Mud Season

Beginning of what the locals (and everyone in Vermont) call "Mud Season". When all the snow melts it makes a sloppy, some might say "poopy", mess.

Dad, cuttin' somethin' (one of the ceiling planks for the bathroom).

The bathroom ceiling, about a third done with the planks.

Inspired by H.O. Edson (see earlier post), we put our names on the ceiling for posterity.

The finished bathroom ceiling.

Snowing again.

The slate bathroom floor; before grout.

With grout.

The West Rutland Marsh.

The backyard.

Animal tracks. Left by what may well have been a bear... or a cougar... but was probably just a fox.

Shelly sanding one of the original doors...

The shiny golden bulldog on Ed's (the neighbor) shiny new truck.

Grouting is not as much fun as I make it look.

My dinner with Ed.

The laundromat (aka the basement).

The Kidnap Note

 Our neighbor welcomes us back... Wait a minute, is that blood?!

 The bedroom ceiling wasn't even (cuz we tore a wall down), so we are sheetrocking it. This is the "before"...

 Our Vermont home theater. Featuring a 19 inch full color screen, dvd player and stereo sound!

 Snowing again.

 Putting sheetrock over the old tile ceiling.

 Snowing again.

 A ransom note from the neighbors? We still haven't figured out who's been kidnapped but "keep Vermont green bring money" makes their terms clear. What kind of threat is "The heat is on"? Sounds kind of nice.

 The bathroom floor, almost finished...

The bedroom ceiling, almost finished...

 View from the backyard.

Smokin', Drinkin' and Talkin'

 -10. Fahrenheit. What to do? The only thing you can do when it's ten below! Smoke, drink and talk!

 The Winter Watchman. When the temperature gets too low, it turns a light on in the house...  So the neighbors know your pipes are bursting.

 This is what spackle looks like.

 Footprints in the snow...

 Paintin' the windows.

 This is a Cooper's Hawk...  aka "chicken hawk".  They eats chickens.

Ooops. This picture is a typo.

Trust and Believe

 Yup, it's not just people killing the planet with their SUVs! Damn dirty dog. Outside of the Home Depot in Rutland, Vermont.

 Our mighty brook has disappeared!

 Marble Street near the house... These "mountains" look like boobies.

 The West Rutland Marsh.  It's badass.

 Shelly, looking like she knows what she's doing.

Matt, looking like he knows what he's doing.

No Fishing, Swimming or Rafting

 The "brook" in the backyard.  No fishing, swimming, or rafting.

 The big pine tree on top of the hill in the backyard.  There's a prize for climbing all the way to the top and ringing the bell that's up there!

 Killington. People ski there.

 Cemetery on Pleasant Street...  Has some really old (dead) people in it.

 Ed's magic "snow blowing" machine.  No one knows how it works; it just does!

 Shelly told me these were Vermont Chocolate Berries (almost as famous as maple syrup), that were magically delicious.  Well, they're very chewy, a bit stringy and have a taste not unlike poop.  Why not come up and try one?  We have plenty for all!

 The West Rutland Liberry.

 So sad... Mr. Pumpkin has gone to a better place.

Run for your life!

Timber!  The neighbors cut this tree down across the street just to improve our view!  Thanks guys! Watch it in the HD on the Youtubes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFwfdl_OvfE

The Story of H.O. Edson

Our neighbor in Vermont with a deer.  Don't worry kids, the deer was just "sleeping" (umm... forever).

 Ed and my pa on the neighborhood tour.

 I found this board tearing apart the wall in the "old" bathroom.  Someone left their name on it, "H.O. Edson, Rutland".  Shelly looked him up with the help of the internets.

 H.O. Edson, aka Henry Edson.  Shelly found this old advertisement from the city directory for Rutland, Vermont (dated 1895!).  He was apparently a lumber dealer and semi-bigwig in the area.  Sqeeto!

 Snow - Yay!

Freshly painted.  "Parchment" is the color (I call it "white").

Sheet rock is up!  Time to "flow the mud".