I wrap my digital arms around friend, neighbor, artist, and gardener extraordinaire Catherine Seidenberg for this memorable birthday gift. Thank you!
Catherine’s whimsical black and white watercolor of Rosslyn’s front facade offers a chance to reflect on the past decade Susan and I have spent reinvigorating this quirky property and an invitation to daydream about its future. The matched tree hydrangeas are a nod to a pair of similar (though far older varieties) hydrangeas that flaked the entrance columns before we excavated the front of the house. The older plants were transplanted with an excavator and now thrive astride a gate in the garden behind the carriage barn. The view to the right of the house, beyond the stone wall, reminds me of photographs of Rosslyn in the 1800s when the rolling hills beyond the carriage barn and ice house were far more open than today, a sea of apple orchards and green pastures dotted with grazing sheep.
[Sometimes a post is born, neglected, orphaned, left unpublished in blog purgatory. Sadly this is one such case, despite the fact that I’ve enjoyed this painting daily from its perch above the fireplace in my study. The following update reminded me that Catherine’s painting was never properly celebrated, so I conjoin the two newsworthy items here to showcase the multidisciplinary creativity of artist Catherine Seidenberg.]
After two years assisting with Rosslyn’s vegetable and flower gardens Catherine moved on to new challenges. She notified us this past spring that she was returning to ceramics, and would be spending much of this year in Keene, NY as the Craigardan artist-in-residence.
HARVEST PLATE RESIDENCY For ceramic artists who wish to participate in Craigardan’s delicious celebration of the farm, the food, and the plate. 9-month Winter residency. The 2017 Harvest Plate Resident: Catherine Seidenberg (Source: Craigardan)
If you’re in the Adirondacks (or near enough to swing through Keene, NY) I encourage you to meet Catherine in mid-September.
Slide Talk: a conversation with harvest plate resident, Catherine Seidenberg (Friday, September 15, 2017, 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM) Meet artist-in-residence Catherine Seidenberg, view her ceramic work and learn about her beautiful processes. Catherine is our summer Harvest Plate Resident, crafting all of the tableware for the fall benefit event, Dinner in the Field. (Source: Craigardan)
Susan and I are looking forward to the fall benefit!
“Beguiled into Stewardship”, Old House Journal, June 2015 Issue (Page 1-2)
Exactly three years ago on June 3, 2015, Old House Journal published an article about Rosslyn. Time for a flashback! Regina Cole’s story and Carolyn Bates’s photographs are entitled, “Beguiled into Stewardship“, and you can find their original article here. (Note: the print edition and the online edition differ slightly.)
If you’re unfamiliar with Old House Journal, — and if you’re renovating or rehabilitating an older home — I recommend both the print magazine and the online website and resources.
This site is the ultimate resource for owners of old houses and period-style homes, gathering information from Old-House Journal, Old-House Interiors, Early Homes, and New Old House. You’ll find inspiration, how-to info and advice, stories and photos of old houses galore and sources for traditional products. Whether you’re restoring your old house or searching for period decor, you’ll find help here. (Source: Old-House Online)
An Insider’s Glimpse
It’s worth noting that the article fumbles a few points here and there, but the gist is mostly on target. And the photographs are amazing!
Like many owners of important old houses, this couple never intended to become stewards of a 2½-storey neoclassical manse that spreads over more than 6,000 square feet. The building was originally just a three-bay, side-hall dwelling, but Rosslyn was expanded between 1835 and 1840 into its symmetrical five-bay configuration. Other buildings on the grounds include several barns and a very adorable, Eastlake-style boathouse added in 1898. (Source: “Beguiled into Stewardship“)
Eek! Adorable? Though my bride and I fell head over heels in love with the Rosslyn’s boathouse (really a “dock house” more than a boathouse) long before we succumbed to the home’s beguiling pull, neither of us would likely describe the quirky lakeside structure as adorable. Too cute, me thinks, for this weathered folly. But I’ll leave that judgment up to you.
