Snow in December - the brook and bridge and house

The house is fine inside and out. Matthew Saunders left a note on the door. I'm sending it to you, Aunt Sandy: the gist of it is that he cleaned the gutters and he notes that the 'slate cover over the front chimney is sliding forward. Couldn't do myself. Call me about it.'  It does look a bit askew. I'm not sure if it's always been that way.
I found 2 dead mice in the upstairs toilet (eeuuw and peeuuw). I removed them, but didn't clean the toilet since the water's off. Sorry.
The bridge fixing is underway. The backhoe is back and it looks like they're pouring concrete to shore up the fallen rock wall. The ground is hard as rock (from our below freezing temps lately). It doesn't look like there's been work since the snow fell.
Here are some pictures of the bridge work and the brook.
Merry Christmas!

           Looking upstream

      Looking downstream

Bridge update and hunter update

Post Thanksgiving, we went to go walking and check out the new bridge and show Julie the woods. The corner fell out from under the bridge...

Hunter blind just off of the road (on the left) above the second culvert. Matt's deer trolley is next to the barn. He (I think) used his leaf blower to clear off the yard and make trails into the woods. Does he have a hunting permit (or does that make a difference to you all?) , is he allowed to have a blind, and do you think this blind is too close to the house?

Happy Thanksgiving 2016

Bob and I went to check on things and enjoy a warm November day. There are some ruts in the newly graded road by the bridge from the piano movers' truck, but we had no trouble. Bob even went over the ruts with Bert (our SUV) to even them out a bit.
We emptied and turned off the refrigerator. There really was hardly anything in it. The oil tank (filled while Eric was there) says over 3/4 tank. The water is off. We turned on all the faucets and flushed the toilets and drained as much water out as we could that way. The thermostat is set at 50 degrees. The 'piano room' looks a bit bare without the piano! It should be arriving in its new/old home in Great Falls today!
The yard has been leaf blown and some paths created with a leaf blower, and Matt's (Saunders?) deer carrier is back next to the barn. I assume he's the one blowing leaves: he did it last year. I haven't signed any hunting licences, although I have talked to Rene and Steve Larosa on the phone.
So - the house is ready for whatever winter has to offer.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

The New Bridge!

 The Prius makes it across!

The flooring is amazing, the bridge seems very solid. The black plastic is still down along the brook and there are no posts/railing along the roadside on the embankments approaching the bridge on either side: a bit unnerving with the drop off on either side.  The equipment is all gone, the roadbed is solid and seems compressed down. There's more water in the brook, we've had a bit of rain, thankfully. Our governor has issued a water advisory! All's well at the house. 

latest bridge work and house visit

Bob and I went down to see how the bridge work was coming and it is noticeably farther along. The approaches to the bridge on the 151 side are shored up nicely, the concrete's been poured, the cross beams have been put down. The top of the concrete blocks is above the I-beams, I suppose this is to leave room for the flooring? The road was soft and muddy with all the moving of dirt. I hope I took helpful pictures, Eric. I have a bunch more on my computer, let me know if you want more.
The brook is a bit fuller than earlier in the fall. The fallen leaves make a nice picture.
The house seems shipshape, the oil tank still reads 3/8 full. We're expecting freezing weather overnight tonight and tomorrow: the first really fall feeling days! The colorful maple leaves are falling like crazy with the latest winds.
Rene Desjardins called me to ask if he could have me sign his hunting permit: he lives in Wethersfield, so I told him to stop by. No one else this year?
Enjoy the pictures!

Bridge and house update

Here are more pictures of the work on the bridge. Sorry for the blurriness of the first, I'm not a great camera-on-the-phone picture taker... They've supported the old wall now with telephone poles and created a concrete frame. They've also put up black erosion barriers on both sides of the road down by the water on the 151 side of the bridge and one just to the left in this first picture on the house side.

The brook is even lower, I didn't have to get my feet wet at all crossing this time: and the slippery moss on the rocks is drying out.

As for the yard/house: Bob and I mowed the yard (it was very healthy and long) and the field. I went in the house and put all the storm windows down, closed up the attic windows, and turned off the water heater. I turned on the heat to 52 degrees. I put the patio chairs in the barn. (The orange fish is still in the pond). We're supposed to have a brush of Tropical storm Hermine, and get the wind and rain, so I thought I should go ahead and do this. Hope that's okay. 

I checked the oil tank level while I was in the basement: it is between 3/8 and 1/2 full.

Then, since it was nearing supper time, we went over the the Haddam Neck Fair for supper and wandering. Of course we ran into family: had a very nice talk with Connie. And a great conversation with the guys in the Middlesex Land Trust booth who immediately remembered Dad and Aunt Sandy and the work Uncle Chuck did to get the land preserved in the first place, when I told them who I was. That was so comforting.

It's a cool 62 degrees this morning: Fall is coming!

