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!

Friday, August 29, 2014

In my previous blog post (Wednesday, August 27), I mentioned seeing lots of wildflowers around the fields, but I didn't have pictures to share at the time.  Usually when I'm out walking, I have all three dogs with me and I often don't have the opportunity to take pictures, so this afternoon I walked down to Stockton Creek without the dogs (who weren't happy about it), so I could try and capture photos of some of the fall flowers.  Here are some of the photos--I wish I could identify them for us, but am not able to at the moment--I need to get a field guide to wildflowers!  There are a few farm activity photos after the flowers, courtesy of Stephen.

On the bank of the creek--a glimmer of water in the background.

Bees love these!

Butterflies love these!

Painters were busy all day today and will probably be working tomorrow as well.  The outside of the main house is gleaming with new, white paint.

Painters getting an early start this morning.

Geo, Richard, Connie, Sherry and Kevin were working on site today in addition to the painting crew. We are expecting guests in one of the rental properties tomorrow for the long weekend, and Cipriano and his assistants will be here tomorrow to work on the water filtration system for the fishpond.   Several people will be working on Labor Day Monday, despite it being a holiday for most.

Some of the maple trees along the main driveway are starting to show some fall color.

The horses wish everyone a happy and safe Labor Day weekend!

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

We had some much-needed rain last weekend here at Ramsay...

and a system of cooler, drier weather arrived over the weekend, so the farm has been a beehive of activity this week with all hands on deck and lots of work being accomplished.

The cooler front brought beautiful, clear blue skies with some interesting cloud formations...

The recent rain freshened up all the lawns and garden; the Piedmont Landscaping crew arrived today and mowed all the lawns and along the driveways.

Donnie has continued to cut hay in the fields this week ,and the northwest field is now completely cut, raked and baled.

Bobby and his carpentry crew reached a major milestone this week, completing all the restoration and repair work on siding and trim of the main house.  They successfully repaired numerous water-damaged areas, replacing old wood with new, custom-made and fitted pieces.

John's painters are now following in the path of Bobby's work, and the prep work--scraping, sanding, caulking, etc.--is mostly done. They began applying the finish paint to the trim work this week.

Custom crown molding exiting the shaper
 at a specialty shop in Waynesboro...

and being  delivered on site at Ramsay.

Finish paint on the trim work began this week

The original north portico lanterns get a face lift!

The north portico ceiling turned sky blue today

Out with the old [yellow]and in with
the new Black Forest Green

Kevin has completed the restoration/rebuilding of all the shutters for the main house.  The hardware for the shutters has been retrieved from the shop in Waynesboro which refinished it, (see previous post) and the shutters are now awaiting new paint before they can be re-hung.  Kevin has now moved on to undertake the long-awaited restoration and repair work on the screen porch of the guest cottage.

Dismantled piece-by-piece, measured, labeled, and stored for reference.

Decades' worth of water-damaged material uncovered and removed.

New porch columns primed and ready for service.

Connie has been busy this week cleaning up and maintaining all the borders and plantings--a never-ending process on a beautiful estate like Ramsay. Like Geo, our tireless yardman, Connie's creative juices are evident all around the grounds as she prunes, shapes, plants, and rearranges everything that is green or blooming!

Connie shows off one of her masterpieces at the ellipse.

Geo continues to be our handyman extraordinaire.  He handles numerous day-to-day chores in a timely and efficient manner, assists Connie routinely with her gardening work, and has that special gift of being constantly on the look-out for things that need attention.

Sherry, our long-suffering and unsung housekeeper continues--as she has for almost a decade--to take wonderful care of all the residences and guest quarters. She is a gem!

The vegetable garden continues to produce beautiful and tasty heirloom tomatoes and herbs.  The marigolds have been very happy this summer and we've enjoyed their bright splashes of color amongst the green of the garden plants and pathways.  At the Nelson County Farmers' Market on Saturday, we bought some transplants for fall/winter vegetables, including cauliflower, broccoli, and Red Russian kale.

Baby cauliflower and kale

Stephen manages all the workers and schedules, coordinates supplies for all projects, locates sources for special materials, handles financial matters and deals with vendors, in addition to mowing pastures, tending chickens, handling the livestock, and keeping all the farm equipment running.  The long days of summer mean workdays that begin at 6:30 AM and end at about 9 PM, but they also mean that a tremendous amount of work has been done, a good number of people have contributed, and an almost unbelievable amount of progress has been made on maintaining, improving and conserving this national historic treasure called Ramsay.

We have known for some time that the Gibson family named this estate Ramsay in honor of the 18th century British settler who received a land patent for the property. Earlier this month, my mother forwarded a copy of her daily devotional for August 3rd titled, "Pray and Work". It went on to say, Ramsay is the family name of the Earl of Dalhousie, who is the head of one of the most ancient and famous Scottish families. The motto of the Ramsays is the Latin phrase Ora et Labora, which means, "Pray and Work". Well, that is certainly what we do every day here at Ramsay!

Leaves are beginning to turn yellow and red in a few trees in the woods and on the lawns, and the walnut tree behind the farmhouse is releasing showers of small, yellow leaves.  The bottom-land near Stockton Creek is bright with yellow and purple asters and other fall season flowers.  I've noticed a number of butterflies recently, especially near the creek and in the midst of the flowers.  The angle of sunlight is already noticeably different--softer in the afternoon, with crickets singing in the brushy areas around the fields by late afternoon, and we notice dawn and dusk creeping a little closer together each week.

Here is a late-summer evening picture taken tonight from the south lawn, looking toward Humpback Mountain, and featuring Ramsay's two Belted Galloway cows.