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.

Wednesday afternoon, January 22, 2014

What a beautiful day at Ramsay today!  Perfectly clear, china-blue skies and cold enough that most of the snow that fell yesterday and into last night is still where it landed--very little melting except on some of the paved areas.  So it is a blue and white day (all photos taken by Stephen):

Geo was here in the morning, helping Stephen clear sidewalks, porches and outdoor furniture, and the outdoor fireplace area, as well as moving firewood.  Stephen cleared the driveway early, then the sun finished off the remnants left by the tractor before lunchtime.  Stephen checked plumbing in the houses to make sure no pipes were frozen and all was well.  Sherry was here for a regular day at the main house.  Jess Haden stopped by to take more measurements related to the work on the south portico of the main house.  A few pics Stephen took this morning:

Tuesday evening, January 21, 2014

Our area received about 3 inches of snow today--it is still snowing lightly at 9:30 PM, but unlikely to produce much more accumulation before morning, according to local weather forecasts.  Today's high temp was 32, and we are on our way to a 2 degree low tonight.  It's 22 degrees at the moment.  Daytime temperatures are forecast to stay below freezing until Saturday, with lows in single-digits to 19.

Here's a photo taken while walking in the NW field today.

Tuesday morning, January 21, 2014

Snow was later than forecast getting here this morning, starting around 9 AM.  Our internet connection has been unstable during the snow, so I'm taking advantage of being between storms to post a picture, taken from a window in our kitchen looking across the deck of the farmhouse.  The local forecast predicts more snow this afternoon.

Monday afternoon, January 20, 2014

Many missions accomplished today, in balmy 55 degree sunshine.  The forecast for snow accumulation in our area has been updated to 4-6 inches, beginning late tonight and continuing through tomorrow and into Wednesday.  Donnie Wright came today with a load of beautiful, wonderful-smelling Ramsay hay, and unloaded it into the shed.  Stephen stopped by Southern States in C'ville for more feed, so the animals' culinary future looks promising!

Honestly, this hay smells so good, I almost
took a bite myself!

Patsy was here this afternoon, having been out of commission due to a bout with the flu right after Christmas.   She checked on all the plantings to see what needs to be removed and/or replaced, and is planning to return next week to dead-head the remaining live plants and tidy up a bit more.

  

Geo made more great progress cleaning up the path around the woods today.  He cut down several smallish trees that had gotten a foothold in the path, and has cut them up into lengths and stacked them--we are thinking they look like good kindling for the outdoor fireplace!  He also moved some additional firewood from the shed to the porch of the main house in case it's needed later in the week.

Sherry will be here tomorrow for housekeeping in the main house and others as needed.

All the animals are fed, all the vehicles are either under cover or under a tarp, and Ramsay is awaiting its blanket of snow tomorrow.  Here are the contented animals having dinner at the end of the afternoon.

Horses first, so they won't run the cows away from their hay.
Cows know to wait their turn.

Cows have their own dinner pile.  They are much better
at sharing than the horses are.

Monday morning, January 20, 2014

An early update for today--our dogs and then I heard the local coyote pack in the stilll-dark early hours this morning--I expect they were hunting in the brightness of the moon.  The sky was beautiful, full of stars.  I took the dogs outside for a brief run just after 7, and here's a pic of the sunrise behind the old barn.

Geo is here working on the path--he will be cutting back some of the saplings and brier bushes alongside the path today in addition to clearing debris.  Snow is in the forecast for tomorrow, 2-4 inches most likely for our area.  The nighttime temps for the rest of the week will be below freezing, in fact, in single digits by tomorrow night.  So Stephen will be checking plumbing and taking measures to keep pipes from freezing in all the dwelling spaces this week, and generally battening down the hatches for tomorrow's wet weather today.

Saturday and Sunday, January 18-19

A lovely, clear weekend at Ramsay.  Cold and breezy, but at least nothing frozen falling.  Here are some pics from a few weekends ago after a night of freezing rain and subsequent sub-freezing temps:

Iced tree

Stephen removed a layer of ice from the fish pool to prevent
 the walls cracking

The white pines are most likely to suffer from
the weight of ice or snow on their branches
or from high winds. 

Geo made excellent progress on Friday clearing the path around the woods, and will be back tomorrow (Monday) for further work.  Some other projects underway include the south portico of the main house, which is wearing scaffolding while it awaits the delivery of special, extra-long boards for use in replacing the columns, and the pending repair/repainting of places on metal roofs where the paint applied this summer has come away.  Weather has been a factor in completing the outdoor work, but contractors are prepared to go forward with work as soon as temperatures and precipitation permit.

A couple of additional recent photos:

New path from the Carriage
House (garage) to the workshop

Christmas decor by Patsy at the Ramsay gate

The parterre garden with a dusting of show, two days ago

January 17, 2014

Happy New Year from Ramsay!  Susan here, beginning today as part-time blogger for Ramsay Farm FYI.  I retired from UVa as of December 27, with 25 years of service, and am so enjoying being at home, and looking forward to being able to be more a part of the activities here at Ramsay.  Stephen is just now recovering from what was either a horrid cold or flu, and then dental surgery, plus we've had a lot of wet weather over the past two weeks, which confined our activities to office work and the minimum of outdoor work; e. g. feeding animals, troubleshooting some infrastructure problems (frozen pipes, leaking plumbing) at the main house and the studio, obtaining fuel for heating at the main house, and arranging for some part time help due to the departure of Kevin, our skilled carpenter from the summer, who has left for a full time job.

Today was bright and sunny and cold in the morning (25 degrees around 9 AM), but warmed up to the low 50s this afternoon and now blue-gray clouds are rolling in.  Sherry was here cleaning today, and the temporary part-time worker, Gio, was here, beginning to clear the pathway around the woods along the property line with Ridgely.

Even though there isn't much color in the landscape here now, there is a sere beauty in the bare trees, silvery skies, and soft brown of the fields.  Just today, the fields have dried enough to drive on with the Gator.  For the past week, they have been standing in water from all the rain and the sleet we had last weekend.  Here are a couple of pictures I took this afternoon when I walked with the dogs.

From the northwest pasture

Winter trees

I also stopped by to check on the cows and the horses, all of whom are in the front pasture at the moment.  One of the cows actually came to me at the fence, sniffed my hand, and licked it, I guess hoping I had something for her to eat--this was a big surprise, because the cows have always been quite stand-offish.  And of course, Toby (Mr. Bossypants, to borrow from Tina Fey), had to come over and beg as well.

Ramsay cows

Toby 

Even though we are still months away, the warmer weather today made us think spring thoughts and look forward to planting lavender, basil and cilantro in the herb garden again.