Gardens of Late Summer

Oh, the colors... the bright yellow Rudbekia...the blazing red begonias, one of my very favorite the fuchsia colored Love Lies Bleeding, and huge balls of white hydrangeas! The light this time of year is so pretty, although I wish we could keep the longer days of July. The gardens still look wonderful. We have been blessed this year with a fair amount of rain woven in with some sunshine and now the dewy mornings of early fall keep the grass so brilliantly green. The cutting I took from my huge Angel's Trumpet plant has many blossoms and looks just magical, especially at dusk when the white blossoms seem almost iridescent. My roses are still budding and blooming. The hostas are pretty much done with their blossoms and each visit to the Lodge means a trip out to deadhead them of their long flower stalks. I have had less trouble than some years with slugs although their handiwork can be seen here and there in the  hosta beds.  This year's troublesome pest award goes to the Japanese beetle of which there were thousands this year. Tent catepillars have also been troublesome, attacking the fruit trees and the willows and found just yesterday on the viburnum. I wonder if they are more widespread this year because we have been eliminating their favorite tree on the land which I affectionately call "ironwood" for lack of a better I.D. These trees would just be COVERED in tents in late summer. I would get out my pole pruner and cut and burn as many as I could reach. Perhaps erroneously, I had thought be eliminating that tree, which is particularly unattractive anyway, I would eliminate them from the land... instead they just seem to be choosing other trees in which to make their tents. 

We Make a "Breakthrough"

Saturday's projects included getting the overhang ladders, the drip edge and the weathershield, on the roof, all necessary before we could cut the hole in the upstairs wall and begin to build the long awaited stairs to the Pub. Eric also installed the digital lock system in the entry door along with a deadbolt so the stair tower is now secure. The first picture provides a great depiction of just how much dust went flying about the Lodge as we cut through the thick walls. First the sheetrock, then 2" of polyiso, then a layer of T&G pine, then another layer of 2" polyiso then strapping and lastly the outside 3/4 inch shiplap siding! It was a major job to get through it all even with the longest reciprocating saw blade we owned. At one point, I suggested that Eric go get the CHAINSAW!  We were conservative with the first hole we cut as we weren't 100% certain of just where the roof rafters of the stair tower would lie. We did get stuck with a bit of an angled corner which although not ideal, allowed us not to have to raise the roof even higher than it is, which would have meant marrying it into the roof of the Lodge instead of the framing all coming in under the eaves. I feel confident that we can make it look good when we trim it out. The hole being cut looks SO strange. When we did our nightly Garden Tour, we made sure to walk pass the two large windows on the back of the stairtower. It was incredibly weird to look in and see both levels of the building. This morning we were greeted with the morning sunrise streaming into the new space. We are going to keep the walls off-white so we will maximize that sunlight. Now we can begin to calculate the exact rise and run of the stairs instead of the rough calculations we had to make with the outer wall still there. What a wonderful thing it will be to have that access, not to mention not having the worry of the melting snow running under the Pub door and into the Pub. Last night we cheated a bit and propped a ladder up so we could get the feeling of the stairs. The next project will have to be closing in the eaves as those pesky mosquitos are clever enough to see they have an easy access. We also must build out the windows to allow for the 2" polyiso we will put on the outside before the siding. I can work on insulating the back wall in the meantime. We also figured out the wiring so we can get that in place so the inside insulation can be put in place as well. 

And Now We Have the First Layer of Sheathing!

While I went off to Della's Birthday/Frackelton Summer Party with Vanessa, Lawson and Avery (which by the way was awesome to have most of the family under one roof), Dad and Drew worked on sheathing the stair tower. I was so amazed when I got home! It is such a cool space inside and the way the pitch of the roof is so much shorter on the entry side, really makes it seem less formidable and more welcoming. Next, we will work on building the "ladder" for the roof overhang so we can get the Weathershield on and we will be waterproof! Then, we can put in the windows and door and then get the exterior insulation on. We are having a bit of a battle with ourselves as to when to punch the hole through the Lodge wall. In a way it is like a "carrot" hanging just out of reach which pushes us. On the other hand, I am just so darned excited to see how much we can open up that wall and start using it to get to the Pub, I almost can't bear to wait. Stay tuned for what we decide!

The Glen Hosta Garden Is Carved Out of the Pines

Although it doesn't photograph particularly well yet with its unmulched beds and barren paths, the Glen Garden will provide a happy home for all my 2014 hosta purchases and allow me room to expand in the future either by dividing my own plants or purchasing new ones. We took down about a dozen pines with two more slated for winter felling once the perennials have died back. We limbed up a half dozen others to allow some dappled sunshine to penetrate through the high branches of the pines we left standing. The soil in this area may have once been cultivated as it seems very good, but I still added some Plant Tone when I set in the new plants. A vacation trip to Ossippee Trails Nursery provided a couple new astilbes which make great companion plants to the hostas. Eric left four stumps just high enough to make benches from the great slabs of wood that Barry had given us. It will be a fun garden room as it provides such a nice view of all the other gardens and the Lodge itself. We left sufficiently wide paths for the mower as we anticipate the paths greening up with a combination of weeds and grass as all the other areas in which we have allowed the sunshine to enter have done. It is quite surprising how fast it fills in without any seed being scattered by me. The paths connect up with the paths to the Witch Walk and the back of the Hydrangea garden. Note in the second picture how I have encouraged my new plants to look toward their more established plants to encourage them to grow big and strong!

Framing the Stair Tower

We began framing with the thought that the roof would be standard cape style with the two side walls being 12 foot tall each. The amount of slope which this allowed was not as much as we would have liked given that we are getting older and the snow loads could be a problem which we would have to address with a ladder.So, we noted that a saltbox roof profile would not only solve the pitch problem, but would allow us to keep both the existing windows in the upstairs. The eight foot wall on the front would give a much more welcoming look to the entrance than the daunting twelve foot wall. We will install a full view door and on the back wall there will be a two foot wide by six foot tall double-hung window which allows for a view clear through the structure to the screenhouse. A six foot by six foot two window, double-hung unit will go in the end wall providing a huge view of the woods out back to both the Pub and the upstairs. We were so lucky to find this unit at the Westbrook Restore. It is a brand new unit, Paradigm, panes between the glasses for easy washing, and we purchased it for $400. We had gotten a quote from Lowe's for a unit with a rounded top, which was our original plan when we were going to have a cape style roof, for $3,000. That would definitely have completely blown our budget and quite frankly not a figure we felt justified in spending on a single window. Now with the saltbox roof style, I don't think I would have liked the rounded top unit anyway. 

Foundation Is In!

Randy got the foundation all poured before the big rain came. It caused a moat around the new stair tower which is tempting to keep. Imagine the granddaughters playing princess and Lawson being their knight in shining armor! All we need do is install the drawbridge! The height of the back wall would be perfect for role playing Rapunzel. Randy did a great job as he had done on the main Lodge foundation. We are so thankful that he was able to fit this relatively small job into his busy schedule. 

Stair Tower Foundation Is Dug

Tom Hartford is the excavator who now works with Randy McClintick since Larry Hallowell has retired. He also does a lot of work digging graves for both humans and animals. I found it interesting that I had never really given a thought to what may happen when something like a horse or a pet goat dies, but now I know. We had asked if the foundation might be able to be done before our July vacation, since we knew that would be our largest block of time to get started on it. They were wonderful to work with that request as well as go along with our relaxed construction philosophies. It was so exciting to see the project get started. I already can imagine the quick trip between the pub and upstairs and how much easier that will make things. No more snow on our meals when I make the trip all out and around the Lodge like last year, being careful not to slip on the ice and snow underfoot.