Tag: Phil Valachovic
-
Icehouse Landscaping Update, End of May
Sooo much progress as we hustle the icehouse rehab toward its conclusion in these final days of May…
-
Old Year’s Day
Did you know that another name for New Year’s Eve Day is Old Year’s Day? Not used widely, in my experience, but logical. Retrospective. Emphasis on the year expiring rather than the year arriving. Despite a personal proclivity for forward-looking and possibility, a year-end review offers merits too. This day’s, this year’s minutes are too…
-
Driveway Tuneup
For several years, I have been planning to make improvements on Rosslyn’s driveway. Not dramatic changes, nor a huge project. With 2023 swiftly vanishing, we have initiated our long overdue driveway tuneup, completing the brunt of the work with spring 2024 “fine tuning” slotted in once the new work has weathered in during an Adirondack…
-
Evening Emanation
This evening emanation greeted me while inspecting progress of the driveway improvements being undertaken by Bob and Phil, or *endeavoring* to inspect their work in the darkness that descends earlier and earlier and earlier this time of year. A glowing beacon. A bucolic barnscape. An icehouse lighthouse… After a year and a half of creative…
-
Why Helical Piles?
Today Bob Kaleita and Phil Valachovic installed helical piles for a small privacy fence that will conceal the propane tank, generator, mini split compressor, etc. behind Rosslyn’s carriage barn. I’d like to dilate today’s update with a more detailed explanation of the helical piles concept and utility as an alternative to precast or poured concrete…
-
Thank You, Aaron!
Next up in our extended season of gratitude is Aaron Valachovic. I’ve recently chronicled his exceptional execution of tricky tree work, (“Fallen Giant”, “Stump-to-Lumber”, and “Aerial Arborist Haiku”), but Aaron’s input is no longer limited to tree work. It’s time I recognize the remarkable contribution he’s been making over the last four months. Thank you,…
-
Logs Off to Sawmill
After felling five ash trees in the vicinity of Rosslyn’s icehouse and carriage barn with precision and arboreal poetry Aaron and Tony passed the baton to Phil and Calvin. There are still stumps to be ground down and logs to be split into firewood, but our ash logs have migrated one step closer to their…
-
Gully Washer
Good golly, it’s a gully washer! Lately it seems that this slang term for a sudden cloudburst (and the inevitable inundation that follows) has come up in more conversations than not. Sooo many gulley washers… Here’s what this afternoon’s installment looked like from the screen porch as I watched, concerned that all of the site…
-
RIP Tennis Court
Once upon a time Rosslyn was the Sherwood Inn, an accommodation for vacationers, a restaurant, and a colonial taproom. As I understand, it there was a clay tennis court adjacent to the icehouse in those years. Perhaps the tennis court pre-dates the Sherwood Inn, dating back to Hyde Gate House? I will certainly update this…
-
Snow Falling on Homecoming
Today’s ferry ride from Charlotte to Essex — with snow falling on homecoming — tasted bittersweet if vaguely familiar. There was a wellspring of anticipation upon returning to inspect firsthand the team’s progress on the icehouse rehab, boathouse gangway, and some painting and tiling maintenance inside our home. There was also the poignant pique of…
-
New Year’s Day: Writer’s Garret & Other Wonders
We survived 2022, friends, and in some fortunate cases, we even thrived. Cheers to surviving and thriving an occasionally challenging year! That means it’s time for a meandering year-ender… Retrospective I’d like to jumpstart my retrospective with a positive personal milestone. Yesterday’s post, “New Year’s Eve”, was my 153rd post in a row, completing a…
-
Icehouse Rehab 5.5: Helical Piers
Another important accomplishment this week: helical piers were installed for the new icehouse decks. I was particularly impressed with the efficiency and precision of the helical pier installation by Bob Kaleita, Phil Valachovic, and Sonny Valachovic. Skillful operation! Earth Anchoring with Helical Piers I learned about “earth anchoring” with helical piers (aka helical piles) some years…