Window trim

We've been living without window trim for 3 years. First we had to cut down the trees that would form our trim. Next we had to wait until the portable sawmill could arrive to cut the trees into boards. Then we had to wait for the wood to air dry. Finally! It was ready. 

Here are the naked windows:

Living room - bare! 

Kitchen - naked!

First, Chris planed down a few boards and we tried different sizes to see what style we liked. Once we had that, we stained a few boards different colors - a semi-solid black and a red mahogany. The semi-solid black matches the stair risers (seen here) while the red mahogany matches the living room half wall (here).

Black with a classic oak sill board 

Red mahogany with red mahogany sill board 

We liked both of them quite a bit but ultimately decided that the red mahogany tied the two sides of the room together. And it would tie in the kitchen as well. So, red mahogany it was.

Except, I really liked the black! So I decided that My Room was separate enough to have something different. And black trim went up in there.

Ahhh, black trim!

We kept the classic oak color on the interior boards of all windows and will do the same for the door facing. That way the house maintains some color consistency. And, of course, these colors repeat throughout the house.

I really like the two-tone effect

 The trim made a huge difference in how the windows looked.

The look huge now!

I asked Chris to build a couple of spice racks into the East wall windows. They don't get any sunlight so storage conditions are good and they are so wonderfully handy right next to the stove (but away from the heat). I keep all my cooking spices there now (baking spices are kept in the island).

Note the spice racks

 The living room windows, already very large, now look enormous. And quite attractive.

Nicely framed

The deep sill boards let me keep plants or nicknacks on the window. Or, you know, let the cat nap there without fear of falling off.

Summer food

The vegetables have been incredible this year. Not my own - they taste good but are hardly prolific. The CSA's veggies though, those are awesome. Since I have my own kale, lettuces, green pepper, jalapeño pepper, and tomatoes I've been able to ignore these on the farm stand. Instead I've been getting Swiss Chard, zucchini, spring onions, beets, carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and eggplant just to name a few. And I've been making the tastiest dinners! Quiche with radishes, kohlrabi, chard, kale, onions, and (of course) a bit of bacon. Lo Mein with lots of greens, bok choy,  and savory veggies (and a bit of pork). Stir fry rice with greens (again), kohlrabi, radishes, and sweet peas. Pasta dishes with light cream sauce and tons of veggies. Pizza! I don't bother with red sauce in the summer; all my pizzas are green - EVOO, garlic, and spring onions to start. Then herbs - basil, oregano, rosemary - with chopped kale, chard, collards. Top it with tomato slices and the smallest amount of fresh mozzarella. Oh. My.

And pesto! I grew lots of basil. Two seed packets that all came up plus a couple starts from the market. And I still needed more. We eat it fresh, it never has time to hit the freezer. Pesto pasta with green beans is fantastic. Pesto on pizza. Pesto on homemade bagels with a slice of tomato and fresh mozzarella that you broil just until heated through (I was particularly pleased with this one as everything but the cheese came from my own efforts); (plus it was yummy). I like to make my pesto with basil, arugula, and kale; mostly basil but the other greens give it a bit of spice and depth.

I harvested all of my jalapeño peppers today and got many more from my CSA share. Came right home and made candied jalapeños. Canned a few jars and kept the excess canning liquid to use this week on baked chicken breasts. It's a fantastic glaze and I'll make a nice pico de gallo to serve with it.

I've got visions of a summer vegetable risotto too. With fresh baked Italian bread. And summer greens in a light vinaigrette. There's not much better than the summer bounty and we're deep into it now.

Finishing the stairs

We've been working on the stairwell for quite a while now. We've had construction stairs since, oh, March of 2013 (we used a ladder before that) which have basically consisted of the permanent stringers with 2x8 boards resting on top. The treads have wobbled and gradually gotten less stable as the boards flexed and warped since they were unfinished.

But now! Now we have final treads and a beautiful end wall and lots of pictures. So bear with me.

We got the stairwell landing compass  and landing wall done and loved the look. Next up was the safety wall at the end of the landing.

We saved some of the damaged heartwood from the cherry trees we had sawn into boards; basically we left it as a 4x4 post figuring we'd end up doing something with it. 

Heart wood from old cherry

The crack up the center didn't go all the way through to the other side, but it needed to be kept from opening further. So Chris used an old trick to butterfly the wood together.

Cutting the channel

Filling it with a butterfly

Once that was done we applied poly to the post (it will naturally get more red as it ages - no need to stain it) and Chris set about installing it securely to the landing wall.

