So much depends upon

the plaid chair

By the red shed

In the snow.

Apologies to William Carlos Williams.
Might as well make art out of fallen debris! Such is life.

A Much Needed Shot of Green

I never expected that we would have access to such diversity in such a small corner of the universe, but we have a stream and a (diminuative) pond and a giant rock. Today Bob and Jules and I slid- walked across the ice crusted snow to check out the stream- still flowing! Too cold to want to linger there, but we anticipate constructing a "tea house" on the other (left) bank... perfect spot for idling a summer afternoon away. I debated posting a picture of the semi-frozen stream. It's very pretty but just too much of a winter reminder. I think this is the more optimistic shot.

Rita vs. the Thermostat

When we moved in, the house came equipped with this digital thermostat. Like so many modern day higher tech devises, it seemed to have so factory installed mind of its own and it had some very elaborate ideas as to our "comfort zones".  As previously mentioned, Bob and I are used to heating with wood and the thermostat in our hallway was decorative or perhaps marginally useful to tell you how close to freezing the interior was. But turning up or down was irrelavant.

The first week we owned the house, the furnace was enthusiastically kicking on every few minutes or so, in  a valiant attempt to acheive a balmy 70 degrees as mandated by a manufacturing default. This was nice for the propane company but not so nice for us. The upstairs is a good seven or eight degrees warmer than down, so we were baking when we slept. I, in effect, wasn't sleeping so much as nodding off and then walking up to sprint downstairs three or four times a night to turn the thermostat down and override the system. During an especially wakeful night, I actually read the manual and correctly re-programmed the blasted device. We are now chillin' in the 62 degree range.

Lonely Shrubbery

As we are dedicated gardeners, it is especially ironic that with all the many houses that Bob and I previewed before purchasing 965 Jeremy Swamp, not one of them had any gardens to speak of. This is probably fortunate as most "landscaping" is parochial at best, with a few Alberta Spruces, hostas or yews hugging the foundation in an embarrassing skirt of pine bark mulch. Not our cup of tea at all. But this property is remarkable in that there isn't even a single lilac or forsythia. (Bob refers to them a s "Mother's Day plants.) It truly is a tabula rasa, with many exotic mini-locales including a stream and a pond and a meadow and a few choice brown zones.
I did however, locate this one intentionally planted shrubbery, immediately to the left of the "equestrian facility". (Yes, we have one of those, too.) It appears to be a Chamaecyparis of some variety. It will have plenty of company this spring when we move many of our plants from our former address!

Mystery Site #1

Although this could be another "What is it?", I'm labeling this picture as Mystery Site #1:

No, it's not a Jules Olitski or an Ellsworth Kelly. This Black Hole is located on the bedroom ceiling, directly over our bed. Ostensibly, it's a skylight that suffered a minor crack, but believe me, it could be anything. I posit that it is a portal to another dimension, where there exists a parallel BobnRita Universe awaiting the night that we weightlessly ascend and begin new lives as famous successful artists with Rod Serling as the gallery director. In the meantime, there's too much snow to want to remove the insulation and explore. We'll check back on this one come spring.

A Timely Fix

So here's a handy tip if you suffer water pouring down a wall directly onto your electrical panel- run! This unexpected and potentially tragic situation presented itself due to those now infamous ice dams backing snow melt up under overflowing gutters. Diligent chipping and re-directing flow away from the wall stopped the active leak but water and electricity are never a good marriage.  A neighbor's father (and former CLP employee) reccommended constructing hoods out of plumber's putty and a strip of plastic. Bob did a nice job and the reults are even festive...

Although a careful analysis of this picture cause me to groan and my eyes to roll heavenward. We have a lot of work to do... just look at that wall above the box! Add it to the list!

Historical Notes: The One That Got Away

Here I am with nothing better to do than hang around at foreclosure sales. (At least the weather was nice... I'm wearing shorts). Anybody who knows anthing about us will recognize the legendary Stoddard Road property. Yes, we tried to buy this house (count em') three times. Some day I will share a longer version of this epic saga. Suffice it to say that this property had much in common with 965 Jeremy Swamp Road. They both have studio space, over four acres of usuable land, and houses that were veering into foreclosure and needed some serious work. Here's a shot of the back of the house- and the barn! That barn was wonderful: three floors and sited so nicely. The people who finally outbid us have apparently turned it into a house. I can't look.