Trees Coming Down

Before repairing the damage one tree did to the cottage porch, we decided that it would be smart to remove two other trees that were over 100 feet tall and in a similar position as the one that had fallen on its own.

Thus tree-felling became an evening's entertainment.

Here the tree cutter, Danne, is working his way up the pine, lopping off one branch at a time.


Below is Keith, the fellow who runs the tree removal company, and my sister, Nancy, watching from the porch.

On the ground are Carol Ann, her adopted son Eli, and Ursula in between them. All are watching Danne in the pine tree using his chain saw to lop off branches.

 

Watching...

          watching...

                     watching...

                                waiting...

because the very top is about to be cut loose...

                                                                 
Danne, of course, was strapped to the branchless section of the tree trunk. When the top fell, the standing trunk vibrated as if there was a magnitude 10 earthquake!

I thought for sure the roots would lift out of the ground and the trunk would fall with Danne getting crushed. I'd never seen a tree move that much, that fast, but after what seemed like an eternity it stopped being a rodeo bucking bronco. Danne loosened his ropes and calmly began to descend.

Amazing.

             

Ursula and Luke, Carol Ann and Mike's other adopted son, continued to watch...

Folk from my cousins' cottage next door came over as well. The show certainly wasn't over...

The next section of tree trunk was about to fall, but first there was plenty of sawdust in the air.

Notice how Danne's feet don't appear to be resting on anything. He was wearing a tree-climbing version of stirrups that acted like cats' claws.

     

And the next section came down...


That time the standing section of tree trunk didn't vibrate.

After the last section of the pine was on the ground, Danne began working on the oak tree. Most of the time we couldn't see him...

                                      but Eli was sure trying to peek under the branches...

 Most of the oak tree has now become our wood pile. We hadn't been using the fireplace because no one wanted to buy firewood...that won't be a problem for the next few years!

 

Around the House

Tucked into a corner of the living room is an inexpensive bookcase that I turned into a dollhouse for my petite fille, Ursula.

To create a garden I glued plastic greenery to the sides and put a white picket fence in front of it. The grass is a piece of green felt with wooden circles to make a path to the living room door.

For the bathroom and kitchen I found scrapbook paper that looked like tiles and then laminated it with clear plastic. The other rooms are carpeted. I had some dollhouse wallpaper and leftover paint from the attic bedroom to do walls. I made the bathroom fixtures and living room furniture from kits...the rest has been picked up here and there over the years.

Things get rearranged a bit every time Ursula visits. When she isn't around I drape the dollhouse with the shawl that's resting on its roof to keep the sun from bleaching the fabric colors.

Jenny cat has claimed the porch as her territory.

Meanwhile, her brother Jasper claims my bed so I keep a sheet thrown over the beautiful quilt...that way I'm not wearing out the quilt in the washing machine.
 

The bedroom windows are 7 1/2 feet by 5 1/2 feet.  Many years ago they were in the town's one room schoolhouse. When William and I built this house, I had to turn them on their sides. Since this bedroom is on the main floor, when the shades are up, it's like standing in the garden.

Here's Jasper...

He weighs about 22 pounds while his sister is only a couple of pounds lighter. When I bring them to the cottage, they travel in dog carriers. Fortunately, the dogs don't need to travel in cages or I'd never get all of us into my small red Honda Fit!

Many afternoons my neighbor Liz comes over for Rummykub and tea. One guess as to which of us drinks our tea from a Blanot bowl!

 This picture also proves that I don't check on the courgettes often enough.

Recently I split one of these monsters and scooped out the center. Then I refilled it with a layer of Ricotta cheese and a mixture of cooked sausage meat, onion, green pepper, and some of the scooped out zucchini. I covered it and baked it at 350 F until the squash was done. At the end I topped it with shredded mozzarella cheese and popped it back in the oven uncovered until that cheese melted.

Unrelated

So far this summer I have been making quick trips to the cottage...only staying for a night or 2 at the most. Last week I was there for Sunday evening because I spent the afternoon at a dulcimer festival just north of Albany, NY. That was an eye-opener.