In Cooper's kennel

We used goat panel (love this stuff!) to create a door for the kennel under the landing. This is Cooper's safe spot and she loves it.

Posts and kennel door installed

Chris had to built a door cleat to keep the sliding door from pushing out from the bottom. There's no other latch on it though - it slides easily to the right to open.

Kennel with goat panel door

Once the end posts and kennel door were in place he started installing the stair treads. We acquired some flame birch from a friend of ours and the figuring was just gorgeous. But the boards weren't quite as thick as the 2x4 we'd used before - which meant the rise was just a bit off from what we wanted. So we used some of the white oak to create a spacer under the birch tread (stained to match the wall color). This had the added benefit of creating a greater gluing surface and of giving a bit of accent to each step - which you can see in the photo above. It's subtle, but pretty.

The hard part was figuring out how to clamp the tread down. The stringers are angled and we ended up screwing temporary clamp blocks in place.

First tread in place

We decided to wait to stain the boards until after they were installed. This gave Chris greater flexibility in custom fitting each tread.

Yup, the clamps are holding

We also used goat panel to form the safety wall at the stair landing. I painted it black and Chris build a frame for it out of cherry and dark-stained oak. I like the industrial/farm vibe of the panel and it has the added benefit of complying with safety building codes since you cannot fit a 4-inch diameter ball through the squares. If you're interested in doing something like this, be sure to check your local building codes to see what their spacing requirements are.

I love that back post's live edge

We also used a live edge for the top of the wall. Chris used two pieces of cherry and joined them to create that gorgeous look.

Very natural

As we got closer to the top of the stairwell we started running into wood-shortage issues. Some of the boards had flaws that wouldn't allow them to be used as a tread. Chris got creative on a few to take out the weak spots.

Our raven

A lot of creativity went into these stairs. From the inlaid compass with copper banding, the custom designed safety wall, and the gorgeous treads, it's completely individualized for our home.

This shows the figuring on the treads

Well worth the time and effort it took!

All done!

Maintaining the driveway

Have I ever mentioned how incredibly long our driveway is? We're about 1800 feet off the town road. And we love that - it's very private back here. It's scenic to drive through the trees, to meander through the twists and turns, and to finally come upon the house.

But is also quite a lot of work. It's work in the winter when Chris has to clear snow, it's work in the spring when we have to fill in ruts after mud season, and it's work throughout the year to make sure it doesn't end up a washboarded mess. We've been building up the driveway ever since we bought the land. It started as a skidder track that was a mud slick when it rained. We added culverts and brought in load after load of rubble to fill it in and make it (barely) passable as a 4-season road. Then we brought in smaller stone to smooth it out. Then we top dressed it with "fines" to give it a nice driving surface. That took years. And every year we had to keep adding to it.

So last year we decided to top one section with blue stone mixed with stone dust to see how it held up. The theory is that the stone dust acts like a binder to keep the stone in place. And it held up GREAT! Even through the intense snow removal we had last year.

So we bit the bullet and ordered materials. First we had to drop what I call dirt and what our materials guy calls screened stone to fill in ruts and form a solid base.

It begins.

The difference between dirt and screened stone is that screened stone has a very high mix of small rocks and sand and other stuff that hold it in place. It may look like dirt but it sure doesn't act like it - because when it rained really hard soon after having this dropped, it didn't slime up or move at all.

Doesn't that look like dirt???

Our materials guy is awesome. He tilts that truck and rolls forward and spreads the materials so evenly that it barely needs any tractor work. On the main part of the driveway anyway - up close to the house he had to dump it thick so that Chris could get it in all the nooks and crannies.

Spreading the load

It took five loads to coat the entire driveway all the way to the main road. Once it settles a bit we'll have him bring the mix of blue stone and stone dust to finish it off. Then, if all goes according to plan (hah!), we'll just have to grade it each spring to keep it in shape. And maybe top dress it a bit. You know, work at it.

Preparing for winter

Yes, I'm well aware that it's early-July. But when you heat with wood you start winter prep early. We've actually been gathering our firewood since early Spring and now the pile is large enough to get the splitter in here. 

Last year we put up 162 feet (4 feet high) and ended May with 50 feet left. We tend to have a wood fire at least once a month during the summer if only to dry out the house when it's cold and wet out. Makes me laugh to have every window open and a fire going in the wood stove, but it does wonders for humidity control (this only works if it's one of those cold and clammy days, not when it's 90 degrees and 88% humidity). 

