Wet & Wild

If you're familiar with the picturesque babbling brook that runs through our property; a meandering stream that gently washes over and around large field stone and fallen trees -- then you'll appreciate these photos taken just minutes ago.

After a deluge in the early hours of this morning, resulting in about 3 inches of rain in a short period of time, our stream has transformed into a raging river that can be heard clearly from inside the house.

‘Check’ it out

Many hours were spent over the past several days painting the wood floor in our mudroom. Painted floors of all types: solid, checked, striped, free-hand designs and stenciled were a common touch of early American homes. A feature we admire.

After painting the mudroom and hallway the historic color "parnsip," the more detailed work began - measuring, marking, taping, painting, wating, painting, waiting, painting ... you get the point.

Moses insisted on helping with the taping process.

But ...

It proved too tedious for him.

First coat of black ...

After many rounds of touchups, we used a handcut 18th century inspired stencil on the non-black diamonds. A few coats of poly later ... the project was finished. As you can see we continued the black/parsnip/shaker red color combination up the hallway on the walls, floors, built-in bench and sliding doors (built with antique hardware found in New Hampshire).

Here's a glimps of what the mudroom area looked like when we bought the house a little over a year ago.

Splish, splash

After weeks of rain, mud, mold and mushrooms ... we must remind ourselves that the sun will shine again (hopfully soon!). To help that effort, enjoy these photos of the last "summer" day we had in New England ... June 7. It was so hot that Sunday even Moses needed to cool off. He enjoyed hours of play in our yard, splashing with his girlfriend Soli.

Earlier that day, the pups attended Whisker Walk at the Lancaster Fairgrounds; here's a shot of them enroute.