A Broad Overview of Hearthstone

With all of the progress and construction photos that I have been posting on the blog, I wanted to highlight some other gorgeous structures and features of the property.  I've received some awesome emails and had excellent questions regarding the other structures.  Here are some descriptions and pictures to better illustrate the many areas that I often refer to in the blog updates.  So here it goes...

When you pull into the stone driveway, the scenic waterfall (dam, really, but waterfall sounds so much better!) is on your right.  You can climb down the bank and stand right on the edge.  There are tons of rocks to climb over in the creek--perfect for creek stomping!  As you continue over the bridge you can see the original mill race.  In the past, the mill race powered the mill.  

When you pull into the driveway...

The stone bridge by the waterfall.

Another view of the wall.

This is the stone wall that follows all the way up the driveway.

The creek flowing from the waterfall.

The waterfall!!  

(Although right now, it is not as free-flowing due to the lack of rain)

The mill race, to the right of the waterfall.  

This flows under the bridge all the way to the mill.

As you follow the stone wall and continue up the driveway, the main house and ice house (the structure currently without its roof) is on the right.  On the left, is the Old Pond.  The pond is extremely shallow.  It is perfect for ice skating!  I've heard so many stories from folks in the community who have fond memories of ice skating and ice hockey on the frozen pond.  The pond is home to bullfrogs, birds, blue herons, and a family of ducks.  Recently, a small flock of geese have been hanging out on the waterfall in the evenings...I'm not the biggest fan of geese!  The brush has overgrown and invaded most of the pond's edge.  Clearing that area out is on our ever-expanding list!

This photo was taken from the front steps by the main house.  

It shows where the pond is in relation to the driveway and house.

The pond.

The ducks!

Continuing up the driveway, on the left is the carriage house/old garage.  It's a cozy little residence complete with a full kitchen, bathroom, and amenities.  Neighboring the carriage house is a tiny little spring house.  It's still fully functioning with water underground!!

 Front, the carriage house.

The spring house is next to it.

In the distance, the barn.

Another view of the carriage house from the front steps.

The carriage house (the larger structure).

The spring house (the smaller structure).

The steeple on the spring house is a smaller version of the one that used to be on the ice house.

The ice house (to the right of the main house, in front yard).  

The roof has completely fallen in.

Next to the spring house and on the curve of the driveway stands the historic (and enormous) barn.  The front of the barn is in better shape than the back.  We can store the backhoe in one portion of it, yet the back can't handle any traffic at all.  The barn needs some significant structural work to stabilize it.  This will be the next thing we do on the property.  It has 2 floors.  On the bottom, there are the most amazing old horse stalls.  The posts have been whittled down as a result of years of horse-nose-rubbing.  In the back barn courtyard there is another stone wall (matches the one on the driveway) that separates the barn yard from the Old Pond.  Nana had planted little ferns in the cracks of the wall and they are now a beautiful accent.  The barn used to have a hen house that extended from the second floor.  That portion has long since collapsed and left the old supporting stone walls standing and open. It's really so very charming standing back there.  I can totally envision lots of parties and BBQ get-togethers in this space.

The barn is to the right of the carriage and spring houses.

This photo was taken from further up the driveway.

One of the many beams we will have to replace to stabilize the barn.

A picture inside the upstairs, front of the barn.

One of the many old horse stalls.

Behind the barn in the barnyard.  

The stone wall on the right is the wall that separates the Old Pond from the barn.

A picture of the back of the barn.  

I got a board sample to help match paint when the time comes to restore the original color.

This wall (behind the crazy walnut) was where the old chicken coups were on top of the barn.  

This is what fell in and is left.  I can't wait to clear this area out!

As you can see, these pictures were taken at different times and in different seasons.  I compiled them according to features.  Hopefully, this helps answer questions and allows you to get an overall feel for the property.  More updates later today--I had better get to work! :)

Play Day

I was excited for today because Becca and Reilly came over this afternoon for the first time. We had a blast!! I gave them a tour and showed them all of my favorite spots (and there are a lot of them!). Reilly's favorite parts were the "princess bridge" (love it) and the waterfall. We climbed down to the creek and explored awhile. We took a nice long hike up the pine tree forest and the water tower. This was adventurous because we explored some new trails. Rei and I used a stick to forge through the Spider webs (Ew!). What a great day to just enjoy the property!!
After they left, Roge took down some heavy brush by the ginko and maple. He even offered to teach me how to use the chainsaw...although it is SO heavy and strong that I declined (definitely safest for all!). Then as I cleaned up the brush and pulled roots, he worked on hauling out stumps. There are so many of them!!
All this heavy labor came to a screeching halt as huge dark clouds started rolling in. We quickly cleaned up and headed out. The rain is welcomed as it will help keep the dust down. It was a fabulously laid back day!!! Here are some pics...