A significant rear wing had been added to Rosslyn in the 19th century for domestic services—a kitchen and pantry, etc.—and servants’ quarters. Early in the 20th century, when the house became a hostelry called The Sherwood Inn, that service wing was renovated to accommodate guest lodging, a restaurant, and a tavern. When the inn ceased operation by the early 1960s, most of the rear wing was removed.
George and Susan used its remnant to create a large new family room. For symmetry and better flow, they also added two new wings, one to house a screened porch and one to create circulation between old rooms and new. The boathouse, of course, was a later addition, but its late Victorian style is so charming, they never considered removing it. It has been restored inside and out.
[…]
The front of the house is historic, but the rear had undergone numerous additions and subtractions over the years. George and Susan updated the rear with sensitive additions and a patio surrounded by a stone wall. George rebuilt the old stone walls that surround the property. They built a new fence, basing its design on one found in a Federal pattern book. (Source: “Beguiled into Stewardship“)
Mostly accurate, except I’ll humbly concede credit to others for the handsome stone walls. I did design/redesign/adapt them and figure out how to repurpose old stone salvaged from failed walls and long buried foundations, but virtually all of the heavy lifting was done by others. And we remain extremely grateful for it!
Okay, enough revisionism… On to the article.
“Beguiled into Stewardship”, Old House Journal, June 2015 Issue (Page 3-4)
The opening spread showcases one of the handsome entrance gates designed and built by our friend, Tom Duca. And that interior shot of the front entrance door with side lites and fan lite? That challenging project was meticulously executed by Kevin Boyle.
“Beguiled into Stewardship”, Old House Journal, June 2015 Issue (Page 5-6)
The front parlor and the dining room offer pigmented nostalgia bridges.
The pea green paint in the parlor is a nod to the previous owner whose paint choice perplexed us at first, but grew on us gradually, imperceptibly during our endless renovation. My bride elected to preserve and refresh it while I was away. It was the perfect choice.
And the light blue walls in the dining room recollect the dining room in Maison Margaux, a top-to-bottom renovation I shepherded in Paris’ Faubourg St. Germain.
“Beguiled into Stewardship”, Old House Journal, June 2015 Issue (Page 7-8)
The kitchen and morning room (aka “the north porch”) are principle phases of our daily orbit. No finer way to start the day that breakfasting with songbirds!
“Beguiled into Stewardship”, Old House Journal, June 2015 Issue (Page 9-10)
Griffin, our Labrador Retriever, is the perennially proud protector of Rosslyn in general and our bedroom in particular. From his perch at the end of the bed he can monitor the deer and wild turkeys sneaking snacks from his vegetable garden and orchard. I suppose “protector” might be a mild overstatement.
Sometimes meteorologists get it right. And Rosslyn’s winter wonderland 2019 just might become Exhibit A in the Meteo Defense column. Thank you, snow gods!
Winter Wonderland 2019: Rosslyn buried in 20-24″ of fresh snow. (Credit: P.M.)
Winter storm warnings wander across our radar often enough this time of year that we become a little meteorology skeptical. Not cynical. Just suspicious that promised snowstorms won’t quite measure up to the hype. Sort of a wait-and-see approach to meteorological forecasting…
But this winter storm was different!
With 20″-24″ of magnificent white stuff blanketing Rosslyn, it’s proof positive that sometimes their predictions are spot on.
Winter Wonderland 2019: Rosslyn’s front entrance buried in 20-24″ of fresh snow. (Credit: R. P. Murphy)
Winter Wonderland 2019: Rosslyn’s carriage barn and ice house buried in 20-24″ of fresh snow. (Credit: R. P. Murphy)
Winter Wonderland 2019: Rosslyn’s “backside” buried in 20-24″ of fresh snow. (Credit: R. P. Murphy)
Winter Wonderland 2019: Rosslyn’s boathouse buried in 20-24″ of fresh snow. (Credit: R. P. Murphy)
Winter Wonderland 2019: Essex ferry approaching Rosslyn’s boathouse. (Credit: R. P. Murphy)
Winter Wonderland 2019: Rosslyn’s stone walls buried in 20-24″ of fresh snow. (Credit: R. P. Murphy)
Spectacular, right? This snowfall reminds me of the snowfalls I remember from my Adirondack childhood in the 1970s and 1980s. Such massive mounds of powdery bliss! I sometimes wonder if my memory has been kidnapped by my imagination, but this winter wonderland is proof that epic snowfalls are real. And magnificent. Time to go outside and play.
