Well Wishes.....

While searching for the perfect home, one of the top priorities on my wish list was to find a property that had a dug well and also a drilled one. I really wanted to have a hand pump or bucket pull. There were a couple of reasons for this; one was because I liked the romantic notion of it and two was because of my overwhelming sense to become as self-sufficient as possible.

 

Last year, when I first stumbled upon this land, I discovered an odd shaped cement structure and thought it must be an old flagpole base.    

The property actually has two drilled wells so I figured one could be tapped for a hand pump. 

I contacted the well drillers to find out why there were two wells and they told me one kept drying up so they had to drill again. The newer one is 245 feet deep and very productive. 

 I also spoke with the local historian, who happened to live on the property next door when he was a boy. He told me there used to be a dug well on my land but didn't know where it was. Michael and I were very intrigued and decided to investigate the mysterious "flagpole base". When we finally brushed all the dirt away from the cement, Michael could tell the upper lid was separate and could be shifted over. 

He couldn't resist.  

With the help of young Michael, the ancient tomb,  for that is what it felt like, was opened! 

We couldn't believe our eyes. There below us was the most beautifully crafted well we had ever seen.

And 12 feet below was water! 

I am in awe at how wells were constructed so many years ago. Imagine hand digging something this deep then standing down there in such a narrow, dark, wet space and fitting the stones so perfectly.

 It is a work of art.

                                                          Inspecting the well with a flashlight

                         We covered it back up until we can construct a safe, stone well-house around it! 
     This was probably the stepping stone to the well from where, many a bucketful of water was pulled.

             

Painting is "At The Well" by Daniel Ridgway KnightFound on: www.bonzasheila.com 

The Mighty Oak

The sun was shining, the air was clear and a nice, soft breeze was blowing across the meadow...a perfect day to start tearing the shingles off the roof!

Michael and young Michael finished up another project they were working on and headed to the cottage around noon yesterday to start the roof job. When they arrived, however, a large branch from the old oak tree was blocking the driveway. Upon inspecting the massive oak that sits close to the road, the men discovered a large portion of the oak's side had peeled away from the tremendous weight of it's branches.

We knew this was going to happen at some point but we were hoping we could put it off for just a little longer. We're actually glad it happened now because it would have been awful if someone was underneath it when it fell. We think that the first big branch that we cut a few weeks ago, was supporting this branch and it just couldn't hold up the weight anymore.

  It's a grand old tree, at least fifteen feet around (even though it doesn't look that big in the photos). Michael's nephew Matt, who is a licensed Arborist, came to check it out and told us the tree was well over 200 years old. We don't want to lose the tree so we are going to have him trim and prune as much as he can to save it and make it safe. There will be at least three years of firewood from what is trimmed...that will pay for the tree work! I think that's a pretty good deal don't you?



After the tree episode, ladders were positioned and the dumpster was ready to be filled with old roof shingles. Because it's such a small roof, it didn't take long for the east side of the house to be completely stripped and watershield applied.


These photos were taken with Michael's phone so the quality isn't that great... but you get the idea.

(Note: We're planning on covering that chimney with stone as well as the foundation of the house.)

Surrounded By Flowers

About a year ago I was told by a psychic that I would sell my house (Beechwood Place) and buy a small cottage in a field, surrounded by flowers. I was so excited to hear this and am happy to report that it seems things are falling into place, just as she said they would.

I received a call last night from Michael's mother saying she was going to start simplifying her life because she is getting older. She isn't able to keep up with her gardens like she used to and wants to clear things out. She offered me many of her plants and flowers and without hesitation, I said yes. I can't dig them up until the fall of course, when things calm down a bit and I have a place to put them but I am delighted to think I will have more flowers at the new cottage. She has the most beautiful Butterfly Bush I have ever seen, especially in Maine where they don't seem to do as well. I will have to find the perfect spot for it.

                                                     A fresh bouquet picked from the cottage yard.

