Hallelujah! The daylilies (Hemerocallis fulva) are blooming. That, THAT is the color and exuberance of early summer. Sometimes known as Fourth of July Daylilies because their bloom time (in the northeast) roughly corresponds to Independence Day, Hemerocallis fulva have begun to erupt into spectacular fireworks-esque blossoms about a week ahead of schedule. Must be the intermittent but persistent rain.
Hemerocallis Fulva (Photo: Geo Davis)
Daylilies Abloom
Although my floral polyamory (flower zealotry?) is wide ranging and broadly inclusive, summertime vibes are captured in a quasi Norman Rockwell way when Hemerocallis fulva joins the fête. What?!?!
No, that wasn’t a challenge — can you work, polyamory, zealotry, inclusivity, and Norman Rockwell into the same sentence? — but I concede a slightly self indulgent surrogate *MAY* have hijacked the keyboard. But I’m back at the helm. Back to basics…
Hemerocallis fulva, the orange day-lily,[3]tawny daylily, corn lily, tiger daylily, fulvous daylily, ditch lily or Fourth of July lily (also railroad daylily, roadside daylily, outhouse lily, and wash-house lily),[citation needed] is a species of daylily…
A daylily by any other name. Hemerocallis fulva by rights (but least applied name.)
Just beginning to bloom in the last couple of days. Should be a tiger orange riot by Indepence Day. And then a chance to gather the expired blooms for a meal or two.
What?!?!
Hemerocallis Fulva (Photo: Geo Davis)
Daylilies are not only edible, they are spectacular…
Let me start by saying that edible daylilies are the common daylily, Hemerocallis fulva, as well as its various Hemerocallis friends and relatives…
Perfect. Hemerocallis fulva is exactly what we have in abundance at Rosslyn, so I declare a feast. But how?
According to Shaw, the best way to dine on Hemerocallis fulva is to sauté the unopened flower buds in butter and salt.
Delicious. Briefly cooked, the buds have a bit of knacken, a German expression meaning a “pop.” Yet the insides reminded me of squash blossoms. The taste? Green, with a whiff of radish and a dash of green bean. Honestly, I’d eat this as a side dish any day, any place. It needs nothing else.
That’ll be clarified butter (aka ghee) for me in order to juggle my lamentably dairy free diet. I’ve also read that the post-bloom flowers are tasty, especially when dried and added to soups and stews. Time for a little experimentation…
Mercurial, unsettled weather lately. Pendulum swings. Dark and light. Sunny and soggy. Unsettled hours and days. My moody meditation is inspired by this dockside monochrome.
Snapped this photo after an unsuccessful first foray into waterskiing and freshwater surfing for the 2023 season. Too rough. Susan tried. A valiant effort. Abbreviated…
Dockside Monochrome (Photo: Geo Davis)
Today’s words and thoughts are also abbreviated. An abridged initiative. Venturing out. Briefly. Then returning to safe harbor.
Dockside Monochrome
Moody mornings and monochrome afternoons re-recalibrating, observing, listening, trying to remember. Or, maybe, to forget for a little longer, for rhythm re-syncing, for watery waves, for whispering winds, for yes-yielding, for exhaling, for reboot, for today, for us, for now.
Perhaps a miniature video clip better approximates this liminal moment…
When it comes to organic lawncare for our holistic home, I’m enthusiastic about composted manure. From locally sourced cow manure and alpaca “beans” to not-so-locally sourced bat guano, we find that nature offers up some of the healthiest nutrients for cultivating gardens, orchards, lawns, etc. Hurrah for free, 100% organic fowl fertilizer!
Fowl Fertilizer: Canada Geese greening the grass (Photo: Tony Foster)
Waterfront Waterfowl
The photograph above, captured discretely by Tony Foster on Friday morning, shows more than a dozen Canada Geese fertilizing Rosslyn’s waterfront grass.
In addition to seasonal aeration of the lawns surrounding our home and outbuildings, we also apply organic (bat guano derived) fertilizer every year or two. But, given proximity to Lake Champlain, we avoid fertilizing the grass adjoins Rosslyn’s beach. Abundant wild waterfowl (mostly Canada geese and mallards) ensure that this lawn gets plenty of natural nutrients nevertheless.