Leaf Stain Art, Detail: up close and personal with the delicate leaf stain art that will add character to our new grape deck. (Source: Eric Crowningshield)
“Leaf stain” usually refers to unsightly dark marks on pool and house decks, sidewalks, patios, etc. caused when leaves that have fallen from trees are allowed to sit long enough to discolor the surface. However the delicate silhouette of a leaf or leaves is sometimes attractive and intriguing like a fossil discovered in a stone wall or patio. In this case leaf stain needn’t detract from the beauty of exterior surfaces. Sometimes the delicate silhouette of a leaf or leaves is so beautiful that it deftly sheds the nuisance mantle and assumes the found art mantle.
It’s a matter of perspective. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?
And so I was pleased with I received a message and photograph from Eric Crowningshield yesterday.
Leaf Stain Art, Detail: See the delicate leaf silhouette? (Source: Eric Crowningshield)
“Just wanted to check with you before sanding this off? […] This must have been a leaf that sat on the deck. Not sure if it would stay after staining or not but definitely cool if it did.”
Of course, we kept it. It’s exquisite!
We’re grateful to Eric for noticing and preserving the leaf stain, a subtle gift from nature that will hopefully remain visible after the new garapa decking is oiled. I presume that you see the leaf stain in the first photo in this post, but can you see it in the second photo? What about this larger perspective?
Leaf Stain Art, Location: Can you spy the delicate leaf silhouette several paces from the bottom of the stairs? (Source: Eric Crowningshield)
That’s a little trickier to discern. But if you look carefully, more-or-less in the middle of the photograph, you’ll see the leaf stain. It’s eight decking boards to the left of the black grate. See it? What about in this perspective?
Leaf Stain Art, Location: Can you spy the delicate leaf silhouette several paces from the bottom of the stairs? (Source: Eric Crowningshield)
From this perspective the location of the leaf stain is eight garapa decking boards to the right of the black grate about 2/3 up from the bottom of the photo. It’s pretty well camouflaged, but I love the idea that somebody, some time will notice it. A little surprise. Like the many fossils that are hidden (in plain site) in our stone walls, it will be be fun when friends and family happen to note the natural art.
Oiling the Grape Decking
Although Hroth Ottosen finished installing the of the garapa decking a couple of weeks ago and Eric’s team wrapped up installing and sanding plugs more recently, the final step of this project is to seal the garapa decking with oil. Here’s the progress so far.
Oiling Garapa Decking: sealing progress is being made on the new deck, and the color/grain are popping dramatically. (Source: Eric Crowningshield)
What magnificent color and grain the oil brings out! That is almost exactly how the decking looks after a soaking rain, so we’ve been able to get a preview several times during installation. And this is actually a sort of IRL déjà vu from the winter of 2008 when the deck was installed for the first time. In fact, despite the exciting freshness of the redecking project, this is actually a repeat of the installation that marked the final significant project in our original Rosslyn rehabilitation. I’m planning to compose another post soon that highlights the original decking project, and another that showcases this summer’s 2022 redo. (If you’re wondering why the first deck only lasted about fourteen years, you’re asking the right question. Answer will be forthcoming soon, I promise.)
Redecking Gratitude
This is the third project that Eric Crowningshield has worked on for us, the most ambitious of which was his first, a 9-10 month epic remodel of ADK Oasis Lakeside. When we decided to purchase and remodel a second vacation rental adjoining ADK Oasis Highlawn in the middle of the pandemic, everyone thought we were nuts. How in the world did we expect to transform this property during such challenging times, especially given that we’d be in Santa Fe for many of the most challenging months of the remodel?
