There is a crispness in the air, the colors are starting to change, and the mice are trying to get in out of the cold…. ahh, farm life.
We are trying to wrap up our outside projects for the season. We’ve leveled the grade, cleaned up any remaining roots and rocks that are near the surface, and spread grass seed on most of the side yard, and around to the front. We’re also finishing up the driveway circle, and the side of the house. We’ve been placing the nuggets (small boulders) we find around the wildflowers at the front of the house to make the bed look more intentional. We love the cycle of blooms in this bed, and would like to spread them to the other side of the walk eventually.
We’ve worked our way around to the front walk area, and have been hard at work removing roots, nuggets, and preparing the base for pavers. This area doesn’t look like it has had any formal walkway, at least in modern history, but we want to add one, and begin using the original front door again. Once finished, we’ll move the mail box next to the walk, and mount it on a granite post. While we originally thought about using granite cobbles, we’ve been told they tend to get pretty slippery with the frost and dew, so we’re leaning towards a tumbled concrete paver (3.5″ x 7″ x 1.75″ thick). While digging out the walkway, we did uncover a large nugget that we’d love to incorporate into the walk, so we’re working the grade and slope based from there. You can see it in the photo below just beyond the nearest stake on the left side of the walk.
We thought long and hard about how to end the walk at the street, as with a dirt road, the plow will just rip up bricks or pavers. Then we remembered seeing a piece of granite sill buried in the yard near the back deck, so we dug it out, and dragged it around the corner so we can use it for a sort of threshold at the end of the walkway. The block easily weighs 300+ pounds, but we used an old solid axle we found in the yard by the shed as a pry bar, a piece of tin for a sled, and wrapped some straps around the block and moved it where we wanted it for now. Daniel and Abigail would be so proud…
Jenny channeled her inner pioneer woman and hand-dug out the stump from the “dinosaur plant” that used to sit by the main entry at the side of the ell. Eventually, we will turn this area between the house and walkway into a small patio area/herb garden.
We finally fired up the chainsaw and bucked (cut to length) the giant pile of timber that’s been laying in front of the shed since the new septic was installed last year. At some point, we’ll rent a log splitter, and split it up for firepit wood. There’s also a pretty good sized pile of apple wood, which should be amazing in the hearth while cooking up a pot of pork stew, eh? We also braced up the shed to (hopefully) enable it to stay intact until we can rebuild it next year. We really want to save that little old shed, and make it useful once again.
We recently primed and repainted the hearth room walls an “Olive Suede”, with the trim and paneling “Perfect Taupe”. We love the new look in this room, and love how it makes the artwork and mural “pop”. Here are the before, during, and afters….
We’ve been working on stripping some doors during rainy days, and have finished the bathroom door-
We’re currently working on the door to the back laundry/mudroom area. We’re hoping we can get them all stripped of all paint and stain, then we’ll use the same “Gunstock” stain and oil finish we used for the bathroom door, but most of the wood in the house was long ago coated with a linseed oil/beeswax/iodine stain (which you can see in the upper right image above), which seems impervious to anything. If we encounter any more of that, I think we’ll just prime and paint. At least it’ll only be two coats rather than the current 6-10 coats on most everything. We’re also cleaning the antique hardware and hinges, and coating the iron with machine oil to keep them from rusting. Much of the hardware for these doors is early 19th century, if not older. Some hinges are nailed, and some are held in place by lathe-cut screws. The screws are non-tapered with cut slots on the head as if they were cut on a lathe (likely water-powered), and the hinges are cast iron hidden pin butt hinges. We’re learning so much about the history of not only the people, but the way they lived, and the way things were made and used.
We spent a day cleaning all the lumber from the loft in the barn in preparation for the jacking and stone foundation’s rebuild. This side of the barn loft, which once held hay, will be dismantled so we can have one side completely open to the center (with the exception of the posts). One of these bays (the one to the right in the “before” photo below) was where the original doors would have been when the barn was across the road. English barns were drive-through, so the doors would have been on each side, so you could drive your horses and hay wagon in one side and out the other once unloaded. Once the barn was moved to it’s current location, the door was moved to one gable end. We hope to somehow feature this structure accordingly.
It hasn’t been all work however, as we do try to occasionally take some time off to explore our new home in New England. On a warm, sunny day last week we put the top down on the MG and drove over to Brattleboro, Vermont for lunch at a little BBQ joint, picking up some Vermont maple syrup on the way. (Self serve; cash box and syrup on the side of the road.) Another day we ran up to Walpole, NH, which is a beautiful little town nestled in the Connecticut River valley, picked some apples at a lovely little orchard that featured dozens of heirloom varieties (Old Ciderpress Farm), then had dinner at The Hungry Diner- YUM!!!
So yeah, we’ve been pretty busy. In fact, we’re always busy, whether we’re working on the house or land, or if we’re just busy sitting by the fire thinking about stuff. It’s more physically demanding work than we’ve ever experienced in our lives, but we love this place. We feel so blessed to be able to spend the rest of our lives taking care of and loving on this house.
Thanks for stopping by to see what’s been happening at the farm!
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