Foul Fowl Fertilizer?
Although I’ve never had the opportunity to use chicken manure, I’ve anecdotally heard that it’s an exceptional fowl fertilizer. Maybe. But our fowl fertilizer is free! And so far as I can tell, it is very effective.
But — yes, there’s always a “but“, right? — my beautiful bride would hasten to add that Canada geese and mallard s**t peppering the lawn where swimmers walk barefoot isn’t ideal. And Carley has the disagreeable habit of scarfing up this free fertilizer before it has a chance to perform it’s magic on the grass. Few things trigger Susan more than having to intervene when Carley is Hoovering fowl fertilizer!
Fortunately, spring and autumn are especially welcoming for the foul fertilizers. Our daily presence and heightened summer activity along the waterfront prompt most of the Canada geese and mallards to find less peopled property.
“Heaven can wait…” while we enjoy the inimitable crunch of June: French breakfast radishes!
French breakfast radishes: Heaven can wait! (Photo: Geo Davis)
Remember when I asked if you were ready for radish time? Well, it’s upon us. Lots. Of. Radishes. French breakfast radishes, my favorite, to be precise. That slightly spicy, slightly sweet crunch is sooo satisfying. For breakfast. For lunch. For dinner. For snacks all day long.
French Breakfast Radishes
For the uninitiated, I’m a bit of a garden geek. And radishes, in all their punchy, hyper saturated color, flavor, and ASMR glory are one of my early season favorites.
The French Breakfast Radish (Raphanus sativus) is red-skinned root vegetable… with a white splash at the root end… [that] is distinguished by its oblong shape… [and mild flavor] if harvested and eaten early. Widely considered a spring radish, the French Breakfast Radish is ideally grown and harvested when temperatures are still cool. Hotter temperatures increase the “spiciness” (peppery bitterness common to most radishes) and often result in a pithy interior.
So the increasingly hot weather (and the week of rain in the forecast) threaten to abbreviate prime time for radishes. So, we’re enjoying them without restraint!
And not just the tasty red and white roots. We added radish greens to the succulent homegrown spinach we wok-sautéed with garlic and olive oil last night. Sublime.
As with standard radish varieties, the “radish greens” of the French Breakfast Radish can also be eaten. Washed and tossed into a saucepan of olive oil (or avocado oil), garlic, and onion, this wilted green is a delicious accompaniment to just about any meal!
“Today,” as the cool kids say, “I did a thing.” I’ve been lusting after an Adirondack Guideboat, well, probably since the late 1970’s when I enjoyed my first rowed ride in this quintessentially ADK conveyance at the Ausable Club. During the early days of the pandemic my mind returned this timeless watercraft, as elegant today as it was in the 1800s, and somehow inviting wistfuldaydreams of calmer, simpler times. I connected with the good folks at Adirondack Guideboat, and began to educate myself. They tried to convince me that a 14′ Vermont Dory, their most popular boat, was better suited to my location. Three summers later, after a 2022 return visit to revisit consideration with brother owners, Justin and Ian Martin, I decided it was time to commit.
14′ Vermont Dory (Photo: Geo Davis)
That green beauty above is my new skiff, a cherry trimmed Kevlar Vermont dory perfectly suited to ply the early morning and early evening waters of Lake Champlain.
14′ Vermont Dory (Photo: Adirondack Guideboat)
14′ Vermont Dory
This swift ship (of decidedly diminutive but handsomely conceived proportions) appears to be well built, user friendly, and applauded by the vast majority of their clientele. Or so Justin and Ian assure me.
As the current owners of Adirondack Guideboat, brothers Justin and Ian Martin have over 40 years of combined experience building boats. Before buying the company in 2012, the Martin brothers worked for Adirondack Guideboat company founder, Steve Kaulback, and president, David Rosen and Mad River Canoe. While they remain committed to the tradition of building wooden guideboats, Justin and Ian also use contemporary materials and tooling to create composite guideboats. (Source: Meet the crew of Adirondack Guideboat, Custom Row Boat Craftspeople)
I liked the brothers from our first encounter. Understated. Confident. Enthusiastic and confident.