Old-fashioned drip coffee pot we use at the cottage

Jeremy had told me about the festival...he was going to be there as a vendor. I figured I could at least take the 2 Friday afternoon workshop classes and then scoot north to see everyone at the cottage before returning home. The festival was being held in a huge Methodist church which I located easily using Jeremy's directions. My Tom Tom, the actual name of my GPS unit, wanted to take a different route and kept telling me to turn around, but I blithely continued and made it recalculate all along the way.

road-side view...the "back" of the cottage

This post is titled "Unrelated" because I don't have pictures for the written story so I've tucked in pictures that are related to the cottage...


When I arrived at the dulcimer festival, it became obvious that most people were there for the whole weekend. The registration folk had to find out what attending two workshops should cost...$15 and I was in. I headed for the chapel and "Music Theory as it Relates to the Dulcimer."

Annie & William on our daily walk

The class had just begun, papers were being handed out, and I finally had a chance to read an actual description of the workshop. Everyone was supposed to be tuned to DAD. My dulcimer is tuned to DDG and has strings to match my voice, not the usual dulcimer strings. Oh, well, give it a try...

I was slowly tuning the middle string to A when it suddenly protested...the sproing could be heard all over the room. I tried to look nonchalant, figuring for music theory I could just take notes.

Another Adirondack cottage along our road

The class ended and I had 15 minutes before the next workshop titled "Orchestra." I was going to need 3 strings and that DAD tuning! I raced downstairs to the vendors area and located Jeremy setting up his table. He solved my problems by giving me one of his gorgeous dulcimers for the next hour.

Back to the chapel where music was being handed out...  Not knowing what I was getting myself into, I hadn't brought a music stand. Obviously, everyone else had. While I was pondering what to do with the music so I could see it and still have 2 hands free for playing, the gal next to me introduced herself as Gail and asked if I'd like to share her stand. Saved again!

And another typical Adirondack-style cottage

And Gail turned out to be an angel! At that point I had a chance to look at the music and I was totally confused. Traditional dulcimer plays on the melody string and strums the rest. They were going to play on all three strings...first fret on the melody string, then fifth fret on the bass string, followed by third fret on the middle string, followed by... Oh, good grief. I gave it a gallant try and was completely lost in a matter of seconds!

They practiced it again, and again I couldn't get past the second note!

I meet Mimi during my walk

It was turning into an absolute disaster when Gail began to circle the first note of each bar and said we could play just the first notes which would give me 3 notes worth of time to figure out the next first note! Genius! And she even counted 1, 2, 3, 4 throughout the entire page of music. I survived, playing one out of every four notes!  We did a high five and repeated the process with the next sheet of music.

When the hour ended, a gal stopped to say she had been sitting on the other side of the room and had had trouble concentrating on the music because she had been fascinated by watching my face and hearing my laugh at the end of each piece!

Walk finished...Mimi & I stop for a few hands of Rummykub

Gail said she would send me a book explaining how they were playing. She lives in Kentucky and was going home the next day.

I said my goodbyes, found Jeremy again to swap dulcimers...he had replaced my broken string in the interim...and headed for an evening at the cottage.

Below is Mike multi-tasking...on the computer and playing Uno with his adopted sons, Luke and Eli.

Weltner Week

Linda was a columnist for the Boston Globe and Jack is only semi-retired as a psychiatrist. He just finished writing a book titled "Golf Sucks...and then you die." Golf is his addiction.

Linda and Jack live in a gorgeous home in Marblehead, Massachusetts, right near the water, but for one week and several weekends each summer they escape to this dwelling in Vermont.

There is no phone and no electricity. There is a toilet seat that gets moved around in the woods wherever they decide to dig the next hole.

Running water is a stream. They have created a deep-ish hole in the stream by moving rocks and sand. This is referred to as the bathtub. (On rare occasions, when the weather has been especially cold or wet, they take a hot shower at my house.)

This is the kitchen and Jack has become a master at cooking over an open fire. He does have a passion for burning wet wood, somehow sees it as a challenge, and often manages to fill the area with smoke. It's great for bug control though breathing is somewhat difficult.

I often show up for breakfast...served at 9 AM and followed by at least 3 games of Rummykub.

