Category: Archeology of Home
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Essaying Cabinets
At long last it’s moving day. Today Supi and Tony transported several weighty, awkward, and unportable pieces of furniture from our home up to the icehouse under the ever attentive supervision of Pam. Some/all of these functional artifacts will ultimately migrate off-site for temporary storage, but first I’m essaying cabinets as one might try on…
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Starlinking the Icehouse
By now you know that the icehouse rehabilitation project is my long anticipated workspace. Study. Studio. Home office. Recreational, entertaining flex space… All in one tiny historic building. And the common denominator in most of these uses is Internet connectivity. Rather than relying on the cable connectivity we rely on in the house (recently switched…
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Before Time Runs Out
Since returning home to Rosslyn almost two months ago after a capricious walkabout with Susan, Denise, and John, some of the joy and celebration of homecoming has been overshadowed with waiting, delays, anticipation, setbacks, deferring, etc. This tension between ebullient gratitude and serial deferral is sometimes motivating, sometimes profoundly vexing. Lately, more of the latter…
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Misty Mellowing
I’ve allowed myself to lament the rain-rain-rainiest summer in memory more than becomes me. More than becomes Rosslyn too, I imagine. Apologies, friends. I’ll try to stiff-upper-lip it for balance. But before sidestepping it altogether, indulge me a moment to consider a silver lining. My misty mellowing isn’t mine at all, not these photos of…
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Yard Sale on Essex Day
Jumbo yard sale tomorrow! Amid the rainy, muddy mess we took a break from carpentry and painting and stone wall building to prepare for our big yard sale this Saturday, August 5 from 9-4 and Sunday, August 6 from 10-12. That’s right, we will be hosting a recycling sale this weekend to coincide with Essex…
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Golden Hour Gaze
Dogs communicate much with their gestures, their looks, their gaze. Or so we, their doting owners, believe. Finding Carley curled in the setting sun this afternoon/evening, shoehorned into an unlikely window seat, a new favorite among many favorite napping spots, we paused a moment, each of us, as if exchanging a question. Cozy? Snack time?…
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More to Say
Conversation and companionship with a home? More to say…
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Fruiting Orchard
So much of my attention has been focused on icehouse rehabilitation, that I’ve neglected timely fruiting updates from Rosslyn’s orchard. The incessant rain (and the late frost that zapped the tomatoes) likely explain the absence of peaches. But several apple and pear varieties are ripening nicely. And, there are some exciting fruiting updates as well:…
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Catalpa
A few weeks ago I received a question from a friend visiting ADK Oasis Highlawn: What’s the tree in the front yard with exotic white blossoms and enormous heart-shaped leaves? I stopped by to verify that a catalpa (aka catawba, cigar tree) was blooming. The catalpa tree is pretty exotic for these parts, planted by…
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Dog Days of Summer
We’re enjoying the dog days of summer, feasting on garden produce, wake surfing, and sweating (profusely!) toward the culmination of the icehouse rehab. Fresh blueberries for desert tonight, and summer squash, cucumbers, red and green romaine lettuce accompanied a grilled salmon. The garden provides. The lake is warm, and today was sunny instead of rainy,…
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Cocky Pop & Poppycock
Sometimes siren songs tempt us to tantrum. Tempestuous, roiling, blood boiling, temple thumping, let-it-all-out meltdowns. And plenty of fulcrums there are upon which to leverage our angst. Plenty of targets toward which we might train our metaphorical missiles. And for an all-too-brief interlude, we feel better. As if we’ve accomplished something. Settled a score. Rebalanced…
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Nature’s Interlopers
I make much of our rewilding initiatives at Rosslyn, so it might perplex you that this evening’s post showcases a pair of nature’s interlopers. Although plenty of our wild neighbors might fit into under this topic, I’ll limit myself two two that made an impression on me today. Let’s start with the bold but beautiful…