No sense revisiting that monumental undertaking here, but suffice to say that it never would have happened without the able leadership of Eric Crowningshield and Pam Murphy. Underpromise. Overdeliver. Every time. These two are a formidable team in and of themselves, but this summer we were even more fortunate to bring in three close friends to transform this overdue, languishing, pain in the @$$ project into a success story. Susan’s cousin, David McCabe, a carpenter/contractor in the DC-area brought decades of experience. Ed Conlin, a high school friend of Susan’s who quickly became a close friend to me (and everybody else he’s ever met) over two decades ago brought decades of construction experience. Our friend, Hroth Ottosen, a skilled carpenter who has worked for us on some singularly unique projects at our home in Santa Fe, signed on to captain this crew through the redecking project. Tony Foster, who joined our team during the ADK Oasis Lakeside project, brought his perennially flexible, impervious-to-hard-work-and-scorching-heat endurance, and upbeat demeanor to the redecking project. And Brandon, our savvy problem solving electrician rounded out the team. Actually, I’ve failed to mention some of the hardest working members of the team, the carpenters that work for Eric: Matt, Justin, Jarrett, Jason, and Andrew. But I’m getting ahead of myself…
I didn’t mean to get in so deep on the re-decking crew, not yet, but my enthusiasm got the better of me. I’ll be dedicating a full post to this dream team soon, so I’ll abbreviate this postmortem for now by acknowledging that we’re profoundly grateful to work with such conscientious, communicative, creative people. Such GOOD people. Great work ethics, but also just decent, caring, people with integrity and positive demeanors. Thank you, all!
I’d like to shift your focus for a moment to the almost-ready-for-groundbreaking rehabilitation of Rosslyn’s historic icehouse situated just north of the carriage barn. Has your focus shifted? Good. Now let’s zoom in a little tighter to the icehouse door. Perhaps imagine yourself walking south on the sidewalk in front of Rosslyn, looking across the front lawn past the stone wall, toward the setting sun. Can you see the west facade of the icehouse? Can you see the door?
Icehouse Door Haiku
Sightlines and viewsheds
in the historic district
hinge upon a door.
— Geo Davis
As I’ve remarked in the past, there are times when a tidy haiku might accomplish more than a verbose dissertation. If in your estimation my mission is accomplished in the seventeen syllables ahead, I invite you to abbreviate your read here.
If you’re inclined to probe a little deeper, or simply have no clue what I’m getting at, please read on. But, note that a dissertation isn’t in the offing. I’ll take a reasonable run at the idea(s) in the haiku above, but the bottom line is this. The west facade of Rosslyn’s icehouse is within the public viewshed and various sightlines reveal the icehouse door from sidewalk, road, etc. What does that mean, and why is it important?
Sightlines & Viewsheds
In architecture, design, and urban planning “sightlines” is a relatively self-explanatory term combining perspective and line-of-sight visibility within built and unbuilt environments. Hhhmmm… I’m pretty certain that armchair definition wouldn’t pass muster with the AIA, so let’s try a different approach. Within a building or any space, really, what you can see and the relationships between what you can see are your sightlines. What is visible? What is partially or completely obscured? How do visible elements relate to one another? Is the relationship between visible elements visually appealing?
Okay, so what about “viewshed”?
The good folks at Merriam-Webster define viewshed as “the natural environment that is visible from one or more viewing points”. Sounds a little bit like the way I’ve tried to explain sightlines. Let’s see if I can muddle things even further by dipping into the collective genius of Wikipedia.
A viewshed is the geographical area that is visible from a location. It includes all surrounding points that are in line-of-sight with that location and excludes points that are beyond the horizon or obstructed by terrain and other features (e.g., buildings, trees). Conversely, it can also refer to area from which an object can be seen. A viewshed is not necessarily “visible” to humans… (Source: Wikipedia, September 18, 2022)
All cleared up? No? Hhhmmm… Let’s tap a few other resources.