Bridge work started

Here are some pictures of the bridge work. Bob and I went down this evening to check it out. We crossed the brook easily (it is still very low) to go up the hill and check on the house as well. The grass is long, but the house is fine. We brought home some of the perishable food (bread, potatoes, butter) that David left. The fridge is still on, but needs to be emptied: not sure of Eric's plan so we left it running. However, we did turn off the water but NOT the hot water heater yet. And the attic windows are still open.

Here are the pictures:

Looking towards the house

 We're standing on the edge of the bridge looking at the hole. The rocks appear to be from the old foundation.

Looking down into the hole.

 

 You can see the edge of the bridge in this picture. Bob is on the left.

 These are rocks falling down the embankment. See the backhoe up and to the left?

 We are under the bridge standing in the brook

 This is from the down stream side of the bridge

 Now we've crossed the brook and climbed up the hill. That's our car 'Bert' across the way.

 You can see the old foundation abutment under the old concrete slab here.

It's a not-too-hot August day. I stopped by to check on the house/yard and who should be there? David Whiteside! He was packing up to leave after spending parts of 2 1/2 weeks. He appreciated the opportunity to be there. We had a great time catching up together. He said he'd met Rene who was just down to check on the house and wander in the woods, and 2 of the bridge guys. They were checking the upper road to see if they could bring down some heavy equipment that way. David wasn't sure what they decided. We've had some rain, so the lawn looks green and is growing again.

Here's an update of Bob's and my visits to Thicut over the last couple weeks:

• The lawn's been mowed, twigs, etc cleaned up a bit around the crabapple tree, Bob's mowed the field around the fire pit.
• I've moved the calla lilies outside to get some sun and they are thriving: I watered the pot today.
• Mail keeps being delivered to the mailbox. When I checked today, it seemed to mostly be solicitations for donations and something from GEHA which I kind of recognized as NOT junk mail so I opened it and it's from your health insurance, Aunt Sandy. 
• There were a few messages on the answering machine from folks who don't know the new Bethesda number. I'm not sure if they're people you know or not, except several from Hilary Whittaker, someone in your phone's contact listed as 'JM' and someone named Gordon Schwen. There were also several messages from the CVS in Bethesda to renew a prescription. 
• Otherwise the pond has two huge frogs, I didn't see any fish this time.
• And: are you coming up for Valerie's wedding, Aunt Sandy? Let me know and I'll get a room ready here :)

Tree's cut up and welcome to summer!

 Rene and two of his employees came down yesterday and sawed up the tree. I have offered him some of the wood.

I brought bread, english muffins, eggs, and milk and some SoG coffee to get you going in the morning. Welcome to CT, Cynthia!

Quick update:
Rene Desjardins just called to apologize for not cutting up the tree sooner.(!)  He's very busy with his asphalt business, etc, etc. He went down to reconnoiter and saw the work Eric/Bob/Matt did. He'll try to go down early next week before you come and finish up... I told him not to worry it'll get done; he felt bad, and wants to give back for you letting him hunt and enjoy the woods, Aunt Sandy.
I went down earlier this week and got the milk you left and took home the eggs. I'll replace the eggs before you come again. Anything else I can stock before you come?

Spring finally!

Here are pictures of the new roof in the daylight. It is less 'red' than the barn shingles, but looks very good. Watch out for stray nails and small pieces of wood debris around the yard. The roofers did a great job picking most of it up, but there are still roofing nails here and there.

 I can never remember the name of this shrub, but it is in beautiful flower right now!

 Can you see the feathery green on the trees in the background and the flowering quince and crab apple tree in bloom? Rene hasn't been able to come down to cut up the Maple, it seems to rain when he's available. One of these times, I'll wander around the yard and pick up all the small dead branches from the winter. The yard already needs mowing, but for now, the violets are creating a colorful purple and white carpet.

The Comcast man met me and installed phone, new internet modem/router, and hooked up the cable with new TV remote. I took notes which I left near the TV. The main difference with the PHONE is that if you unplug or turn off the power strips for the TV/Internet, you'll also be turning off the Phone.

While I was waiting for him to arrive, I swept the cobwebs from the ceiling of the kitchen - there were a LOT. I cleaned up the myriad mouse droppings on the kitchen counters. And I swept the kitchen floor, all the pounding of nails on the roof created a layer of dirty dust on the floors. It didn't seem to be as bad on the floors in the upstairs main part of the house. I turned on the water and that seemed to work fine, no leaks. I turned it off again when I left.

I listened to the old phone messages. There was only one that wasn't a blank message or 'spam'. It was from one of the bridge contractors, Reed Perry, who was wondering about the status of the bridge. I have his number if you want it. He left the message on March 8. There were way too many calls saying things like "Hello Anna, this is xxx, please call me back, I have information on thousands of dollars in your name." I am concerned and sad that they have found this phone number.

And lastly, there are still 2 goldfish swimming merrily around in the pond. Lots of tiny bugs flying around just off the surface, and 2 BIG frogs already. Spring has definitely Sprung.