Tuesday, September 30, 2014

The estate house exterior painting is complete.

A definite look of fall in the air!

First of all, the Ramsay Farm blogger (Susan) wishes to offer apologies for having allowed this many days to elapse without a post!  I was incapacitated by a serious fall from my horse Friday a week ago, and am now recovering, albeit slowly.  I got to have my first ever ride in a rescue squad vehicle, and spent most of that Friday in the ER at Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, but am now feeling more myself.  Stephen has taken all the photos for this post, and has done an admirable job of supervising and assisting with all the work on the farm as well as helping me overcome the lingering mobility issues caused by my accident.

The focus of much of the work these past couple of weeks has been the Guest Cottage.  Kevin and Richard have successfully completed re-constructing the screened in porch on the back of the Cottage.  The new construction will last longer than the original, as measures were taken to prevent the accumulation of moisture between the frame of the porch and the concrete upon which it sits. Kevin did a lot of custom work on the frame of the porch, re-creating the arches as well as many other details.

Another aspect of rejuvenating the screened porch was having all the furniture cleaned, including an on-site visit from an upholstery specialist, who cleaned all the cushions for the chairs.

Also at the Cottage, the hardwood floors have been sanded and refinished.

While completing the work on the screen porch, Kevin discovered that the corner at the east end of the original cottage had sustained major water damage underneath the siding over the course of many years. He and Richard uncovered the damage, cleared out the rotted wood, and have replaced all of it with new.

Geo, Connie and Sherry have been on site, each carrying on with their assigned tasks.  Richard has spent much of his time helping Kevin, but has also assisted Geo in clean up tasks and with watering.

Our loyal Grounds Crew!

Connie, Ramsay's yellow-jacket magnet, was working in the border around the Studio last week and saw and then heard yellow jackets in the wall.  She reported to Stephen who called the exterminators. They found that a huge nest had been constructed in the wall of the studio just above the arched window in the bathroom.  In order to provide access to the nest for the Orkin tech, and remove the damaged sheet rock, Kevin had to remove some of the trim and a piece of the sheet rock from the inside, which has now been repaired.  And no more yellow jackets!

Despite many overcast days over the past two weeks, we have not received any substantial rain. This whole area immediately east of the mountains is extremely dry. The parterre garden is doing quite well, however, due to routine weeding, edging, mowing and manual watering via the irrigation system, but other areas of lawn and the pastures are beginning to show the signs of drought.

Donnie and Wayne were on the farm making hay several days last week, and all the fields have now been mowed, raked and baled.

There have been guests in the Carriage House for several weekends past, and we just had our second couple spend their Honeymoon with us! The Guest Cottage is nearly ready to be rented again with a new screened  porch, beautiful shiny floors, and fresh paint on all the exterior trim.

We're starting to see a bit of fall color in the maples, especially the ones which were moved from the main driveway to Cottage Lane in the spring.  Early mornings and evenings are looking particularly autumnal, with lower light and more mist.

Montie in a morning fog.

Little Maple fireballs transplanted from the main driveway last spring.

Sunrise over the barn.

For more photos of Ramsay, please visit our Photo Gallery (see right side menu).

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Ramsay prepares for fall colors and weather...

This past week has been cooler and more overcast, and Monday was rainy enough that none of the outdoor crews were able to work.  However, by the end of the day on Friday, much had been accomplished throughout the estate. On Saturday, some very dark clouds moved past just south of the property, creating some interesting skies and lighting.  We didn't receive any additional rain that afternoon, but areas south of us must have had torrents!

The Milton Grigg Barn west elevation

Dark clouds over Batesville!!

Having finished the renovation of the siding and trim of the main house about two weeks ago, Bobby and his crew returned this past week to re-install the storm windows, hang the reconditioned shutters, and install all new downspouts to the gutter system. Although the windows and treatments look pretty much the same, each one is a little different. Each storm window casing was custom cut and fitted when they were installed over six years ago. All the storm windows and shutters were labeled and cataloged upon removal over two months ago, then painstakingly replaced and fitted into their original locations this week. It was quite an operation!

At this point, John's painters have finished all of the exterior of the estate house.  Most of the new downspouts have been painted and installed, with only a few finishing touches to be done this week. Like the windows, each downspout system is uniquely fashioned for its location as well. The result of nearly two months' work by all these skilled craftsmen is a refreshed, stronger, beautiful and gleaming estate house, ready to withstand the elements for decades to come.

South elevation

South portico with eight new custom-made columns 

South elevation

North portico

Downspout final touches

Kevin and his helper, Isaiah, have almost completed the framework of the screened porch on the north side of the Guest Cottage. Extensive water-damaged material has been removed from behind the gutter and a new triple 2x10 beam--properly wrapped with metal flashing--adds renewed strength to the whole system. As evidenced in one the following pictures, each piece of the framework has been custom milled, exhibiting Kevin's exceptional carpentry skills!

Connie, Ramsay's gardener, was on site during the week, executing her usual cleaning, planting and weeding of the beds and borders. Connie has an unfortunate propensity for finding bees' nests! Last week she sat on a ground nest in the garden by the outdoor fireplace and left for home covered with stings from head-to-toe! This week she found a nest of yellow jackets in the wall of the studio, and Stephen summoned the exterminators who came and dealt with it on Friday.

Geo and Richard helped Connie and also continued several brush clearing projects and the ongoing watering of trees.  Sherri was here too, quietly going about her work as usual cleaning all the residences.  Stephen managed all the projects and procured supplies as well as completing the usual office work.  He was able to do some mowing in the fields in between rain showers.  The ever-demanding parterre garden and fish pond are both doing quite well.

This coming week, the hardwood floors in the Guest Cottage will get a face lift. On Friday the furniture in most of the first floor rooms was removed to be ready for the upcoming transformation.

Lady Irene's Bedroom

Living Room

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

The farm was pretty quiet on Labor Day Monday. 

There were guests here in the Carriage House and Stephen gave them a tour before they left mid-day. Stephen also took Labor Day seriously, as he took advantage of having very few workers here that day to begin construction of Phase I of the chicken coop remodel.  He is replacing the temporary bird netting enclosure with framing and chicken wire.  The girls look quite happy about it, and having the new door in place makes it much easier to get into and out of their pen for feeding, watering and cleaning.

Yesterday and today, the painters have been busy at the main house, finishing up the siding and trim and painting the newly restored shutters.  Stephen picked up the last batch of paint for the siding and trim yesterday.

Cipriano was on site over the weekend and on Monday, the result being that the water in the fish pond is now crystal clear and beautiful.

Stephen power-washed the brick porch and stairs adjacent to the fish pond, so now they are pristine, as is the new cobblestone patio and the beautiful bluestone around the rim of the pond.

Before....

More before...

After...

More after...

The weather has been quite hot and very humid here this week, and we've had several brief but fierce thunderstorms, which has helped keep the lawns and gardens watered.  Despite the heat, Connie and Geo were here doing grounds maintenance yesterday.  Connie had an unfortunate run-in with a swarm of yellow jackets who had nested in the ground in the hydrangea garden near the outdoor fireplace. She was stung multiple times, but she insisted on continuing her work after a short break.  Geo was here yesterday helping with cleanup and other tasks.

Hot, humid, but still scenic!

The technicians from the wireless internet provider for the farm were here this afternoon and have installed a more powerful antenna.  We are noticing already that we're able to send and upload photos much more quickly, and look forward to having a more consistent signal.

Sometimes the lights and the noise from the gas station across the road from Ramsay are a bit of a distraction, but often Ramsay takes advantage of having it so nearby.  Not everyone can drive the farm tractor to the gas station for a fill up!