We eat and play at the picnic table nearby. If rain is in the forecast, Jack hangs a huge tarp from tree branches.
It covers the entire cooking area and the picnic table. Only the hammocks are outside its protection.

I happened to mention that French people in France had never heard of French toast! Jack hadn't made French toast recently so it went on the menu. He bought thickly sliced bread, soaked it in the egg mixture, fried it in his iron skillet, and served it with maple syrup. It was a yummy breakfast...maple syrup is actually the most important ingredient.

Below is one in the skillet and two ready to eat!

During the week we went to the movies to see "Ted." It was so bad that we walked out before it was half over...and none of us had ever walked out on a movie before!

It was Bob's birthday during the week so Jack cooked a tasty chicken stew. Then we went to a Meet the Moose program at the Belmont library. Afterwards we came back to my house for birthday cake and more Rummykub.

Now that you have seen where Bob's birthday meal was made, here's a contrasting picture of my kitchen showing where his cake was made. At least 2 people who will read this may notice that they are in 1 or 2 of the pictures on the side of my refrigerator...the pictures aren't from this last trip, but from 6 years ago. On the marble counter below the pictures is the herbal salt from France, the yellow dish towels are from Antibes, and that's a Blanot bowl sitting on the dish drain. The roundels in the cabinet doors are leftovers from my late husband's stained glass studio...he built the cabinets to my design. 

Black Pond Dog Paddle Races

On Saturday, July 14th, while those in France were celebrating their independence (I think I have that date right), I was making deviled eggs and then heading to Bob's sister's camp on Black Pond for the Dog Paddle races they hold each year. Family and friends crowd onto a small sloping yard to spend a day eating and playing in the water.

The blue paddle boat got a lot of use. Paddle boat paddles are built in and move by foot work.

I had brought a bathing suit. Bob didn't even pretend that he might get near the water...he was wearing work pants and landlubber shoes.

As people arrived, so did food. We found a large inner tube to sit on while enjoying a nice picnic lunch. Eventually we moved into chairs to watch the kids in the water. I managed to get a little water on Bob, which was as close as he came to getting wet.

 Later in the afternoon people were paired up to race. Little tykes didn't have to go far. Those who were able, were to swim to the float or around the float and back. The rule was to use the dog paddle, no arms out of the water.

Most people followed the rule. Some just had to win no matter what...not that it was going to make any difference since T shirts were the prize just for participating.... I happily came in third out of three and enjoy wearing my T shirt.

Bob's son, Ray, in the yellow shirt, was the organizer, starter, and finish line as well. He did a great job with all the kids, most of whom did do the dog paddle.

I'm negotiating with Bob for next year. He has always just watched, but he's considering the idea of  the two of us racing while in car inner tubes. I could improve my score and come in second!

One family brought a pair of kayaks. Actually, sitting in a large truck-size inner tube, and there were a good number of inner tubes available, I think would be a neat way to explore the pond...just have to get Bob into his swim trunks.

I headed home at 6 PM, but Bob returned before dark for the fireworks.

Cottage

With the vegetable garden somewhat under control, I put everything else on hold and headed across the border into the Adirondack Park of New York State.

In USA thinking, the cottage is OLD...built around 1904. (I expect anyone in France is laughing at this concept of  "old." )

The dogs and I arrived late Wednesday afternoon...in time for a nap.

The cottage does have a nice looking fireplace in the living room. Since a big oak just fell and clipped a corner of the porch, we will have plenty of wood to burn in the near future.

I like to work on projects at the round table with birch legs that sits in the far corner. It's a great place to do scrap-booking...and no gardens to make me feel guilty about not being outside pulling weeds.

This side of the porch didn't get damaged. The rocking chairs are comfortable for reading. When your eyes need a rest, you look up from the pages to view a small portion of Lake George.

Lake George is a spring fed lake, 32 miles long and 2 miles across at its widest.

I skipped swimming in favor of a morning nap followed by an afternoon nap...

The working area of the kitchen is relatively compact...no dishwasher, though there is an ancient microwave by the refrigerator.

The table on the other side of the room gets used for eating occasionally, but tends to be where groceries get dropped or where games are played in the evening when the living room is crowded...

and the cottage can get crowded!