All in a Saturday

It was a very productive Saturday!  This morning, Anne, Peter, and Matt came to visit and help out.  Anne and Matt came early to fish in our neighbor's pond (for family, this used to be referred to as the "New Pond").  They caught 2 fish!  We have the best neighbors who have been so warm and open in sharing our excitement for the property.  They have extended an open invitation to our family to fish, swim, and hike around.  The kids love playing together!  We could not ask for a better situation!  It's such a blessing to just enjoy the land and the property even though we can't live there yet. :)

Roger, Rocky, and Matt worked on taking down trees and hauling out the debris.  It was so helpful to have an extra set of eyes to take down some of the trickier trees.  It went quickly and we got a lot accomplished.  Annie and I worked on clearing the area by the ice house.  We clipped weeds, piled logs, and raked.  We made a great team and it makes an incredible difference!

We took a break for lunch--thank you Dawn for sending it!!!! Then when Pete got there he helped Uncle on the backhoe.  After some very hard work, the kids and I headed over to the neighbors to swim while the guys took down the ENORMOUS dead maple in the front yard. I was sure glad I wasn't around to see it fall, but I sure heard it!!  This is by far the biggest tree we will take down.  It landed perfectly in that it avoided the front well, the ice house, the main house, and most importantly the 3 guys!  

I can't wait to show you some photos of one of the coolest things yet.  Matt stood looking at the front of the house for awhile and all of a sudden reached up and tore the ugly old tarp off of the house ever so carefully and accurately.  The house looks so freed!!  Thank you so much Matt for taking the time to come out and help us today!  You have a great eye and we appreciate all of your advice and experience!  

Here are some pictures to share of our day.

Annie watching the "felling of the trees."

Matt chainsawing the vine off of the cherry tree.  

Enjoying a break and lunch!

Uncle and Peter on the backhoe working on clearing the front yard.

Anne's and my hard work today!!  

That enormous dead maple in the front yard.  

Look at how big the trunk was--we counted 99 rings at first glance.  We think that it was planted by the Pearson family in the early 1900's when a lot of the additions were made to the house.

BEFORE Matt took the ugly green tarp off of the house....

AFTER Matt took the ugly green tarp off of the house....

Later in the afternoon, I was working down by the mill race/creek.  I'm working on clearing the proposed property lines and the paths to the old foot bridge.  This is hard work!!  First, you have to crawl through and fight your way to find the area you want to clear.  Then you have to cut the branches so that they arch or force them to grow in the desired direction.  Finally, you have to drag it all back up the hill and pile it.  It gets pretty steep right on the creek bed.  I'm slipping and sliding all over the pine needles and vine roots.  Who needs a gym membership when you can do this all day?  Well, I found a particularly stubborn fallen stump right in the middle of the crest of the bank.  It had this cracked branch on top.  Now, I totally anticipated the poor footing and balance issue, so therefore I braced myself against a tree to pull out this branch.  I pulled and pushed and pushed and pulled and SNAP....!  Down the hill and to the creek Brey went.  Seriously, there should have been a video of this.  Totally embarassing and hilarious all at the same time!  Then about 2 minutes later, after I had limped up the very steep hill, poor Roger got his fingernail bent back on the backhoe.  Ouch!!!  Weary, we drove over to Creek Rd to bandage ourselves up and Mary had the perfect concoction to fix Roge's finger.  Time to call it a day!  We're full functional again.  What an eventful day!!! 


I took pictures to try to capture the extent of the steep hill...but I'm not sure they turned out so well.

 The dark space in the middle is the bottom of the creek.  I'm standing where I fell.  

Rocky went back down to retrieve my sunglasses that fell off where I landed. :)

Look how pretty the pine trees look by the driveway!

