Tag: Merchant Row
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Kestrel at Rosslyn Boathouse
This evening I return to a nostalgic snapshot steeped in the sepia tones of yesteryear. An artifact from our Rosslyn collection, this old photo was featured on February 24, 2014 in the Essex Community blog by Katie Shepard. As often, the discourse generated by this visual time, capsule provided valuable insight to the Kestrel, a…
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Rosslyn & Reinvention
Reinvention is woven intricately, inextricably into Rosslyn’s DNA. This home, this property, this history endure some two hundred years (and more) after W.D. Ross first built his home on the Champlain Valley’s fertile shore in no small part because of this legacy of renewal. It’s as if Rosslyn, in addition to historic buildings and generous…
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Remembering Mary Wade
I received heartbreaking news this morning that dear friend and accomplished folk artist, Mary Wade has passed away. Mary was a remarkable woman with a huge heart and sense of humor, a vast memory, and an enchanting gift for storytelling. Our community loses so much with her passing, but her caring and creative legacy will…
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Old House, New Home
I’ve lived much, perhaps even *most* of my life in old houses. With the exception of late middle and high school, 3/4 of college, briefly in Santa Fe (1996-9), and briefly in Paris and Rome, my homes have been within old houses. And, come to think of it, some of my boarding school years were…
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Boathouse Repairs 1: Gangway Reboot
Just a quick update for you this evening highlighting Rosslyn’s boathouse gangway reboot. The good news, no, the *great* news, is that the boathouse gangway project is back on track — safe, sturdy, functionally and historically accurate — after the 2021 debacle. What a difference an experienced team makes! If you missed the 2021 false…
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Horse Stall Haiku
Horse Stall Haiku Carriage house stall door,pockmarked, patinated, but hale,relates tenants past. — Geo Davis Wabi-sabi Horse Stall Patina. Rust. Wear-and-tear. The horse stall door in the photograph above abounds in visible reminders of imperfection and impermanence. And yet beauty brims. The image, indeed the horse stall and the horse stall door themselves, exude warmth and…
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Favored by Fortune: Sherwood Inn Flashback
Rosslyn has been reinvigorated (even reinvented) many times over its two century history on Essex, New York’s Merchant Row. But beyond all others, the mother lode of artifacts and memories of this fascinating property derive from its years as the Sherwood Inn. This morning I’d like to share with you an article that was published…
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Kestrel Sighting
Katie Shepard posted this vintage photograph of the steam yacht Kestrel on the Essex blog recently to see if anyone could identify the vessel, the boathouse, the men on the pier, the approximate year, etc. Greater Adirondack Ghost and Tour Company: Wow, what a great photo. That’s the steam yacht Kestrel, owned by Samuel Keyser.…
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Rosslyn in Essex on Lake Champlain
Note: The following Rosslyn excerpts originally appeared in “Rosslyn“ (Essex on Lake Champlain, February 26, 2013) and “Rosslyn Boathouse“ (Essex on Lake Champlain, February 27, 2013). Rosslyn, the second oldest home on Essex, New York’s Merchant Row, is located just south of The Dower House. This historic home (also known as the W.D. Ross Mansion,…
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American Mink
I few evenings ago I remembered that I’d left my iPhone on the runabout, so I headed down to the waterfront before dinner to grab it. As I stepped out onto the dock, I noticed an energetic mink playing around on the rocks. I froze. Would he vanish if he saw me? He continued…
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Mary Wade’s Rosslyn Art
My bride refers to herself as “Mama” to our Labrador Retriever, Griffin. It’s always struck me as a bit goofy, preferring, I suppose, to think of myself as my dog’s master. Though anyone familiar with our little family of three would hastily remind me that I might have that backwards, as Griffin clearly rules the…
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Totally Incompatible
My fixer-upper forays with Bruce Ware and other local realtors evolved when Susan joined the search. She shared my dream of an old farmhouse surrounded by open meadows with views and sunlight. She liked barns and was even receptive to my occasional flights of fancy about converting an old barn into a home. But our notions…