I do already have some gorgeous flowers blooming all over the property and yesterday I picked a lovely bouquet. There is a large stand of magenta colored Bee Balm (Monarda) and bright yellow Heliopsis in the yard. There are white and pink Cone Flowers (Echinecea) and Gay Feather (Liatris) as well as Whorled Loosestrife (Lysimachia quadrifolia). Of course the wild Queen Anne's Lace and the Heliotrope abound. I added some sprigs of spearmint to the bouquet and the mingled fragrance fills the house.

                   This is the stand of magenta Bee Balm with white Heliotrope in the background.

                                                        Have a beautiful, flower filled day!

Let The Painting Begin.....

Yesterday marked the first day of painting! We need to get the trim nearest to the roof line painted so it will be ready for us when Michael starts to strip and shingle the roof. In this picture you can see why the roof needs work. It's pretty bad and leaks in some spots. We're going to install a skylight in the bathroom that has no window...right around where that vent is in the photo.

Another issue is that the entire house is covered with little Christmas lights. They are stapled onto the trim every few inches. Before painting, all the lights have to be stripped off and the staples have to be pulled out. Not fun!

We started on this side of the house because we wanted to get to the highest peaks first and work our way around. Michael had to remove the security light seen in the first photo but also work around the electric wires. I felt better when he was down on ground level.

On this side of the house we are going to install two regular size windows and one small cottage window at the peak. This is the side where the master bedroom is located and we are going to have cathedral ceilings in the bedroom so the window at the peak will offer a little more light and interest.

                  Today my project is to pick up the new paint colors and research the windows. We decided on the house, trim and door color but we are still undecided about the shutter color.
Here they are. What do you think?

                   We thought about this for the shutters but I think we're going to end up going with white.

                           These are the colors for the front door (Waterscape) and house (Rice Grain)
                                                                 The trim will all be white.

                                                 

This is the photo we found online and has stood as an inspiration for our color choices. 

This house doesn't have shutters but it's simple, clean, happy and airy. 

                                                                 Wish me luck!

P.S. Later this evening, look what I stumbled upon while on Pinterest searching for shutter colors...The same house but WITH shutters! Hmmmm..I'm so glad we have this as a comparison. Thanks to the homeowners and hiya papaya© for allowing us to use these photos in this blog.

My excursion to the paint store did not go very well today. When I returned home and tested the paint  on the house, the colors we chose were very wrong. (I did find a perfectly wonderful door today but more on that another day.) First the paint!

Friendship Fun!

Today the blog is not about the cottage. We took the weekend off from working on the place to enjoy some family time in Friendship. Saturday morning started at 4:15 AM when Michael and his son Matt, climbed aboard the lobster boat of Michael's nephew Chad. They headed out to deeper water to catch some lobsters. We planned a big family picnic at Michael's house for the day and we wanted to make sure there were plenty of fresh lobsters for everyone.

Here are some photos Matt took of the trip. He's such a good photographer!

 

               

After returning from their trip and catching thirty lobsters, they also picked up 20lbs of steamers. This is just a few of them after they were cooked.

We were all celebrating the July birthdays of my daughter Bekah and Michael. Bekah is visiting from 

Chicago so we don't get to see her very often. It's been such a nice treat having her home.

         We feasted with friends and family.

This is Bekah's Dad, David and Stepmom Allyson.

And this is my handsome son Tim, Bekah's brother.

Fun was had by all!

                                            This is Michael Jr. and his lovely girlfriend Shyann

                                                               Out for a kayak ride...

 

And a swim...

     Target shooting...Shyann is a real sharpshooter.

Matt loves to jump from high places.

Bekah's friend Jessie and her fiance Andrea from Italy enjoying his first ice cream cake

Matt fishing... his passion

This is Bekah making her birthday wish..."That Mom would never wear those pants again!" 

(They were a gift from Tim when he went to Ecuador...great to wear after swimming). 

                           Michael blew the candles out before Bekah could. She doesn't get her wish...
                                                                           I'm keeping the pants!

There was even a Mermaid sighting at sunset!

                                                                      To end a perfect day,

                                              Michael and the boys lit up the sky with Fireworks! 

                                                 

   Happy Birthday Bekah and Michael!