Progress in the rebuilding of the Cooley house on Ridge Road- I have started to touch base with some excellent builders (but since they are busy I haven’t met with anyone yet, but am eager when they are available). Phil Godenschwager can start on the floorplans and elevations for the house in June or July.
Since I can’t start building the Cooley house just yet, I will make Charles’s barn my summer project. This photo was taken January 4th so I’m sure the buds on trees are starting to soften the landscape now, the snow is gone, and the grass is starting to green up.
I love the way the barn uses the hill to have an entrance into the loft. The sleigh is parked up there.
I want to sort through things, which will require heavy work gloves and may involve a dumpster. At least a metals pile. I can make some trips to the dump myself.
I want to check the structure and get ready for horses there. I was pleased that Jim Hudson (my niece’s husband) gave it the thumbs up for the building. He knows his way around structures after building his own house, his summer house on his pond, etc. I wasn’t sure how adept Charles was with building but most farmers have some experience in the Jack of All Trades Department. I had seen some plans for a barn that Charles had bought. I know the barn has electricity and water and some stall space. I’m excited to put horses back (or at least a horse, a mini horse, and a donkey) into that pasture where my <3 horse Fern Hill Alexandra, Lexa, once stood with her mother Suzanne Royalty (Suzie).
Since I was once called The Mad Sweeper by another boarder at a previous barn, you can imagine I can’t wait to hit the place with a broom! Get anything old and molding out, paint the entrance door to the barn, organize remaining useful tools. I will let you know what I discover in there. It will be a labor of love- for Charles and for horses, past and present.
I need to work on the paddocks since Wild Chervil is prevalent there. I will have to do a lot of work. I am debating digging up and baking the pulled plants under plastic to kill them vs. covering an entire paddock with black plastic for 2 years. Neither is an exciting prospect or very pretty either. But herbicides don’t work on this nasty plant as most Vermonters know. Mowing can only happen before seed formation or the equipment carries the seeds to innocent pastures. I imagine it will be an ongoing battle there on Ridge Road since it has made its way onto the property.
Here’s an article about Wild Chervil, Anthriscus sylvestris that appeared in the Herald, Randolph, Vermont way back in 2007.
So nice the barn has water and electricity!