Anyway, we're planning to put up another 100 feet and we'll see how far this pile gets us. We have the hardest time telling how much stacked wood we'll actually get from a big pile of bucked wood, but we're hoping to take some measurements so we can do better estimates in the future.

Ready for splitting

Garden Journal June 2015

Time for another garden update. The weather has been wonderful for growing things - a mix of rain, sun, cool and shady days, hot and sunny days. The whole garden has responded.

Lupins, mid-June

The main veggie garden is doing great. And that's my new water box! The soaker hose connects to it and my hand tools are stored right there where I need them.

Tool mailbox and water spigot

I spray painted my tomato cages red for a nice pop of color. And you can barely see my chicken with all the herb and flower growth. All the tomato plants have small green tomatoes and many new blossoms. I pinched the sucker growth, removed any stems beneath the first level of fruit, and put crushed egg shells around two of the plants (we'll see if they have any effect).

Chris sprouted some chia seeds (yes, he has a George Washington chia pet) and I thought it'd be fun to see if I get them to grow. That's them at the very front left corner. Then I did some research and it turns out the plants get 5 feet tall. Gonna have to move the chia pet soon.

All of the herbs are growing well although I need to do better with my basil. I didn't spread the seeds well. The transplanted starts are better, but I'm still having trouble not denuding the plants with my usage. The sage is crazy good as is the lemon thyme. The rosemary start is okay but not growing fast enough to keep up with demand.

Chia, basil, cilantro, pluto basil, sage, lemon thyme,
oregano, rosemary, marigolds, beefsteaks

My pepper plants look great and have lots of new growth and blossoms.

Jalapeño close, Ace green pepper far

Only one plant has set a tiny little jalapeño so far. These are Craig's Giant jalapeños and should be good for stuffing.

Lonely and destined for the grill

My delicata squash is going gangbusters. Three plants and they've completely filled their plot. Next year I'll plant them in the middle of the lettuce plots so that after the lettuce is pulled up, they can have extra space. This year I'll just need to train the plants to spread that direction.

Lots of unopened flowers and new fruit buds

No flowers have opened yet, but I've got lots of buds and I can easily tell the male from the female flowers.

Tiny female buds

The lettuce is crazy good. It'll be harvested this week and allowed to grow back from the cuttings. I want to collect some seed so will let it bolt in the July heat.

Lots of salads

The arugula has been sort of hit or miss. Several plants either got eaten or didn't germinate. But it tastes great and I'll do some succession planting. I'll also let some bolt as I love the edible flowers. I've started harvesting some of the kale and it's wonderfully tender with great flavor. I've been eating the pea plants in salads. Despite starting them very early, they're only just starting to climb the trellis. I have doubts of an actual pea harvest.

Arugula, kale, English peas

I've cut my garlic scapes (they made great pesto even though I had to supplement with some from the farmer's market). Only about half the plants are doing well. The oregano is going crazy though.

Bad angle on the garlic, it actually looks better than this

Two small lavender plants

One rosemary start and the rest from seeds. Sad.

The front lawn is lush and green and so great at cutting down on the dirt that was getting tracked onto the porch.

Cooper loves the grass

My lupins are past their flower prime but the plants are fairly lush. Need to add some more tall stuff around the bird feeder so it's not to looming. The tree-line flower bed is coming along well and I've got some good ideas for filling it in better and even repositioning some of the rocks.

Lupins

Mini Iris, impatients, pansies

Iris, foxglove, hostas. Needs more filling.

Deer nibbled hostas

Small driveway bed filling in with perennials

So that's the update for June. Combined with the farmer's market/CSA share, we've switched over to a veggie-centric diet for the summer already. Lots of stir fry, lo mein, green pizza, and quiches so far.

Adding screen doors

Our house is very open to the outdoors. In fact, most of the summer the front doors are wide open - which means bugs fly in and drive me nuts. 

Usually the other door is open too (and I'm going to get
cushions on that barber chair soon - honest)

So I decided this year I wanted to add screen doors. But we needed to make sure the dog and cat could still come and go freely. They love being able to wander in and out at will (and I love that we live so far back in the woods that we can let them).

A blank slate

I stained the doors red and Chris cut and framed a dog door into one of them. Then I sewed a little flap so we wouldn't have a gaping hole in our new screen.

Ta da!

Inside looking out

The wee flap

It's working beautifully. The cat and dog took about 10 seconds to figure out the flap and now we get great air flow with minimal bug incursion. Wonderful! The only down side is the cat gets mad when we close the solid doors at night. She figures that flap should work through both layers.