And soon they’ll be arriving to deliver my new Vermont Dory to Rosslyn’s waterfront. I’m looking forward to an early morning outing with Carley to enjoy sunrise, a cup of tea, and a content canine companion.
And, there’s an additional perk. When they deliver my new green skiff, they’ll pick up our old hand-me-down canoe for midwinter replacement of the rotten wood gunnels. Win, win!
So many sweet moments as I re-enter our Adirondack Coast orbit, and this one is less verbal than visual rumination. I’m thinking of the iconic Adirondack chair that appears all around the world.
Iconic Adirondack Chair (Photo: Geo Davis)
And all around the world is not an exaggeration. In fact, the iconic Adirondack chairs in this post were photographed by me a few days ago in Algonquin Provincial Park, a day’s drive away in Canada.
Everywhere you go, Adirondack chairs. At least, everywhere serene, soothing, and inviting!
Let’s revisit an earlier look at the iconic Adirondack chair.
Adirondack Chairs, originally invented by Thomas Lee in 1903… copied and adapted by countless carpenters since… [and patented by] Harry C. Bunnel… without his [Lee’s] permission… Lee seems to have been gracious and let the matter go, permitting his friend to produce the Adirondack chairs for profit for a quarter century. (Source: Adirondack Chairs Revisited)
As we wound down our 2-week adventure between Santa Fe and Essex — by way of Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Manitoba, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ontario, and Quebec — we came upon these familiar recliners while staying at Killarney Lodge in Algonquin Park. And despite the fact that we were still a 6 1/2 hour drive from Essex, we began to feel like we were almost home.
Iconic Adirondack Chair (Photo: Geo Davis)
And, now that we’re once again installed in our Adirondack Coast oasis, lolling in our comfy lakeside recliners we realize that these iconic Adirondack chairs have become a sort of metaphorical umbilical cord, no matter where we wander, to the lifestyle we love at Rosslyn.
Rosslyn (aka the W.D. Ross Mansion, Hyde Gate, and Sherwood Inn) in Essex, NY.
Rosslyn, the second oldest home on Essex, New York’s Merchant Row, is located just south of The Dower House. This historic home (also known as the W.D. Ross Mansion, Hyde Gate, and The Sherwood Inn) was built by William D. Ross for his bride Mary Ann Gould (c. 1826-8) (“Essex: An Architectural Guide.” 30).
Primarily Georgian in style, Rosslyn also exhibits elements of Federal and Greek Revival architecture. The central entryway of the five-bay facade is flanked by sidelight windows placed symmetrically on both sides of the doorway and an elegant fanlight above the doorway.
“The structure is noteworthy for its exceptional Doric cornice following a design from a pattern book by Boston architect Asher Benjamin, The American Builder’s Companion (1826).” (“Essex: An Architectural Guide.” 30)
Rosslyn faces Lake Champlain and Vermont’s Green Mountains beyond. Expansive lawns, locally quarried stone walls, an early 19th century inspired fence, and the alignment (and spacing) of Rosslyn’s outbuildings contribute to the classical proportions of this stately property. Rosslyn’s whimsical boathouse, still visible wharves, and a painstakingly restored waterfront recollect the Ross family’s shipping merchant heritage and The Sherwood Inn’s decades as a popular vacation destination.
Renovating Rosslyn
Like many of the homes in Historic Essex, NY, Rosslyn has experienced many cycles of renovation, neglect, alteration and restoration. As the second oldest home on Merchant Row (and one of the oldest residences in Essex village) it is difficult to ascertain the property’s precise historic lineage. While construction of the original brick and stone structure most likely began in 1820, there are indications that it either replaced (or augmented) and already constructed wood frame house…
A significant rear wing was added to Rosslyn in the early 19th century for domestic services (kitchen, pantry, etc.) and servants quarters. It was once common for wealthy families to hire and house live-in servants (cleaning staff, cooks, gardeners, nannies, etc.), however shifting social norms and economics diminished the practice in the United States making servant quarters increasingly rare.
Early in the 20th century Rosslyn was converted into The Sherwood Inn, and the service wing was renovated to accommodate guest lodging, restaurant and tavern. When the Sherwood Inn ceased operation in the late 1950s or early 1960s the rear wing was mostly removed and the remaining addition was adapted to residential use.
