Garage & Garden Projects

The outstanding weather is giving us day after day to prepare for colder and darker days ahead.

We’re enjoying the empty beach walks surrounded by the color bands thrown around the horizon as the sun sinks, I’m in love with the pink band..

The car now has it’s place in the garage, feels good!

I bought 8 green giant trees to plant deep in the forest to provide years of layered protection inside the stone walls. More shade loving plants will be added, including witch hazel and oakleaf hydrangea next year.

On order for spring are beautiful tulips bulbs and a few others for spring excitement- looking forward to seeing the pop up to mark the next season.

Fall brought a hasty retreat of the turkey and the deer to deeper woods, while the native birds are suddenly in the yard. These are the patterns that matter to me, I like to keep track, note and observe all the wild creatures and their behavior, including mosquitoes and spiders, bats and chipmunks. Enrolled in a lecture by a local wildlife Phd who specializes in coyotes, we have them on the lane and I need to understand them better to be at peace.

Other plant plans are propagation. Winter gem boxwood, shade loving Yew.

I want a beautiful allee of dwarf fruit trees along the driveway- apple? pear? peach? we have the sun for it, thank goodness, more research needed. Low maintenance, strong disease resistant and drought tolerant varieties are required.

So many plans and ideas for the property- hours of mental entertainment and wonderful distraction from work and how to actually afford my dreams. More fun to dream away and not worry about how to actually make them come true. Dream your life or live your dreams? If only it was so simple, Money and much of it is required, of course and unfortunately.

Back to plants, oh and architecture. So I ordered the Timeless book by Patrick Ahern and my takeaway was symmetry. That’s what’s needed to the facade and wings on both sides to create proportion of balance. Formal hedges to define spaces and create outdoor rooms. Beach hedge with archway to walk under.

Lilacs, can’t forget lilacs. Plan a trip to Arnold Arboretum in spring to lean and see types.

What should we garden for profit? Garlic, arugula, potatoes, specialty flowers, mushrooms, cannabis?

So much to think about, meanwhile the windows are bare, no time to focus on drapery.

Christmas party, need to hire piano player, trying to find one.

October 28th 2022

It’s a retreat.

We call it Coastal Woods Farm. We’re not sure what kind of farm this is but we know it needs a pool, sauna, 3 season room, maybe it’s a farm spa? Let’s go with that.

Whatever it becomes, right now it is 3 acres of peace and quiet.

It’s Magical watching the leaves drift off the trees on the east side of the farm with our morning coffee as the sun climbs above the trees.

We’re surrounded by a colorful symphony. of trees preparing for winter,. The season of monarchs, and hummingbirds has passed.

Now the native birds, squirrels, and chipmunks greet us on our walks. Saw a coyote on the lane 2 weeks ago, time to learn more about them.

We’re looking forward to the dark cold days ahead.

Car in the garage windy lunchtime beach walks, evenings by the fire reading, early to bed, waking up to frosty mornings or better yet surrounded by deep snowy woods and magical icy trees when the sun hits the branches. Like living in a snow globe, a winter wonderland, we hope!

Making plans for cross country skiing in Burlingame or right up the lane into the 325 acres at the end of the driveway.

Decking the Halls for TC’s 1 year birthday party for 11 people in late December. We hung the 12 foot tapestry last weekend- looks great! The baby grand piano will be played by friends from chorus and we plan to sing the songs of good tidings and peace on earth ( as far off as it is).

New friends and community being found by joining The Westerly Chorus & The South Kingstown Land Trust.

Slice of heaven, this coastal woods farm, where we are growing crops of wonder and gratitude.

October 13th - almost two months

We love it here.

So much work to do.

Cycling around on the e-bikes makes us feel like kids.

We’re exploring all the great restaurants and things to do in Westerly, Watch Hill. Lunch at the Weekapaug Inn was memorable.

I’ve joined the Westerly Chorus, it’s serious and we’re learning to read music, super cool IMHO.

One Month

Still pinching myself that this is home again. Every day we are more grateful as the weather cools and the front and back doors are open bringing the fresh salty sea air mixed with the pine forest scented air breezing through the house all day. After work, we head to the beach for sunset swims and long leash runs with TC. Turkeys, deer, and hummingbirds are still in the yard. Hummingbird numbers are declining as they head south and the monarchs that were prolific two weeks ago are no longer flitting around the giant white butterfly bush. I love 4 seasons.

These posts like, 90% of the internet, only highlight the peak experiences. Neglecting to tell the full story of just how overwhelming and exhausting this move back has been. Not to mention scary expensive with no end in sight, as this house is a project. We bought a project. Some days that seems to matter more than others. There is a gigantic spider just outside one of 8 windows in the primary bedroom, I googled what it could be…black widow apparently. Experts will be called! Project after project they keep rolling in and I expect will do so for the duration of owning this home in the woods.

Back to the highlights, it is so peaceful with bright dappled light that swings around the house from east to west along the south side. The birdsong includes the beloved male finch, owls at dawn and dusk, as well as osprey and hawk now and then.

One of the biggest and most impressive highlights is the general location. So close and convenient to everything worth seeing and doing in Southern New England. At our doorstep within 10 -15 minutes are an untold number of beaches, sailing and boating facilities, and 3500 acres of the South Kingstown Land Trust right at the end of our driveway. A huge plus for work and shopping is the easy commute to the Westwood RT 128 office. The wonderful train station provides access to and opens up Boston, NY, and Portland Maine to regular day tripping adventures. Wondering if there is a train that will take me to a ski resort?

Sharing a photo dump from the last few days.

September 1, 2022 Charlestown, RI

On Aug 15 we closed- it has been 2 weeks since we moved cross country to this 3-acre compound along the coast and in the woods abutting the preservation trails of the South Kingstown Land Trust. Writing mostly for myself here. If you are reading this and you find it interesting, that’s pretty incredible! Impressions of summer on this property are that anything will grow here, it is a paradise for plants (and us too).

The new neighbors seen each day include:

• Hummingbirds

• Monarch Butterflies

• 2 active families of wild turkeys (they eat ticks :))

• 1 family of deer including 2 spotted doe

Dad selected this place and helped us close the deal. The house is good enough. One day, with time and investment it has the potential to be beautiful and special. The garden opportunities are endless, at the moment the gardens of Ina Garten are most inspiring.

The baby grand piano was left behind by the sellers, I’m practicing most nights and am finding it much more fun than Netflix. On optimal sunset evenings, the e-bike by Cowboy whisks me over to the South County Flower Farm to watch all the magic sky colors over the flower fields.

The great location means we’re 10 minutes to Main Street in Wakefield where the bike path, the best yoga, and the creamiest ice cream live. Crossing over RT 1, we’re 10 minutes to Green Hill Beach and Trustom Pond. Other local gems include Quonochontaug -Quonnie Farms, Dave’s Coffee at Galapagos, The Rathskeller, and the Matunuck Oyster Bar.

3 daily walks up the grass ribbon driveway lane with TC (Total Charmer) break up the work-from-home grind in the best possible way. His puppy energy at 7 months is a fun distraction with his antics and cute ways. We sleep under a sky full of stars you can actually see with the windows open to let in the fresh air that was so impossible to find in Texas. I never belonged in Texas. This is my home, it has never felt more true than now that….

There’s no place like home.

These three are everything.

On Goose Island Road