A Well Oiled Machine

So today we had a few minor backhoe issues to problem solve.  As we were digging out more tree stumps, one of the "teeth" on the claw fell off.  Apparently this is common over time.  After searching and searching for it, the construction version of I Spy,  we finally decided that it would be best to just go load up on backhoe teeth.  Therefore, today I was officially introduced to the world of John Deere.  Hello change of perspective!  Of course, I had to document this significant moment (see photo below).  

We made a day of it and stopped at a little pizzeria for lunch on the way back to Hearthstone.  Then Roger changed the teeth on the backhoe as I expertly assisted (i.e. stood there and handed him the new "tooth").  Then he resumed pulling out the stumps.  Seriously, there is an infinite amount of vines and roots under the dirt.  I envision years of clipping them as they will inevitably try to resurface. Have I mentioned that my all time favorite tools are clippers?  Additionally, I learned how to sort and stack rocks to rebuild the house.  I can now identify a corner-stone and how NOT to pinch my fingers.  

The stump on the right is a cedar tree that was rotted out and home to a nest of carpenter ants (ew!)

The new teeth work!!!

Just as we were on a roll, it was time to re-grease the backhoe.  This led to issue #2 tonight.  I had no idea that you had to actually grease machinery like that (remember, I'm new at all of this)!  In Brey-language, you need to grease the joints of the backhoe so that dirt doesn't get into the fittings and make a screeching/grinding sound.  This is an extremely messy job because there is already tons of grease from the last 5 hour period to muck out as well.  I think we went through an entire roll of paper towels.  Then you re-inject more grease into it.  Obviously, this was the first time I had the privilege of being a part of this obviously routine maintenance.  Tonight, it took additional time because one of holes was clogged with dirt and grunge and wouldn't take the grease.  After much maneuvering, diesel fuel (breaks up the dirt), and a Brey power-nap (problem solving is exhausting) they got it going again.  Let me just say that the phrase, "a well oiled machine," has taken on an entirely new meaning!

First bit of CONSTRUCTion

Here's another Thursday (August 2) update...

We had our first official act of CONSTRUCTion (definition: the building of something, typically a large structure; the style or method used in the building of something).  We did not take something down or clear it out, instead we produced something that is permanent!  It was the front walkway--one of the edgings (lining the front walkway) was dislodged.  We used the backhoe to fix it. Here are some pictures:

Nudging it into place.

Fixed and swept!

As promised days ago, here's a picture of the ever-expanding woodpile.  What a pretty picture!

Timber!!!!!

Yesterday (thursday) we continued to take down invasive trees to continue to clear the lot. My dad was here again today when I got there in the afternoon working away. They said that dropping the maple (side yard by the ginko) was the quickest tree dropped yet. I think they have their system down!!! We can't pull this stump out because the roots are so deep will damage the trees around. So rocky carved it into a seat for me.


So I'm on my iPhone right now and trying to upload pictures and text from my phone. Hopefully it will work...if not I will fix it later. :) Thanks for your patience!

When I drove up the driveway today I had the BEST surprise waiting for me...my Dad was there working to take down more trees!  It was such a happy snapshot of everybody working together and chipping in.  Dad, thanks SO much for coming over and jumping right in.  I love you to pieces!  They took down the walnut by the house and a few more today.  Boy-oh-boy, it is a LOT of work to clear a tree!  The house looks so open and free!  After sitting in class all day, I was eager to get to work!  I clipped some vines, helped them load the wood in the bucket, and swept the driveway (a work in progress).  Then it started to thunder...how dare the weather!  We will be thankful for the rain because it helps keep the dust down.  Plus, it gives me time to blog while I enjoy dinner at Creek Road--thanks Mary!!!!    I guess there is just never enough time in the day. :)

Look at this awesome crew!!!

A picture from the front yard.  The house may look tilted, but in fact, it was the fault of the photographer.  oops!

Look at all of these stumps!!!  Wahoo!!!  (They will dig them out tomorrow)

You can see the barn in the background in this picture.

A picture taken from standing on the front walkway.  Check out how clear it is!

 (Visions of green lawns dance in my head)

Here is an AWESOME comparison shot of the house in its glory to what it is now.  I keep saying, "We will save you little house."  :)  Day by day, stone by stone, and "Stone and Stone"  (yes, another pun!!  I'm on a roll!)  

Hearthstone in its glory.... (1960's)

Hearthstone needing some TLC... (2011)

We're workin' on it.... (2012)