“It’s worth noting that the house was constructed out of brick (with stone foundations) and not wood. But this detail — like the soft math when recollecting the number and function of servants — matters little and reveals the patina-ing power of time’s passage. The other notable difference between Hyde Gate as Lesh describes it and Rosslyn as she stands today is that the veranda has been removed, revealing an older — and most likely original — stone stairway and entrance. The owner from whom we purchased the property undertook this alteration in a nod to historic authenticity. He too felt obliged to leave his imprint on the front facade of the house and erected a Greek Revival columned entrance roof which incorporates subtle Georgian detailing…” (Rosslyn Redux)
The Rosslyn property once consisted of many outbuildings including an ice house, a carriage house, several barns, a granary, and a privy (Images of America: Essex on Lake Champlain. 119). The ice house was the best way to store and preserve food in the past before electricity and refrigeration. The house’s location next to the lake would have been advantageous because in the winter ice could be cut from the frozen lake and brought to the ice house to store for summer.
A note discovered at Rosslyn identifies June 13, 1908 as the date that the home was first hooked up to electricity by Guy H. Mason (Images of America: Essex on Lake Champlain. 87). With the increasing ease of indoor plumbing, electricity, and other conveniences many of Rosslyn’s outbuildings became obsolete and were eventually removed. Today the ice house, carriage house and a boathouse (dock house) which was likely constructed in the late 1800s remain and have been renovated.
Rosslyn Boathouse
Kestrel docked at Rosslyn boathouse
Built on a pier jutting into Lake Champlain in Essex, NY, stands a charming dock house constructed in 1898 (“Essex: An Architectural Guide.” 30). Rosslyn boathouse is modeled on a late 19th century Eastlake Design, considered part of the Queen Anne style of Victorian architecture (Images of America: Essex on Lake Champlain. 118).
Popular boat races and regattas took place on the Essex waterfront drawing competitors and spectators to the Rosslyn boathouse and shoreline from near and far. While boating regattas have dwindled in the last half century, Rosslyn boathouse remains a spectacular spot for viewing the Essex fireworks on the Fourth of July.
Kestrel
Although Rosslyn boathouse is part of the original W.D. Ross family property, it was not constructed by or for the Ross family. The turn-of-the century building was most likely designed and built for the Keyser family to accommodate their 62 ft. long, steam-powered yacht, Kestrel. Constructed entirely of mahogany, the yacht plied Lake Champlain’s water the 1890’s through the 1930’s, becoming as much an iconic vessel in Essex history as the boathouse has become in the century since it first adorned Merchant Row.
Although the Keysers may have initially kept their yacht on their own waterfront north of Essex, their dock and/or boathouse was rendered unusable by ice or flood damage. Kestrel required local dockage for convenient access and an ample supply of coal to power the steam engine, so the Keyser family purchased a small piece of land on the lake from the Ross family and proceeded to build a dock, boathouse, and coal storage bin for the yacht. The Keyser boathouse has persevered through many floods and ice flows, and today it is once again part of the Rosslyn property. (The Kestrel: An Essex Icon by Morris F. Glen)
Reawakening a home, a dream and ourselves
Rosslyn Redux is a vicarious plunge into the idiosyncrasies (and absurdities) of renovating a circa 1822 historic home and boathouse in Essex, NY. The memoir by flâneur and storyteller, virtualDavis, is available at abdul2.rosslynredux.com.
Summer solstice is upon us, and it seems all too poetic that our return to Rosslyn after far flung vagabonding coincided with the end is spring and beginning of summer.
Summer Solstice, 2023 (Photo: Geo Davis)
Summer Solstice?!?!
The official start of summer, the longest day, the shortest shadow… What exactly is the summer solstice?
The June solstice marks the exact moment when the noon sun appears directly over the Tropic of Cancer, a line of latitude 23.5 degrees north of Earth’s equator. It’s the northernmost point where the sun can be seen straight overhead (90 degrees above the horizon) all year.
In the Northern Hemisphere we see the sun take its longest and highest path across the southern sky. The high sun angle means you will cast your shortest midday shadow of the year on the summer solstice.
Solstice means “sun standing still” in Latin. On the summer solstice, the sun’s daily northward movement in the sky appears to pause… (Source: Washington Post)
Sun standing still. Yes, an illusion, but an engrossing illusion. And such lovely language! Found poetry pollinating the day.
