Welcome (back) to the Bungalow Project website. After getting a surprising number of requests to update and maintain this silly little site, I've wandered around taking a few digital photos, made a nice pot of tea, and sit down before you now to pen a few thoughts on this past year. Yes, dear friends, it's been one year, almost to the day since I moved in. The construction phase is long since complete, however, after serious delays last spring/summer in finding a suitable (read: less insanely expensive) mason and landscape contractor, those tasks remain in-process. Actually, the retaining wall is just about done-- a very recent development, as you can see in the photos above. Carlos should be back sometime in the next few weeks, after the snow melts, to finally complete the excavation, landscaping, seeding, and (much needed) driveway improvements. Right now there's just heapin' bleep-loads of mud and rocks scattered far and wide. I'm really looking forward to less mud. Less mud is good.
Milestone accomplishments to-date:
- retaining wall completion (see photo above).
- furniture acquisitions for dining room, living room, bedroom, and study.
- broadband connectivity (living 1,000 ft. off road in a rural area is not
without its disadvantages. getting broadband internet, telephone, and
TV service, without breaking the bank, was a big, BIG, challenge -
involving Comcast engineers, contractors, service techs, and legal
contacts. forget about it!).
- media room technology purchases (what woodland retreat would be
complete without a killer home theater system?).
- plant/animal cataloging. (Tim and I have begun to keep records of the
native flora, fauna, and animal life in our little sanctuary. Par example:
Trees - hornbeam, dogwood, black tupelo, shagbark hickory,
american beech, witch hazel. Flowers - swamp azalea, lowbush
blueberry, cranberry, winterberry, swamp rose, sweet pepperbush.
Animals - snapping turtle, timber rattlesnake (see Tim for details),
mallard duck, red-tailed hawk, wild turkey, screech owl, american
woodcock, coyote, red fox, white-tailed deer.
It's been over four years since Tim, Lisa, and I purchased the land and began this fantastic journey. A journey that's been at times overwhelmingly challenging and stressful, particularly in the early pre-building permit & planning phase, and at other times immensely rewarding and satisfying. It's wonderful living out here, nestled amongst the trees, far, but not too far (i do like my tealuxe and veggie sushi, thank you very much), from busy city life. Thanks to Tim & Lisa for inviting me to share this amazing space with them. How brilliant is it to have your best friends (and sweet baby Maddie) living a few hundred yards away, down a nice woodland path? I'm grateful to all of you, my stalwart group of family and friends, for your unflinching love and support through this, and all of life's big, and not-so-big endeavors. Thank you. |
