Friday, February 27, 2015

Snow....

Snow....and

more Snow!!!!

With no measurable snow this winter season until just a week ago,

 we've now had three snowfalls in eight days here in Greenwood!

February 16, 6"-8"

February 21, 8"-10"

February 25, 2"-3"

The previous post captured the first snowfall. The heavier snow on Saturday the 21st somehow went un-photographed! --It really did happen though! We were fortunate to have some family with us over the snowy weekend, and I--a.k.a. Grandpa--was able to spend some precious time with our grandaughter, Haley Ann.

"I'm going to read you a story, Grandpa!"

Tucked-in for afternoon nap.

"Do you want to help me color?"

Wednesday night of this week brought us a light, beautiful and fluffy 2"-3" of powdery 

snow which helped cover up the already dirty-looking earlier precipitation.

And given what our friends in Boston are dealing with, we can't complain, but we do

 have our own piles of cleared snow that look like they may be with us until Spring!

And now, to give us a little hope of things to come!!

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

 SNOW DAY!

 

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Happy Valentine's Day

We have dodged a few "snow" bullets this winter here at Ramsay...

and we're just fine with that. The temperatures have been relatively mild 

with a few exceptions--one of those being this weekend where we are

 expecting single digit lows the next few nights and a high for Sunday 

predicted to be in the low 20's! The pipes in the Farm House bathroom

were frozen when we woke up Friday morning. But all is well.

Mother Nature nearly always makes the early morning rounds and feeding worth it!

Sunrise over Greenwood

We removed some trees from the tree line north of the estate house a few weeks ago. Wanting to harvest the beautiful cherry lumber we obtained, we hired a woodsman with a portable band saw to come on site and mill the logs for us. It's a little hard to explain, but seeing a log turned into lumber is very satisfying process...and a bit magical!

Yens Muller - Master Woodsman at work

One cut at a time

One cedar log sneaked into the mix.

A good morning's work!

In an earlier post--November 30, 2014-- we introduced Stefanie Newman, a local artist and restorer, who was testing a small section of the painting in the library.

 We delivered the painting to her in early December...

...and now her magic is done, and the painting has returned to it's place over the fireplace in the library.

Well done Stefanie! What a difference--It's beautiful!

One small on-going project over the winter months is converting two small rooms in the Grigg Barn into restrooms to accommodate guests attending outdoor gatherings at the barn complex. Despite the cold temperatures this week, the contractor was able to pour the new concrete floors.

Bonding agent applied to old concrete slab

Over the fence and through the paddock to Milton Grigg's Barn we go....

Tim cuts in a level edge

John wraps up the first phase of troweling the surface.

Second phase complete... one rough finish step to go.
The final rough finish was completed later in the day

 A special stained application and final finish will be completed in 2-3 weeks after the concrete has cured.

And while these concrete craftsmen were performing their artwork on the barn floor, Mother Nature was busy outside crafting her own artwork over head!

Monday, January 19, 2015

It's quiet and restful here in the Winter!

The sun peaks over the trees during early morning rounds

This late December dusting is the only snow so far this winter at Ramsay

A local tree company has been waiting for colder ground temperatures to do some clearing we had requested. They were on site recently and accomplished their mission without any troubles or damage to the lawns and pastures. We took down some fairly mature cherry trees that we will have sawed into lumber that we can use for furniture and craft projects here at the estate.

We rent the Guest Cottage and Carriage House here at Ramsay all during the year. I (Stephen) love playing Inn Keeper and meeting delightful and, at times, fascinating people from all over the country. We've had a few international guests as well. We have a number of repeat guests, who in some cases have made reservations a year in advance to secure their favorite place. 

Without exception, the guests are overwhelmed by the beauty and restful setting here at the estate. They love learning about the history of Ramsay and the Greenwood community, and many begin following us here on the blog. In total, we had over one hundred guests this past year. Pictured here are Olivia and Sebastiani, two amazing and extremely bright children who spent New Year's week with us, along with their parents and grandparents who are native (and current) residents of Italy. They spoke no English, but let me know--through their daughter-in-law's translation--that they thought places like Ramsay only existed in the movies!!

Olivia and Sebastiani

The relatively mild weather so far has yielded a bit more pasture grass for the grazing livestock, but we still need to supplement with hay routinely. Here, we're moving hay from our new "Little Barn" storage area to the wood shed across the driveway.

Just this week, we had new awnings installed at the Main House and at The Farm House. The crew did an excellent job, and we look forward to enjoying the benefits of these "shade producers", particularly during the hot summer months. Some of the best awnings made--SunSetters-- these offer a special feature that will automatically retract the awnings if the winds get too high!!

Recently, we had guests who wanted to enjoy the outside fireplace--a favorite gathering place here at Ramsay. Even in the cold temperatures, the roaring fire and supplemental gas heaters provide a very comfortable setting. A little wine, a few good stories--- and the night goes on and on!!