Spring has Finally Sprung

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Winter was long and hard. It was nice to see things finally come back to life. We were met with many surprises by things we had done a year ago and forgotten.
Aside from Spring cleanup and some gardening, projects around the house have slowed. We had to re-do all the pumbing for the pool bathroon and we're planning to install the master bath this spring. More on that and other projects in later posts. We did remember to raise the Earth Day flag for the month of April.

The goldfinches that we have been trying so hard to attract filled the niger feeder this spring. Other birds that we saw but could not caputre with the camera included rose breasted grosbeak, blue birds, house finches, downey woodpeckers along with the regulars, chickadees, tufted titmice, song sparrows, robins,
cardinals and others.

The daffodils and forsythia brightened up the front of the house for early spring. We planted some more tree saplings for future years around the property and hung a half dozen various birdhoused for our feathered friends.

After cleaning this area out last year and providing a thorough weeding, the phlox in the driveway sprang back to life.

The bleeding hearts we planted by the chimney last year brighten up a shady area .

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

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We Certainly got belted by winter this year.
Lee carved a path up to the back of the property where we've cleared some land and he enjoys practicing his Chi Gung meditation. Two back to back snowstorms dumped well over two feet of snow.
Snow clung to the pine trees weighing them down a bit but also providing a scent of pine. Aside from just being beautiful
Lee managed to clear the driveway. The snow blower makes easy work of clearing the driveway and paths, even when there is two feet of snow.
Icicles formed as snow melted from the roof especially outside the sunroom. The pergula we are planning might eliminate this problem in the future

Even under the canopy of pines the firewood was buried.
Relying on our two woodstoves, we have not yet had to use the furnace to heat the house. The chimney for the fireplaces are snow free while the furnace chimney is covered with snow.
Snow doesn't do much to slow us down, in fact we almost enjoy shovelling out and getting out. Winter is just another season to enjoy and part of our Holmes experience.

And it just keeps on coming! According to local weather records, we have been out with our shovels digging out of a major storm every five days since the first big storm hit us on Dec 26.

A foot of snow is one thing, but when a foot covers another foot that covers another foot it starts getting useless to clear it. We are running out of places to put it.

Though we have not hit the records set in the winter of 1995-96, we are on track. As of the end of January, we've gotten more snow than the end of January that year.

The sheer beauty is breathtaking. We have a four foot fence around the pool, Where did it go? The stone barbeque under the maple tree is just a mound under the snow.

2010 Holidays

Our Holiday season began with a trip to New York City, Lee got tickets for a "Prarie Home Companion"

Jack and Anne joined us, we roamed through mid town, including Rockefeller Center and Times Square where the show was.
This year we decided to add some lights to the outside of the house for the Holidays. Its probably been a very long time since the house has been so carefully adorned.
A full moon rose behind the house for the solstice, which later that evening was fully eclipsed by the earth for the first time since 1638.
Folklure has it that a total lunar eclipse on Winter's Solstice invites visits from werewolves. Besides a howling coyote and some barking dogs, we witnessed no evidence of that.

Inside the Christmas tree, garland, cards and mistletoe are displayed to celebrate the 2010 Holiday season.

Summer Ends

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As another summer comes to an end, here are some random shots of the house. Our plantings did well this year and we have established landscaping for the future with pleny of room on which to build.

We take time to appreciate the beauty this time of year offers and go into the fall making sure we have enough firewood to see us through the winter. There is still plenty to clean up from the trees we took down in the spring. This is a fraction of what we have for the year.

The dahlias did great this year along side the elephant ears. Once the frost begins these tubers will have to be pulled up until Spring.

Down in front of the house the colors are starting to change, not as vibrant as last year. Paul rebuilt the stone wall along the road where it had collapsed before. Not only is it neater, but mowing the front is much easier now.

The front of the house displays the colors of fall. Dahlias, asters and chrysanthemums are the most prominent flowers among the ornamental grasses.

It's still a little early to tell, but the autumn colors don't promise the vibrancy we enjoyed last year, but its still quite beautiful and serene watching the sun set.

Pets and Critters

As the house nears completion, our pets all enjoy the comforts of home and in deed live a very comfortable life. Here, Boy and Pitoune enjoy a scratch from Lee. Pitoune looks comatose with pleasure - check out the tongue!

Olivia loves the outdoors and is a force to reckoned with for the dogs next door. Inside or out, all our pets enjoy freedom to roam as they please, provided they are careful of the other animals that surround us.

They have friends who come by regularly. After some intitial tension, Pitoune has become quite fond of Winston (we call him "Prancer"), the standard poodle who lives next door.

Prancers brother, Bower, is as big as a moose, hence our nicname for him, "the Moose" He is as big as a pony but very gentle and friendly. He's the "old man" of the group and had a hip replaced which slowed him down considerably.

Our neighbors, Cory and Patty recenlty brought home an English Bulldog, Franky, whom we call "Piglet". Piglet loves coming over to play with Pitoune.

But, as is with most homes where we live, we are frequently visisted by wildlife from the woods. Some, like the deer, visit on a daily basis, sometimes twice a day. There is an abundance of food for the deer on and around our property.

We have about five regulars who eat from the apple trees in back. Oddly enough, most of the deer under the apple trees this year are bucks with varying degrees of antlers.

As you can see, they are not bothered by Pitoune and even share the yard amicably.

This doe allowed Lee and Pitoune to get uncomfortably close before she scampered off back into the woods.

We have a wide array of small critters that we truly enjoy. Our bird feeders are used by woodpeckers, sparrows, carindals, chickadees, finches, robins and a host of hummingbirds. Here is a Chestnut Breasted Chickadee ready to feed.

Chipmunks and rabbits are everywhere and frequently come inside the house or are brought in by the cats. We have very few squirrels considering where we live, which is okay with Paul who is no fan of squirrels. We have seen the occasional opposum and a few skunks. Coyote, some of them quite large, and fox are some visitors with whom we tend to be cautious. We have not personally seen any bear but have been told they are near by.

July 4th 2010

We are light years ahead of where we were this time last year. This year's Fourth of July weekend was HOT! HOT! HOT!

We put up a new flag pole where the old locust tree used to be. It still needs plantings and finishing touches, but its way too hot to worry about.

The heat was intolerable all weekend. Fortunatley, Lee got tickets to go ballooning so we got up early Sunday morning and boarded a hot air balloon.

At six o'clock in the morning, the air was cool and still as we floated over the Hudson River near Poughkeepsie, NY. This is looking Northwest at the Catskill Mountains.

South of us is The Mid Hudson Bridge with some of the other balloons taking off after us.

More Balloons followed. Weather conditions were perfect for a sunrise launch.

This one dipped into the river as we had done a few minutes earlier .

That evening we ended up at Jack and Anne's for a great barbeque by Jack complete with sparklers

Paul and Anne usually end up dancing regardless of the props or circumstance!

Mike came by after the fireworks with his girlfriend and her son, who was already wiped out.

The heat never relented over the three day weekend. Monday, Vinny came by and we spent all afternoon in the pool with him, taking breaks for lunch and cold drinks.

Not much home improvement this holiday, too hot to work, we played this year instead.