Two bedrooms have a double bed and a set of bunk beds. Another bedroom has 2 double beds, while the fourth bedroom has one. There's a cot and futon in the living room and another cot on the porch. A big tent in the backyard holds a double bed with room for a cot. That makes potential sleeping quarters for 21 people. At times we have set up a tent for 2 on the porch and we've had friends drop by with more tents. I don't think we've ever made it to 30 people, but we have certainly come close.

This is the corner of the porch where we usually gather for meals...Someone propped four of the less damaged screens along the left side and put cables in place of the broken railing in front as reminders to not take a tumble. On Thursday my sister Nancy, and Harriet Ann from another cottage, asked if I'd like to go out to dinner with them. I was willing...and I did go with them, but eating at 6 PM felt really strange.

Friday morning I was heading home again...it's an hour and 45 minute trip. Friday evening I ushered at the Weston Theatre. I thought it was going to be for Fiddler on the Roof, but the play was Ella...all about Ella Fitzgerald and the gal singing her songs was super. It was a great evening.

Saturday morning I lead the Bone Builders group from 9 to 10 AM...we do exercises with weights. It's a set routine, not at all creative like the exercise group in Blanot, which met at the civilized hour of 10:30 AM. I miss being able to have a leisurely coffee and cereal before racing off to exercise.

This is the room at the community center where we meet. When we finish, we can step across the road to the weekly local farmers market.

The building in the background is the community center and town library.

There is always music at the market. On Thursday evenings people bring lawn chairs to this village green for an hour concert.

When the days are hot, I do wear shorts, but they aren't short shorts. My shorts reach just below my knees, yet they are shorter than the capris that I and others wore in France.

Reaching Home

Driving home from the airport I couldn't help wishing that all the lights had turned off at midnight the way they do in Blanot. What a simple way to help town and state budgets while saving resources...

Even our small roads are relatively straight...I miss the curves that made driving so much fun.

The house was still standing...things seemed to be in their normal places...even the mail...

When I finally recovered from whatever it was that I had eaten on the airplane, Margery dropped by before taking off on a fishing trip to Quebec. She needed to show me where things had been planted. That wasn't easy to do with the crop of weeds which had taken over the vegetable gardens.

The raised beds were actually in better shape than the new garden below where the weeds were crowding out the squash and potatoes.

I knew the job was more than I was up to handling, so I called Vera and Maryann, the best weed removal team available.

The next day I managed to get 5 bales of straw into my Honda Fit. Most of that straw made it to the field garden, but the bales shed plenty so straw now decorates the interior of my car.

I still need to get compost between the 4 rows of potato plants.

It was great to feel up to wandering around the gardens and see what was in bloom. The deep blue delphinium are not as thick as in the past, but the honeysuckle on the arbor is blooming more than usual.

Standing near the veggie gardens and looking back at the house (below) shows we are definitely into day lily season.

 
The solar panels are in their summer position, looking up at the sky.

As winter approaches, with the sun lower in the sky and snow in the forecast, the panels get moved into a more upright position.


The red climbing rose (below) against the upper level white shed has never bloomed this much in past summers. It's a nice welcome home.

Meanwhile the bee balm, or monarda, is providing its usual cheery splash of color.

There's no lavender...I'll have to add that in one of the gardens as a reminder of the magical time I spent in France.

Mornings I still have my coffee in a small Blanot bowl, but I haven't been able to find an organic Muesli that would be comparable to what I enjoyed as my Blanot breakfast.

 
I also miss having a stash of milk. It was really convenient to not have to refrigerate milk until the bottle was opened. If I bought a gallon here, it would be sour long before I used it all. That can even happen with a quart, but at other times I seem to fly through the quart and have to wait until I get to the store before I have more.

My "veranda" is a screened-in porch with a non-fruiting kiwi vine providing shade from the summer sun.

The dining room floor (first picture) is quarry tile, similar to many of the floors in Blanot. It's the easiest floor to take care of! The blue indoor-outdoor carpeting on the porch shows every speck of dirt and things like leaves cling to it. I'm learning to accept the well-used look.

Gardens and stone walls...same words for Blanot and here, but oh so different.