Friday, June 20, 2014

The very hot and humid weather this week has not slowed down any of the intrepid workers at Ramsay!

Cipriano and his helper have completed the work on the new filtration system for the fish pond, and they refilled the pond with water, plants, rocks, fish and snails on Wednesday.  There are two small fountains now, and the sound of the splashing and the beautiful clean, clear water were so inviting that several of us, including the stonemasons, were ready to get in there with the fish when the temperature was a "feels like" 102 degrees on Wednesday and Thursday!

The stonemasons are making progress re-laying the cobblestone surround of the fishpond.  It is a task which is painstaking as well as involving heavy lifting, as each stone must be selected and then in many cases, dressed to fit the surface area as well as the depth to foundation of each piece.  At first, I thought the tent was to provide some much-needed shade to the stonemasons as they worked, but I imagine it also mitigates sun and rain exposure to the concrete they're using as the foundation for the stones so that it doesn't dry out to fast or get too much moisture for a good set.

Reginald at work

The electricians continue their work on additions to the outdoor lighting in the gardens.

Tree-climbing lighting technician

More lights around the parterre garden

Connie has been busy maintaining existing garden beds, weeding, and wrapping spent bulb stems, as well as replacing some plants in the urns near the parterre garden.  We are also enhancing the area near the mud-room entrance of the main house by adding a bird bath and creating a small shade garden.  I re-designed and planted the urn at the front entrance of the Cottage on Wednesday before our guests from Atlanta arrived.  I have bought all the plants at Milmont Greenhouses in Stuart's Draft (http://www.milmont.com/), and also discovered the bird bath there on Wednesday.  It has been interesting searching out plants that will hopefully thrive in the varied light conditions which exist on the property, and also finding plants that will be beneficial to butterflies and birds.

Through an upstairs window--lots of activity around
the garden--lighting techs, Connie planting urns, stonemasons
under their tent

Blue birdbath at Milmont Greenhouses

Garden urn

These little guys don't mind the heat!

New "shade" garden in the Cottage entrance urn

Beautiful hydrangeas near the outdoor fireplace

Kyle has been a wonderful and dependable helper through all weather conditions, and has kept the trees along both driveways alive by his faithful watering in this hot and dry weather.  He will undertake any task, and has helped to facilitate various projects during these very busy and productive days. This morning he has been helping Connie with "sod busting" in order to plant new boxwoods to screen some of the additional outdoor lights.

David A. continues his work on the cupola of the Grigg barn.  His helper has fashioned a replacement for a missing part on the original weathervane/lightning rod.  This will be his last job as a roofer--he has recently acquired his degree in Nursing and has found a full time job.

John's painting crew has worked through the high temperatures and humidity this week on the Grigg barn.  They work quickly but turn out excellent results!

The vegetable garden continues to thrive.  The seeds I planted for Blue Lake green beans had sprouted last week and are growing almost visibly every day. We are staking tomato plants as they grow, and I have been steadily pruning herb plants to encourage more volume rather than seed production.  The landscape fabric Stephen and Kyle applied over all the beds is doing a remarkable job of keeping the weeds down.  There is only an occasional blade of grass getting through, rather than the multitude there would be without it.

Baby bean plants

Stephen is coordinating details with all the subcontractors as well as Ramsay employees, managing supplies and schedules, and being innkeeper to the Cottage and today to the Carriage House.  The list of things he does each day is too long to note!  Fourteen hour, non-stop days are common.

I *think* these are going to be blackberries in a couple of weeks.  They are
where the blooms were in some of my earlier pictures--the south side of
the northwest field.

This is how the horses deal with the heat--napping in the shade.

Fortunately for everyone, today is beginning cloudy and somewhat cooler--a blessed relief!