60 degrees F and snow on the ground! All's ship shape around and in the house. A few notes: there is now a 'check back door 17' note on the alarm panel. I couldn't see why, the doors were all securely closed and locked. But now we have to 'bypass' both the '19 window' and '17 door' before the house alarm can be set. Another dead mouse in the toilet (EWWWW!!), I disposed of it in the old well.
I talked to Rene last week. He came by to plow after the last storm and got terribly stuck in the ditch on the uphill side of the bridge; he finally had to call Nino who pulled him out with his backhoe! (combination of mud, snow and deep ditch) By today, the upper part of the drive was still covered (he hadn't been back) and looks like several snow mobiles and ATV's have driven up the road. The road is very muddy - Rene suggested adding some gravel maybe. (We parked at the Grassy Lane.) There were snowshoe tracks down to the brook where I took these pictures, but no tracks near the house - no deer tracks either, although when I talked to Rene, he said he'd seen lots of does and fauns when he went hunting. The oil had been delivered in late January before all the snow, thank goodness.  Bob and I took advantage of the nice weather to walk up the road a bit and then down to the brook. Here are some pictures:

 The slide and 'sword factory' wall

 The swimming pool and the dam: about a foot drop: good work dam builders!

 The house as we came up the hill from the brook into the old field

And, sorry to say, 'Paul's spruce tree' fell on its own sometime this winter.

Happy New Year!

Bob and I went down today to check on the house and bridge. The bridge looks all fixed, a new concrete corner to the one that slumped. There is still debris around and a 'scar' in the woods from the back hoe and workers, but that will look better in the spring, I'm sure.
The house looks fine:  SOMEONE visited since we were here last! Turns out it was Carlie on her way to and from skiing in Vermont (according to Eric). There were (clean) pots out and chairs moved around, but water off and heat at 55, and alarm set, so I knew it was someone who 'belonged'. All the interior doors were open: was this on purpose? I closed them all again to keep the heat contained and hopefully not on too much. The oil level is at 3/8s. T&S Heating called me on Thursday to say it was time to clean the boiler: I told them you would call, Aunt Sandy. And they were set to deliver more oil, but I told them to hold off until we went to check on the latest status of the bridge. So when you call, Aunt Sandy, let them know it's okay to deliver, but the road is very muddy (it's been in the 40's and 50's today!). They could probably wait until we get a cold spell and the road hardens up a bit. Tell them to drive up on the left side after the bridge to avoid the trench on the right...
Here are pictures of the bridge and road. (and our new Prius in the background!)

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!