Thursday 06.20.2013

We were expecting clearer skies this morning.... but it took a while...and then we had...

Another spectacular sun-shiny day at Ramsay!

We never grow tired of this view!

On site today:

Sherry and SY - the usual

Kevin White - our wonderful yard man on his next -to-last day.

Kevin & Mike - carpenters at the Guest Cottage

Kyle and masons - at the parterre garden

Melvin - the Orkin rep

J&A painters - finishing Will's room

Tim's mowing crew

Jessica - from Patsy's gardening crew

Measure twice...cut once!

              Kyle Lundgren, our lead mason, starts the basket
              weave pattern for the new parterre garden walkway.

                                                            

                                                    

Kevin & Mike repair leaking gutter damage!

                                   J&A Painters work their magic in Will's old bedroom....

After

Before

                                                               

Wednesday 06.19.2013

Dark clouds rolled in mid-morning, laughing at the forecast of clearing

skies and a slight chance of precipitation. But the ominous storm clouds

hung tight to the mountain tops, and the rain held off!

On site today:

Sherry and SY - the usual

Jeff Shull - head assessment officer for the County. Well-acquainted with Ramsay, impressed with the repair and maintenance work we've done. Took current pics of all structures. "Everything is looking great! Congratulations to you and the new owners!"

Kevin and Mike - carpenters at the Cottage and Studio

J&A painters - continuing prep work in Will's old bedroom

Kyle and masons - at the parterre garden

Charles and Lewis - finished up the hedge trimming

Billy Frazier came late afternoon to mow the pastures but the ground is still too wet.

A rarity, I took no pictures today until this late afternoon shot of 

Susan, Laddie, and Obie on our late afternoon walk.

Tuesday 06.18.2013

The rain last night was extremely heavy here at Ramsay. Puddles in

unusual places are still standing this evening. Local weather authorities

 posted a 24 hour total for Crozet at 3.7"  through noon today.

But it's 7:30pm now, the sun is shining, and the forecast for the 

rest ofthe week, and the weekend, looks very good!!

Our two current major crews--masons in the parterre garden and carpenters at the Guest Cottage--showed up to assess conditions on site. Carpenters ruled out getting on ladders and the roof, and the masons had a go of it until about 11am, when steady showers moved in [and remained that way until late afternoon.] The masons did manage to add to the line-up of "soldiers" along the garden walkway before they left.

More "soldiers" at attention!

Patsy Wallenborn sent Charles and Lewis to trim hedges... but after a few hours,

they gave up--soaked to the bone--about noon.

J&A Painters arrived to paint Will's (Lankenau) old bedroom. We discovered a record of Will's height measurements over the years, and took pictures to send to the Lankenau's. They ranged from 44 1/2" in December of '04 to 5' 51/2" in August '10:

15 1/2 yrs. / 5'5 1/2"

Monday 06.17.2013

The morning clouds and predictions of rain off and on today gave way to 

beautiful skies and puffy clouds by mid-morning. Only late this 

afternoon did storms roar through with winds that were a bit unsettling!

On site today:

Sherry and SY - the usual

Jeff Swanson--our affable chimney sweep, came on short notice to check out the western most chimney on the Main House. He replaced the flu cap and  re-established a water-tight chimney cap, but also assessed the need for a mason and roofer to address the minor leaks.

Kevin and Mike - carpenters at the Guest Cottage

Kyle & mason crew -  at the parterre garden

"Soldiers" at attention!

The masons set the first "soldiers" -- bricks laid vertically on end to 

provide a border--along the parterre garden walkway.

Kevin and Mike continue the new shingle replacement on the 

Cottage working their way up to a new gable vent.

Toby and Susan

After months of searching--with plans being made to travel to Ohio if necessary--Susan found a 

beautiful Haflinger near Harrisonburg, and he arrived on Father's Day! Stephen was

happy to share the limelight. Haflingers are an Austrian breed--a cross between

a draft horse and an Arabian. This handsome guy, "Toby", is a seven year old,

seasoned trail horse with exceptional training, manners, and personality.

Friday 06.14.2013

We were blessed with absolutely beautiful summer

weather with temps in the 70's today at Ramsay.

The SW view toward Wintergreen/Nelson County

Kevin-The Gator Man!

             Our temporary yardman--Kevin White, a rising

             Junior who plays baseball for the University of
             Michigan--has only one week left.
             He has done a great job!

East entrance

The demo is complete, the footings are in, and the first bricks 

were laid today starting the "re-building" phase of our parterre

garden restoration.

Our week-long guests at the Cottage got the 50 cent tour from SY this afternoon! That's Alexander & his wife Kay on the left, from CA., and Alexander's twin brother and his wife from Germany on the right.

Thursday 06.13.2013

Bear Alert!!!

We had our first evidence of a bear on the estate this morning when

Charles--a member of Patsy's gardening crew--discovered a number of signs

 in the Studio Garden. The bear had pulled bark off one of the elms along the 

property line, enjoyed a mid-nite snack on the lawn, and then finished 

off with some of the limbs in this hemlock Charles is examining.  

We will post a "No Bears Allowed" sign ASAP!

Charles is pulling fur off the limbs!

Kyle Lundgren and crew poured the footings for the walk and garden rehab work underway.

The pour was set for 10am--which was canceled because of rain, then rescheduled for

after lunch, and just as we began, the bottom fell out of the sky! Everyone had a blast.!!

Hard-working guys!

The Courting Benches footings

Ready for new eliptical walkway

We thankfully dodged the "Severe Weather" bullet this afternoon!!

By early evening we had some blue skies and cooler temps.

Wednesday 06.12.2013

WEATHER ALERT!  

The forecast for the mid-Atlantic includes warnings about 

 severe weather overnight and into tomorrow: 

 High winds, hail, heavy downpours, and potential for tornadoes! 

We've prepped the buildings and grounds as best we can.

On site today: 

Guests - at the Cottage

Sherry and SY - the ususal

Masons-- Kyle, Nate, Kenny,and D.J.

Peter Mead - carpet installation Main House stairway

Piedmont Landscaping - mowing

Kevin White - amazing part-time yardman

Teamwork with SY on tractor

Elliptical pad footing

Courting Bench footing

New bricks & mortar!

Peter Mead Installer

              The new stairway carpet
              from Italy finally arrived!

Weather-permitting, we're scheduled to pour footings tomorrow!