Shortest Shadow
And what about casting our shortest shadow? Neat. But a little bit challenging to witness convincingly.
In India, cities like Ujjain and Gandhi Nagar witness a zero shadows moment when shadows disappear at noon. (Source: The Weather Channel )
I’m pretty certain that casting no shadow at all would make an impression. But such luck isn’t ours at Rosslyn. Our summer solstice is the shortest shadow day. Midday, mini shadow.
Solsticing… Again
Today’s celestial inception prompted a fleeting reverie, winter solstice, half a year ago. Seems like yesterday. And looong ago. A peculiar trick of time.
Welcome to day one of the Adirondack Coast‘s coldest season. Today is the winter solstice, the first official day of winter, and — more importantly for the likes of my mother and others who favor longer days and shorter nights — the threshold between the briefest day and the most prolonged night and imperceptibly-but-steadily lengthening daylight. (Source: Winter Solstice: Longer Days Ahead)
And tonight we’re on the flip side of imperceptibly-but-steadily lengthening daylight. Tomorrow the nights begin to lengthen and the days shorten. Imperceptibly. But inevitably…
After many months of transformation Rosslyn’s icehouse rehab is approaching the finish line. The sum total is conceivable if not yet 100% visible. Many loose ends begging for attention, some small, some not so small. After some time away, adventuring, observing from afar, willing and coaxing and cajoling the project toward completion, I’m back. Boots on the ground. Evaluating the finish schedule and shuffling priorities and trying not to hyperventilate, focusing on the many miraculous accomplishments and essaying to stay calm about the still-to-do’s. Straddling the well-done’s and the still-to-do’s are the icehouse east and west decks. This evening I’ll catch up up on the decking, decking, decking!
Icehouse East Deck (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
You may remember that installation of the garapa decking was already completed on the east deck. In the photo above, you’re viewing the stairs up to the east entrance door. In the photograph below offers more of a 45° angle from southeast toward the northwest, capturing the entire east side deck.
Icehouse East Deck (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
You may recognize those two photographs from my previous post showcasing the completed east deck. Today’s news is that oiling and deck lighting have been completed.
Icehouse East Deck After Oiling (Photo: Geo Davis)
In the photo above and below, you will note that the deck lighting still needs to be pushed in and secured. We will wait to do this until the oil has completely dried, approximately 2-3 days to be safe.
Icehouse East Deck After Oiling (Photo: Geo Davis)
The oil definitely brings out the grain and color. This will fade as sun and weather interact with the oil sealed wood. By late summer, the deck will have mellowed to a more patinated tan or tannish gray. In late autumn we’ll apply another coat of oil this this and the other garapa decks to help preserve them during the long North Country winter.
Icehouse West Deck, Pre-Decking (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
West Deck Progress
The west deck of the icehouse is smaller than Rosslyn’s main house deck but considerably larger than the icehouse’s east deck. Although it does not have the challenge, posed by the stairs on the east side, it does accommodate a hot tub. That said, installation is moving swiftly afoot. The image above shows the structure ready for decking. And the image below, only a few days later, shows the better part of a third complete.
Garapa Decking Icehouse West Deck (Photo: Eric Crowningshield)
If you look closely, you’ll see that there are still plenty of garapa pegs that need to be installed in the skirt boards. That’s definitely time consuming. But what a spectacular result when complete!
Garapa-ing Icehouse West Deck (Photo: Geo Davis)
As of today, less than a third of the decking remains to be installed, and the hot tub — still missing its permanent cover — is in situ, full of water, and *ALMOST* ready for a trial run!
In short, there are still plenty of projects to button up before the icehouse rehab is complete, but there’s also a lot to celebrate. And tonight we’re toasting the decking, decking, decking. Soon it will be done!
Today I’d like to touch upon a recurring theme: re-homing materials and items still potentially useful to others (if no longer to us). We’ve been fortunate over the years to pair Rosslyn’s storage capacity in the carriage barn and icehouse with local expertise — specifically sawyers with portable sawmills able to custom cut logs on our property — so that fallen and culled timber can be transformed into lumber. The stump-to-lumber ash and elm flooring that was so recently installed during the icehouse rehab, up-bumping the character quotient dramatically, was not completely exhausted during installation. In fact, there’s enough surplus that I’m hoping to use it on a future project. But a short term opportunity arose to share some of this material with my nephews for a small but soon to be eye-popping outbuilding in their Rock Harbor renovation.
