Friday, January 31, 2014

Today at Ramsay began with a brilliant sunrise, captured by Stephen when he went out to make the rounds.

Sunrise, last day of January, 2014

Stephen and I went to Staunton this morning to see an art exhibit at Mary Baldwin College.  The show featured work by the artist who is conducting the "Open Studio" sessions at Crozet Arts that I am attending on Wednesday mornings.  The works were in mixed media on Mylar, and this one reminded me of the foxes that live at Ramsay.

Mixed media on Mylar, by John A. Hancock

On the way home, we stopped by Augusta Co-op and picked up feed and mineral blocks for the cows and horses.  Geo continued his work clearing underbrush in the woods today.  Our faithful gardener, Patsy, and her able assistant, Heather, were here trimming the shrubs along Cottage Lane.  Stephen completed office work for the week.

Just as the sun was setting today, our dogs, and then we, saw a herd of ten deer in the big north field behind our houses.  There were adult deer and a number of little ones, all of whom ignored our dogs' ballistic barking and grazed peacefully for about 20 minutes.  We loved seeing the young ones capering around, seemingly enjoying the milder weather and being out in the open with room to run.  Today's high temperature was 54 degrees, according to our weather apps, and this morning's low was 23 Degrees.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

A beautiful day at Ramsay today.  We were treated to a full day of very welcome sunshine, and while the high temperature was 31 degrees, it felt almost balmy compared to the past week.  It was 2 degrees this morning at 6.

Sherry was here today, completing her work in the main house, the cottage, and the studio for the week.  Geo was here for a short time, and began clearing the underbrush and fallen trees in the woods behind the woodshed (just west of the farmhouse).  Jess, from Central Virginia Builders, was here to take more measurements related to the upcoming restoration work on the south portico of the main house.

Our beautiful, clear day began with a pink and orange sunrise, and has ended with almost the exact counterpart in the western sky.  Here are some pics of the winter beauty of the view from Ramsay to the north.

Last rays of sun for the day:  Chiswell

View north--Calf Mountain

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Despite the weather forecast predicting only flurries last night, our area did receive an inch or so of light, fluffy snow, and though today's high was in the mid-20s, the sun has melted everything except what stayed in the shade all day.  No frozen pipes or damaged plumbing to report, fortunately, even though last night's low was 3 degrees.

Sherry, Geo and Stephen were all here working today.  Matt, the representative from Duron paints came to collect samples and assess the damage to the paint on the metal roofs.  Rusty, the delivery person for Foster Fuel stopped by to check the levels of propane at the main house and the farm house;  levels were fine despite the long stretch of colder-than-normal weather, so no additional fuel was needed at this time.  Stephen spent much of the afternoon doing office work, contacting contractors, record-keeping, and routine paperwork.

Sherry saw a red fox run across the south lawn of the main house this morning, and Stephen had heard the owl we've heard before at the farm house early this morning.  Judging by the call, this owl wasn't the same one that had been roosting in the south portico framing yesterday.  It appears Ramsay wildlife is thriving!

All the farm animals seem to be doing well despite the cold temperatures and frozen ground.  Stephen (with the assistance of our dogs) has been feeding hay to the horses and cows and some occasional feed.  These picture are from the past 10 days or so--notable differences in what's on the ground!

Ready for morning feeding.  Ramsay's hay on its way
 to happy horses and cows.

Laddie, Obie and Buster supervising the morning feeding.

The dinner line...Star, Monty, Smokey, Beatrice and Bessie.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Today was mostly cloudy and very cold, the high being 19 degrees and the low being 8.  Our area received a few snow flurries this afternoon, but the winter storm has gone to our south, sparing us the slippery roads.  The sub-freezing temperatures have already re-frozen much of what had thawed over the past couple of days.

Did we say it's been cold? 

Sherry and Geo were both here today, continuing their ongoing projects.  Paul Vencil, our trustworthy plumber, was on site to replace the broken faucet in the studio.

While Sherry was here, she noticed an owl perched under the roof of the south portico where repairs have begun and the facing boards have been removed.  Based on her description and a picture she took, her son, Jeremy, identified the visitor as a screech owl.  I was hoping to see him (or her), but when I went over with Stephen later this afternoon, the little owl was gone.  Many thanks to Sherry for sharing her photo with us!

A little owl sheltering under the south portico.

Monday, January 27, 2014

The weekend at Ramsay was very low-key.  The weather remained cold; snow began melting, but still covered grassy areas.

Today, Monday, was trash pick-up day, so Stephen had everything gathered and ready for them early, then made his regular rounds of the property.  Sherry was here in the morning and into the afternoon, working her magic in the main house.  Geo did more clearing of the path around the woods.  The high temp today was 55 degrees, which pretty much eliminated the remaining snow.  By 5 PM, however, it was 35 degrees and still falling--more wintry weather on the way tomorrow into Wednesday.

Stephen coordinated with Sherry and Geo while they were here and ran some errands for the farm and washed some of the "winter" off the truck in the afternoon, after putting in several hours of office work in the "estate office" at the farmhouse.

We were treated to a beautiful sunset tonight, bright golden, orange and purple over the dark blue of the Blue Ridge.

Friday, January 24, 2014

Still very cold here in central VA--our high today was 25 degrees, and my weather app said 0 degrees for Greenwood at 8 AM.  The cold water lines into the bathroom of the farmhouse were frozen this morning, but Stephen had them working again within about an hour.  Sherry was here this morning, and she checked all the plumbing in the main house and the cottage, finding nothing frozen.

This afternoon, the person whose family has reserved the cottage for the weekend of UVa graduation came to look at it.  Stephen met her and showed her around the cottage, and she was very pleased with the accommodations--they are looking forward to being here in May.

Stephen cleared ice off the fish pool again today, and is feeding the animals extra hay now because so much of their pasture has been covered in snow.

Here is a picture Stephen took yesterday showing the parterre garden with its blanket of snow, taken from the east end of the main house.

Despite the cold temperatures, we notice the grass starting to show through the snow in places that receive direct sun.  While walking over the past several days, we have also noted tracks in the snow of wildlife we don't normally see.  We are guessing that the small, dog-like tracks at the west end of the farm lane are those of a fox, and that many of the paths made around the main house are those of a raccoon.  There is also a white cat who visits Ramsay occasionally as well as neighboring farms, so some of the small tracks could be hers/his.

Recently, we heard an owl calling, starting at about 10 PM, from the big tree in front of the farmhouse.  My guess is that seed that has spilled from our bird feeders may be attracting mice in the night, and I wonder if we have inadvertently created a good hunting site for the owl.  By checking the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's site (http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/great_horned_owl/sounds), I found that the owl is a great horned owl.  I have seen a hawk swooping over our yard during the day, probably for the same reason, but the local songbirds and woodpeckers don't seem deterred at all!

Thursday afternoon, January 23, 2014

Today was an unusually quiet day at Ramsay--no one was here but Stephen and me, the dogs, the horses, and the cows.  It's been bright and sunny, but quite cold and with more wind than yesterday.  This morning, the temperature here was -2 degrees, and the high this afternoon, according to the weather app on my phone, was 27 degrees.

Stephen checked the main house, the cottage and studio today to make sure pipes were not frozen, and everything was as it should be.

The work Stephen and Geo did yesterday to clear the driveway and the walkways paid off today, as the snow which remains has frozen almost solid.  The snow was too heavy to blow off the cobblestones and bricks, so they have been swept and shoveled as well as is possible.  The snow in areas which do not get sun during the day is pretty persistent because of the cold temps.

Thanks to Stephen for taking the photos on his rounds today.