Newest Backhoe Addition :)

Roge has been working on additional pieces for the backhoe to aid in ripping up roots and grading the yard.  The one piece (posted earlier) has worked great!  Recently, he tried to build a similar piece with teeth that would rake the soil.  The wooden teeth didn't hold up to the roots.  Our incredible neighbor, Don, was interested in the idea and offered to weld a metal piece for the backhoe.  It worked beautifully!  His grandson even helped and was very excited to deliver it to us.  It is getting the roots and making the hand raking a much easier endeavor!  How awesome are our neighbors?  Thank you!  Here are a few pictures...

I sowed (is that the right word?) some grass seed along the driveway and covered it with straw yesterday.  I forgot to take a picture of all of my hard work!  I will be sure to post tomorrow.  Hopefully, soon we we will see some nice soft green grass poking up through!  

Monday, August 20, 2012

Monday was a very eventful day over at Hearthstone!  It started out with me picking bags and bags of poison ivy down in the beds by the waterfall.  This is quite a process as I have thick gloves on and am double bagging the pulled leaves and roots.  I definitely felt like I was making huge strides, until I realized that all these little roots were leading up to one big hairy poison vine.  Thankfully, this is in a location that is not easily accessible by people, but nonetheless, we will definitely have to step up our game!  

As I'm battling away, I hear a huge commotion down by the road.  I figure it was a part of other construction down the street, so I didn't really pay it too much attention.  Then a few minutes later, I notice that the noise is getting closer and closer...and suddenly I see the yellow front of a very large construction vehicle come up over the bridge.  As I am glancing over my shoulder and trying to see what is going on, I see Dave S. driving this enormous pettibone with Matt hanging on the back.  Matt just waves and says, "Hi Brey!" casually as if this is an every day occurrence. :)  Here they were so generous to offer us the use of this incredible piece of machinery at Hearthstone!  It felt like the beginning of an episode of Extreme House Makeover...although how Dave put it, "It's going to be longer than a week!"  This is going to be an enormous help with taking down the top of the house in order to best preserve the stone walls.  What a gift!  Thank you! Thank you!  What an awesome day!

Anne helped deliver!

Rocky read the manual and he and Roger got busy!

We were able to save the steel hardware from the dormer windows.  :)

Save the Hardware

As we delve into the various projects, we are finding some awesome treasures.  We have a treasure bucket :) .  Although I need to take some pictures of everything to share with you.  Yesterday, we started to bag and label the pieces of hardware from doors, etc. that we have found thus far.  I took a few pictures to describe what we found. 

An old lock box from the front door.  

A porcelain keyhole from the back door.  

August 19: Play Day

So this morning, I checked out the finished door for the carriage house!  It's beautiful.  Roge stayed at the shop to work on another addition for the backhoe.  

The mahogany door.

Then, when I got to Hearthstone, Eric and his boys, Colin & Cash, were over to play and explore.  Then Becca and Reilly came over.  We went back down to the creek by the waterfall to jump (i.e. slowly creep) the rocks.  Then they were a huge help in pulling up the old brick walk to stack them on the palettes so that we can use the brick later to rebuild the walkway.  Rocky gave the kids rides on the backhoe---it made their day!  Then Reilly, Becca, and I went to the dollar store for some toys to keep at Hearthstone.  We got bug catchers, wiffle ball, butterfly nets, chalk (school and sidewalk), jump ropes, and some other fun things.  Our neighbor, Molly, came over to play too!  We wasted no time in writing on the slate on the wall and the driveway.  After one more creek stomping session, we were tuckered out!  We had a blast!  Check out the pictures...

Rocky, Colin, and Cash

Colin, Cash, and Eric!

Playing in the creek

OHHH YES, this would be Becca doing flips on the bars!

Reilly's turn!

Reilly's turn on the backhoe!

In the Gutter

Cleaning out the gutters!  Rocky and Roger used a long piece of lumber underneath the back steps to shove out the roots and junk that was blocking the gutter.  Then Roge was able to shovel the rest out.  Here are a few updated pictures of the back wall...gorgeous!!!

August 16: Mini Stone Retaining Wall

Here are some more pictures of the driveway bank around the curve. You can see that we inserted cumaru boards to serve as an additional gutter for draining purposes.  It looks so clean and sharp!  Here is the mini stone retaining wall to support the bank.  The rocks were there buried deep into the dirt.  Rocky dug them out and reset them.  

Yesterday, I spent a few hours pulling random poison ivy vines throughout the myrtle (periwinkle).  I did the plastic bag dance--doubling up with newspaper plastic baggies on each hand and pulling the vines out so that they don't touch anything and grow back.  It makes a big difference!  It is so pretty as you drive up the driveway!  I can't wait to share the finished product.  In the fall, my goal is to plant some bulbs in this bank so that when spring comes everything will bloom and be colorful.  Check out a few before pictures...

BEFORE...taken last fall...