Re-Homing Stump-to-Lumber Ash & Elm (Photo: Christoph Aigner)
That sneak peek above illustrates the handsome walls and ceiling in what will become a dedicated workspace located a short plein air passage from the house. Looks a lot like the new floor in Rosslyn’s icehouse, right?
Soon this stump-to-lumber paneling will be paired with more re-homed Rosslyn material: Brazilian cherry (Jatoba) flooring remaining from our 2007-8 dining room rehabilitation.
Reimagine, Re-Home, Reuse
From reimagining to rehoming and reusing, Susan and I have been pretty obsessed with creative ways to revitalize and reboot whenever possible. Yes, that’s a whole lot of re-prefixing! I did mention obsession, right?
Baked into the icehouse rehab (and sooo much of our +/-17 year love affair with Rosslyn) is the inclination to salvage and rehabilitate, to recycle and upcycle, to repurpose and reuse… we’ve been keen to reimagine obsolete and abandoned artifacts in new, useful ways. (Source: Re-Homing Exterior Door)
Another similar opportunity, repurposing a pre-hung door, came up recently.
Sustainability is intrinsically rooted in responsible innovation. We strive to incorporate full cycle, cradle-to-grave thinking into our creative endeavors. A half century of combined construction and renovation experience has taught Susan and me that every project is part of a bigger whole, a small arc in a much larger continuum. And Rosslyn’s endurance, a two century story of repeat reinvention, enriches our confidence and our commitment to responsible re-prefixing whenever possible.
So much of our good fortune as Rosslyn’s stewards has been inherited from generations before us. Responsible ownership, conscientious preservation, and magnanimous spirits account for the life we’ve enjoyed on this property. We endeavor to follow in that tradition… (Source: Re-Homing John Deere AMT 626
Yes, Rosslyn has been far more than a home. She’s been our companion and our teacher.
Rosslyn has tutored us in the merits of conservation and preservation, rehabilitation and reinvention, generosity and sharing. (Source: Re-Homing Exterior Door)
And so it has made perfect sense to extend Rosslyn’s generosities to others. And perhaps my nephews’ workspace will afford them a small reminder from time-to-time of the property where they made many memories between childhood and adulthood.
Although my original post explored the possibility of Eastern massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus) an update to the post concluded that a considerably more likely possibility was that I’d seen a milksnake, aka milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum), a species of kingsnake.
While I feign no herpetology pretenses, my October 9, 2014 re-identification hinged upon communication from a more learned authority.
Recently I was contacted by a herpetologist here in NY studying the Massasauga who was interested in my observation. In our discussion he mentioned this:
It is common for Milksnakes to be identified as Massasaugas. The belief is that Milk snakes have evolved to mimic venomous species in their area, and in eastern states are known to be EMR mimics. Is it possible what you saw was a Milk Snake? — Alexander Robillard of SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Possible indeed! Even likely. I’ve concluded that, then as now, Rosslyn’s resplendent snake was a milksnake. What do you think?
We’ve been finalizing a timely transition from porosity to fenestration in the icehouse rehab. Framed but temporarily concealed apertures have been cut out and transformed into doorways and windows. Jamb extensions, sills, and trims — carpentry confections that conjoin and integrate discrete elements into a cohesive architectural whole — are finally complete inside the icehouse. Exterior trims are still in the works.
When Apertures Become Windows (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
In the photograph above the north facing windows in the main room exemplify the coalescing of elements, framing a view of… gravel and dirt!
This view is evolving as I type. Stone walls and stone steps will define the levels and the transitions between them. In the near ground, a lawn will yield to a stone bordered area of plantings that will bridge the lower elevation outside the deck to the upper elevation where the volleyball and croquet court will once again be located.
When Apertures Become Windows (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
With the jamb extensions complete and the window trims installed the next step will be to scrape paint from the windows and install the hardware. Plenty of convergence and completion happening each day…
