is zero and the taxes are virtually nothing!  🙂
 

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Thank you Neighbor

 It’s been a hectic two weeks with family visiting and camp schedules and alittle work and still unpacking?!  and  heat management, it’s been so gawd-awful HOT.    I have another room or two to reveal in the next post… but today I’de like to thank yet another wonderful neighbor, Mrs. N.,  for leaving these beautiful  blueberry and raisin bran muffins at my door. I’ve blogged about her before…   Her road is not an easy one, and yet she finds time to help many others…and oh boy, can she bake ðŸ™‚

 The heat has not been a friend to our fledgling garden this year.  It didn’t help that we threw in the plants hastily without proper fortification of the soil… but we are reaping a small harvest and that’s better than nothing.  This fall we will do what needs to be done to the soil so that next years crops will be a happier lot.

I think I might actually have an edible melon or two… will let you know…

Floored

  Stained and Tung oiled, two coats left to go…and then… WE’RE IN!!! 

 The adirondacks got a new coat of paint in a light green hue…
Now that the brickwork is finished, the old patio furniture was dragged out of the shed, scrubbed and moved to This Old House….
Although the garden was thrown together in haste, everything seems to be pretty happy except the cucumbers and lettuce…..they might whimp out.
The barn/garage is nearly complete…
Look at how fast these baby robins are growing…
My kayaks sit outside while Mike devises a rack for them in the garage.  I’m really looking forward to getting back out on the water.  It’s Summer!

A Roll in the Hay

   Walter has been haying the fields behind This Old House for many years. We’ve asked him to continue the tradition because we don’t have harvesting equipment or cows to feed.  He has both and so he’s happy to oblige.

 The fields have been in a state of neglect for years and are in need of a good dose of fertilizer.  Walter plans to bring in six to ten loads of chicken manure later this year to fortify the soil once again. 

  One of my favorite scents in the whole world is freshly hayed fields. The sound of the tractor putt-putting across the field could lull me to sleep.

You thought this was gonna be a whole different kind of post, didn’t ya.
  

Wet Paint and Watermelon

  Have I ever mentioned how grateful I am that I am not asked to do any of the painting?  I’ll be honest and tell you it’s because I suck at it. I hate having to be so precise and I don’t want to be responsible if a drip, (more like 109 drips) get on something important perminantly. 
  Wayne’s crew is back to paint the remainder of the cabinetry, touch ups, the barn…
Dennis spent the day installing more of the cabinetry that he and Jeff created in their shop….
These are book shelves in the area between the mancave and the family room. The window seat in between  has storage for blankets and will have a comfortable cushion and vintage pillow or two.
My dining room light fixture hijacked removed from our current home and installed in This Old House….
The brick layers have already finished the front walk, patio in the backyard is half complete!….
 Neighbor dog Lulu showered Mike with the usual adoration today. We all love her, but she only has eyes for Mike.
 That tiny little line is lettuce, beans are already three inches tall… and look what I found at the grocery store…. we’ve  not had luck with watermelon in the past, guessing the soil isn’t sandy enough, but this variety is new to me, so I bought a few plants and we’ll see what comes of it.

100 year old mystery SOLVED!!!

 Many thanks to Connie of Hartwood Roses for figuring out what our mystery 100 year old plants are…  funny that in 20 years I could not solve the issue, and I threw it out to my blog friends and had an answer in like, 20 minutes.  I googled the name and the photos are identical to my plants. 

 ” Aspidistra (Cast Iron plant) It was a very popular house plant in the 19th and early 20th century.”      Very fitting for This Old House   🙂

 Thank you to Tina Eudora of One Wild Swan  for the following information:   If your photos are correct it also looks like there might be some spider mite damage (tiny specks of color loss). When I have had Dracena they are a plant that is susceptible to spider mites (little buggers)and if you see a slight webby looking stuff on the undersides of the leaves and teensy tiny specks moving really slow, that would be them. Best solution is to mix a new spray bottle filled with water and about 1/4 to a half 1/2 teas. liquid dish soap. With the mixture in the spray bottle, spray the leaves (it won’t damage them) or wipe the leaves with the solution and a soft towel. Spraying is best though as some of the solution will drip down into the base of the leaves where some of the mites or their eggs might be hiding.


See previous post for photos ….

100 years old

 For the past twenty years I have carried the nerve-wracking responsibility had the great pleasure of keeping my great-grandmother’s engagement gift plants alive.  These two plants lived in her apartment on Staten Island, then at my grandmother’s house for many years… they moved to Connecticut with my Aunt, who I lived with for four years while I went to college and started my “adult life”.  When I got married, they came to live with me. (gasp!)    I have no idea what they are, and my Aunt and grandmother couldn’t identify them either.  They have no blossoms like the smaller peace plants in front of them… any of you green-thumbs out there have a clue?   We’ve just moved them to the front porch of this old house, where they will stay until early fall, moving inside when the nights get too cool.
This is what my family’s refrigerator looks like before we “live” out of it. 
The barn/garage siding is almost done, painted a dark brown, as was the original.

Tile we meet again….

 Remember the tile scene?  Well this is how it turned out…. and  I’m thinking it looks pretty OK.  Maybe I should e-mail this photo to the wonderful saleswoman who loved her job so much she practically gave it to me.

 The granite for the island has been installed, and I love it beyond reason. (that’s true)   Readers of my original blog might remember the granite warehouse expedition…  that day was nothing short of an arctic adventure, parka required  -and nobody told me that-  so I chattered and shivered my way through the isles and isles of slabs of stone for atleast 100 hours before we succumbed to frostbite  agreed on a slab.  It was worth it.

This is the pantry next to the kitchen, with a window from the old house now used as a pass-through.
Mike decided last week not to put in the garden this year because there was no way in hell we were gonna have time to tend it while moving in and settling down this summer.   Well , hell found a way…because when I came after work to see the day’s progress, there were two raised beds, ready to rock n’ roll.  Tonight we planted tomatoes,  eggplant, cucumbers, basil, mint and oregano.  The soil is rich from the back woods which used to be rich farm soil, but to start the garden properly we will rototill, lime and feritilze the beds the right way in the fall.  For now it’s a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants thing, because sometimes that’s how we roll.   I did mix in some organic fertilizer. 
I love a campfire, a firepit, a fireplace… wouldn’t be home without atleast one of these. The smell of woodsmoke on a cool evening is one of my favorite scents. Somebody oughta bottle that and make it a men’s cologne.    This is the firepit in the backyard, design courtesy of that TV show “Ask This Old House”.  Theirs was a more modern version, but the simple drainage system was easy and our simpler stonework fit This Old House better.  We have four Adirondacks that we’ll place around it.
….and THIS…. is my awesome antique find. $75. at a local antiques warehouse. It sits in the downstairs bathroom where it will be installed above the pedestal sink, which hasn’t arrived yet.
We’re getting there…