BEFORE:  

taken a month ago...The burning bush was growing over onto the driveway.

IN PROGRESS: 

 this is what Becca and Eric helped us clear this past weekend....

CURRENTLY...

You can see how the stone wall is at the base where the gutters are.

If you look to the right corner of the screen, you can see that it is open underneath the steps to help with water drainage.

The soil between the driveway and gutter will be seeded to grow grass.  

It should look very sharp when it is all settled. :)

Another view of the progressing stone wall looking towards the curve.

You can see the yew trees in the back and burning bush on the right. 

This picture shows the cumaru boards we laid down for the gutter.

This is a side shot of the bank.  You can see the yew trees and maples from this angle.  

The surveyors finished up their work today.  They were so nice and helpful!   The next step will be to send a crew back over to set the pins.  Thanks Scott for being so helpful in setting all of the survey work up!   This is a huge milestone!  

August 15

Here is the project we have been working on the past few days...the driveway bank and gutter.  We extended the gutter to promote better water disposal.  The gutter is lined with cumaru wood.  Rocky is re-laying the stone to build a mini retaining wall.  It looks GORGEOUS!!  This bank is covered in myrtle, also known as "periwinkle."  In the spring, this bank will be covered in pretty little periwinkle flowers.  I left some burning bush and lilacs up on the bank, but tore out baby maples.  There are two large maples at the top in the back yard.  With the bank clear, it is easier to see who is coming around the curve of the driveway.  I will continue to post project updates and pictures.  :)

The surveyors were there again today. They were nice enough to let me observe how they record the property lines.  The technology is amazing!!!  It literally draws it as they go.  This afternoon, Rocky and I worked on clearing additional lines so that they can get a clear shot.  That backhoe sure does a lot of work!  Here are a few pictures of the trail clearing process in the woods.  

The brush is SO thick!

Starting the Survey

Just a quick update that the surveying has officially begun at Hearthstone & East Brandywine Township property!  Scott stopped in this past weekend with the large, detailed, and colorful maps to guide the survey work (thanks Scott!!).  The crew started very early this morning while Rocky was there to meet them and show them the pins.  I'm looking forward to learning more about how this process works.  From what I understand, it will take a few days to complete.    
Just a short update this evening... I will post pictures and more tomorrow.  :)

Open Door

Hi all!!! Here's an update...Roger is working on building a new door for the carriage house. It is gorgeous!! He is building it out of mahogany. It has 4 bubbled/ "beveled" glass panes at the top that will allow privacy and additional light. The bottom panels are 2 different styles...one for inside and a different for outside. The picture below gives you a good idea of what it will look like (although its not been coated with finish yet). The other picture shows one coat of finish. It is exciting that he is able to get started on the shop work ahead of time. This is the first of many doors. I'm sure looking forward to all the INCREDIBLE pieces he will be making for the carriage and main houses. :)

August 12 with Becca & Eric

Yesterday, I got to view the pond, peninsula, and waterfall from the Bondsville Road view.  Rocky mowed it down so that we could access this area.  It was such a gorgeous view from that side.  You can barely see the main house from this bank.  The water is much deeper over on this side of the Pond.  Enough for a kayak or canoe, I'm sure!  It is still very overgrown and tricky to maneuver through the thick brush, but I tried to get some good pictures of this space.  A lot of the old slides/pictures we have are taken from this bank.  

Looking at the island/peninsula in the middle of the Old Pond from Bondsville Road.

Standing on a wall on the opposite side of the bank, looking down at the waterfall.

Looking across the Old Pond to the main house.  

(The waterfall is to your right, the peninsula to your left)

The old wheel that used to crank the wall up for water release.  

I don't know the specifics on when this was used (i.e. maybe for flooding?).

I will clarify and let you know :)

After exploring this portion of the property, Becca and Eric came over to help out!  We had so much fun!  I decided we could work on the driveway bank on the curve of the driveway.  Eric got right to work and was a huge help in clearing out baby maples and clipping/trimming the burning bush back to expose the bank.  Rocky had pulled most of the poison out at the roots by hand a few days ago, so it was much safer for us to work in this area.  I can't believe what a difference it makes!  I love that we still have some of the burning bush at the top, that you can see the old yew trees, and that we found an old lilac bush!  The hill is gorgeous with tons of pachysandra.  I can't wait to plant bulbs in the fall and see them sprout up in the spring.  We also exposed another gutter that was way under all the brush.  Roge raked it out with the backhoe.  We still have lots of work to do, but I'm excited to share the following pictures.  Becca and Eric, thank you SO much for coming over and being so excited with us!  You guys rock!

Roger clipping some of the branches on the maple.

Eric clipping and dragging brush.

Eric and Becca, dragging brush.

Eric and the chainsaw!!!

Old-time looking photo with the pitchfork.  :)

Ohhh Eric!!!!!!!  :)

The bank looks so much cleaner!

Another shot of the bank.

We cleared out the gutters on the side of the steps.