August 23, 2018

Where Are You?

Where are you.  This winter was long.  And quiet.
Even the Loons left early.
Then the snows came.  And came.  Thirteen feet covered the forest floor and banked up my stone sides.
Where are you?
It's May.  You are late.  Things need doing.  And fixing.
Shutters have failed.  There is a leak in the upstairs bathroom.
The Chickadees are here.  The daffodiles are up.  The grass has sprung.  The Lilacs are blooming.
Where are you?
The mice ran amok all winter.

May 20, 2017

The Summer of 2017

May 19, 2017

I'm Back!

Three years have passed since my last post.  I could say that I'd lost the password to the blog.  But really life just got in the way.  Three more grandchildren, an addition, a boat to maintain, retired.  Traveled some.  A marriage.  Been busy, busy.  Caught up in the rat race.  Lived through a good, decent President and the beginning of a potentially disasterous one.  And I lost my password.

Let's catch up, shall we?  I'll post some new photos and some stories.  Talk about some projects that we've completed and a couple we're anticipating.  So here goes -- the Summer of 2017


Tillman Wright
2 year old


March 11, 2014

2014

My brother Jeff, his wife Denise and their children Katherine and Alix will be joining us again this summer in August.  We will have a new addition to the camp experience this summer -- a Hobie Cat 16.

February 27, 2014

The Ghosts of Stonecamp

Stonecamp has ghosts.  That became obvious during our first visit to Wayne when a local, upon learning that we were the new owners of Stonecamp, heralded us with ghost stories and questioned whether we had experienced anything strange yet.  Yet?  We learned that the grand piano had had a history of playing itself during parties, that there have been at least two unfortunate deaths in the house, maybe more and that a previous owner's ashes had been released to the waters in front of the camp.  Yet? 

The author of a recently published book on the ghosts of Maine asked for permission to include Stonecamp in her book.  During a visit, the group accompanying her spotted three ghosts in the camp and one in the boathouse -- a nattily dressed and very polite gentleman greeted them in the parlor; a well dressed but slightly distressed lady was found in an upstairs bedroom and a young girl skipped along the catwalk leading to the boathouse.  In the boathouse, an older man in cap and vest was found working at the workbench in the stable.  He would not turn to acknowledge his visitors.

We declined permission to include Stonecamp in the book, concerned that certain members of the family would be "spooked".
 
The ghost in the boathouse was named Henry.  I know this because he told me so.  Our relationship wasn't always comfortable.  For my first two years, the hair on my neck would stand up when I walked into the boathouse, particularly at dusk.  He warmed to me after I respectfully asked his name and apologized for disturbing him.  Although I never actually saw or heard anything, I would reintroduce myself upon each return visit and he would repay my kindness by guiding me silently to missing tools when asked.

One very strange event occured in August 2011.  In the middle of the night, Peter's dog Huck suddently began a soulfull, wailing bark as he sprinted from upstairs bedroom to bedroom while peering down to the catwalk below.  Upon hearing the commotion above, KT's brother Johnny who was spending the night in the boathouse, opened the door to investigate.  Upon doing so, he saw "something" on the catwalk move suddenly towards him.  Overcome with dread, he slammed the door shut and wouldn't open it until morning. 

In 2012, Denise reported that the place settings she'd laid out for dinner had been moved twice -- even though she was sure that no one but her had been in the room.

Once my hair would stand up on my evening trips to the bathroom or when I walked past the entrance to the stairs where a previous owner had stumbled fatally.  Entering the camp's crawlspace to attend to a thrown circuit breaker was frequently a test of wills.  And Tristan and Peter still tell the tail of setting up an Ouiga board late one night but not being able to bring themselves to make a first move.  Perhaps it's the flow of family and visitors.  Or the extensive rehabilitation to the camp?  I don't know.  But I do know that after we removed the stable in 2013, Henry left.

December 31, 2013

Goodbye Papa San

Under the wide and starry sky
Dig the grave and let me lie;
Gladly did I live and gladly die,
And I lay me down with a will.
This little verse you grave for me,
"Here he lies where he longed to be,
Home is the sailor, home from the sea,
And the hunter is home from the hill."

September 11, 2013

A New Bathroom for the Boathouse

As soon as the foundation repairs were done, Deric got to work installing a bathroom on the second floor of the boathouse.  He leveled the floor and rebuilt the roof and dormer to accommodate a wall of windows.  We'll have a view of the lake when we sit on the john.  Plans called for a walk-in shower, large closet and plenty of warm space to dress on a cold morning.






Karen's contribution was to reuse the old sliding stable door.  She had lots of help from Jerry who helped haul the door upstairs and mount in on the hall wall.

Still some work to do in 2014, but the look is there.
 Here's what it looked like before.



Also a photo of another of Karen's re-purposed projects.
Deric promises to have the floor laid before Karen and I return in May 2014 to install wood walls, ceiling and window/door trims.  Should be ready for our summer visits.