Viewsheds are visualizations of what is visible from a given point and are often used in urban planning. (Source: ArcGIS CityEngine Resources)
When I was 5 years old, I used to play hide-and-seek with my friends. Just like any kid, I’d always try to find the best hiding spots. I used to wonder: If I hide in this spot, what is visible from the observer’s point of view all around them (viewsheds)? Or if the observer looks in a straight line, what is obstructed or not (line of sight)? (Source: Line of Sight vs Viewshed: Visibility Analysis – GIS Geography)
Assessing what’s visible in a straight line from an observer’s specific location involves consideration for obstructions, topographical/elevation change, etc. This, as I understand it, is the sightline. Whereas the viewshed encompasses all visible objects and areas from the observer’s point of view.
In the case of our about-to-start icehouse rehabilitation, both the public viewshed (from the road, the sidewalk, even the lake which is a public thoroughfare) and the various sightlines (all three I’ve mentioned not only offer multiple perspective and multiple lines-of-sight on a spectrum from roughly north-to-south, but they also represent different elevations ergo unique topographical angles) are relevant, and they loosely informed the considerations of the Town of Essex Planning Board (and general public) when we presented our proposal this past July and August.
Essex Village Historic District
Because Rosslyn is a prominent part of the Essex Village Historic District, and because the historic icehouse is deemed important within the historic district’s public viewshed, the icehouse door became a point of discussion during our Planning Board approval process. The discourse and consideration is actually quite interesting. Historic icehouse. Historic icehouse doors. Historic District. Public viewshed. Public sightlines.
I’m going to treat this as a two-part post, this first installment to introduce the relevant considerations, and a follow-up once design decisions are finalized. For now, I’ll withhold the drawings as originally presented, in order to stimulate your own contemplation…
Building a drystack stone wall at Rosslyn, Essex on Lake Champlain
Yesterday, Thursday, May 15, 2009 was windier than a subway median at rush hour. Lake Champlain wind blasts reached 50 mph. The forecast had threatened gusts up to 90 mph. The rain drizzled off and on all day, but the fellow building the stone wall near the mud room stuck it out and got the job done.
This morning my bride interrupted me, frantic. She could only see one wind surfer on the on the boathouse dock. There had been two. Could the wind have blown it away? Possible, I supposed aloud, but unlikely.
I headed down and discovered that the older, larger Mistral sailboard was gone. Scanning the shoreline I spied it some two hundred feet north of the boathouse smashing against the rocks in heavy waves.
I couldn’t believe it. The wind had lifted it off the pier and deposited in the lake where it drifted until washing ashore. The wind! It’s a “vintage” sailboard at least a decade old. Huge. Heavy. A veritable aircraft carrier…
Yet there it was, getting splintered against the rocky shoreline.
I made my way north and climbed across the rocks. It was banged up pretty well, but still usable, though I figured it might be time to re-purpose it as a standup paddleboard.
I retrieved the board and made my way precariously back to the dock house, struggling to control the board in the still gusty wind. I was nearly blown off my feet several times before making it to the lawn.
Susan met me at the waterfront, and together we stored the Adirondack chairs inside the boathouse. I lashed the louvered doors shut because they’d blown open and wedged the sailboards in beside the chairs. The building moaned and the windows rattled against the wind gusts.
We headed back up to the house holding hands. The internet/television cable dangled from the pole where it had snapped and we counted two immense ash trees that had been knocked down in woods to the north of our front lawn. Leaves and branches were strewn all over the deck, driveway and lawn. An apple bough laden with blossoms lay on the grass.
After 24 hours our internet service was still down so I called the local company again for an update. A day later I showed the technician the dangling line. He’d been looking for about half an hour, walking around and using the hydraulic cherry picker on his van to lift him up for in-air surveillance on both sides of the road.
