25 December 2008

For Christmas Santa brought Chree a lovingly cared for 17' Grumman aluminum canoe. And not just any Grumman, but Hopea Kanootti, the canoe originally owned by Pirk and Dot Pirkkanen, Perry's parents. Finnish translation of Hopea Kanootti: Silver Canoe.

26 November 2008

Held annual 7-Course Dinner at our house in Virginia. After each course (and wine pairing), solicited names for the Fern Lake property driveway, then voted on the copious offerings. Alex and Katy (number two son and wife) came up with the two winning entries (tied vote): PVT Parts and Triangle Square Circle. Suspect that the Town Clerk may have a problem approving the former, so will go with the latter. My favorite entry, Perkins Drive, finished a distant eighth.

13 November 2008

Took measurements for creating a camera perch in the 3 foot diameter hemlock that is down slope from the house site. Met with Andrew Peterson, Leicester Zoning Administrator, to review town permitting requirements. He stated that the property is in Lake Zone 1, which means that the side yard property line setback would be 25 feet vice 40 feet. Donna Pidgeon (former Town Clerk) and Andrew agreed that the address for the property should be 1750 Lake Dunmore Road, and Andrew filled out the E-911 Commission form to that effect. Andrew also said that there were no town ordinances other than for zoning, so no burn permit was needed. Laid out the intended car turnaround location, just to the east of the north / south stone wall. Had coffee with Sid, who gave permission for the logging truck to use his driveway to load out the logs. Sid said that the private driveway signs come from the Kubota dealer in Pittsford. Moved all of the stakes for the house location 10 feet north and 10 feet west. Informed Brad Ramsay of that change. Met with Arlan Pidgeon, Leicester Road Commissioner (and Donna's husband), who agreed that no culvert would be needed where the driveway joins Route 53 and that the driveway junction would provide the required sight distances along the road. Arlan signed the Zoning Permit application to that effect. A cold rainy day... but better than being in Virginia!

12 November 2008

Met with Toby Rheaume to discuss logging marked trees. Reached agreement that Toby would charge for time spent harvesting the trees, but market the logs in my name (i.e., Chree gets the check from the sawmill)… and guaranteed we'd come out ahead by at least $100. Toby also was willing to clear out the smaller trees and take anything between 4″ - 10″ for firewood, paying $10 - $20 per cord. I agreed to obtain a burn permit to dispose of the slash, and would be able to salvage anything smaller than 4″ for firewood. Toby also was equipped to saw any of the logs into planks we might want to use in the house (e.g., the maples for Study shelves??). Spent the balance of the morning clearing, marking, and measuring the path from the where the Patio will be down to where I thought the dock / gazebo should be located on the lakefront... total distance 356 feet from the Patio SW corner to the pine on the water's edge.

11 November 2008

Met with Calvin Loven and Eugene Villaneau to discuss logging marked trees. Mr. Villaneau wanted to take the trees for zero stumpage. No deal! Brad Ramsay performed a survey of the entire parcel for septic system design purposes. Shot 381 points! My role was rod man and limb trimmer. Haven't had that much fun since doing occasional survey work as a teenager with my dad (a longtime New England Telephone Company outside plant engineer). Boy has the surveying technology changed in the last four decades!

9 November 2008

Assisted by a freezing Lynne, restaked the house footprint based on Town of Leicester Zoning Regulations for Lake Zone 2, requiring a 40 foot setback from the side property line. Straightened and restaked the driveway path to accommodate keeping several large trees. Marked trees deemed sawmill worthy that will have to be removed from the house site and driveway. Perry Pirkkanen (Lynne’s wealth-of-knowledge husband, shown here liberating some firewood from the driveway) visited for the first time.

18 October 2008

Chree received a bee keeper hat and veil for her birthday – protection against all biting flying insects. She loved it!!!!

15 October 2008

Met with Brad Ramsay (water and septic system design engineer) to discuss system design alternatives. Concluded in that meeting that the best option would be to have the leach field downhill from the house site. Drove down and got a copy of the Leicester zoning regulations from the Town Clerk's office. Lynne Pirkkanen (my incomparable sister who lives about 8 miles away in Salisbury) visited the property for the first time. Picnic lunch with Lynne and Alverta. Sid had Calvin Loven (a local handyman) clean out the boat shed and remove the Glassners’ firewood stack that was on our property. Completed taking rough elevation measurements, assisted by Alverta. Decided that having the leach field downhill from the house site would push the house too far back from the lake. Staked out the house location, a better septic leach field location just west of the north / south stone wall that nearly bifurcates the property (where we picnicked), and a rough driveway path. Met with Bob LaPorte (excavation contractor and classic Vermonter) to discuss site preparation and foundation excavation work.

14 October 2008

At the property all day taking more rough elevation measurements on a 20' x 10' grid, assisted by Alverta. Still some mosquitoes! A perfect fall day with a picnic lunch. Sid Glassner gave permission to run utility services under his driveway from the end-of-the-line telephone / electric pole on his property over to the future house site on our property. Told Sid that he was welcome to salvage the stairway and dock on our lot.

19 August 2008

Real estate purchase closing with Joan Donahue (lawyer), Tom Whittaker, and Tom & Lisa O'Connor (sellers) at Conley & Foote, LLC, in Middlebury. Visited the property with Chree to rough out future house location and take more elevations.

17 July 2008

Chree visited the property for the first time, along with Alverta Perkins (my mom). Met Sid Glassner and Marty & Merry Lapidus (adjoining neighbors to the south and north, respectively). The property is reasonably level moving west from VT 53 for the first 450 feet, then slopes moderately downhill (about 60 feet elevation change) to Fern Lake. After about a nanosecond's thought, was clear that the house should sit on the top of the hill just back of where the slope starts. Chree wants a true north / south / east / west orientation for the house, which works well with the fall line of the slope. Took rough elevation measurements at future house site. This will be the view from the living room, which will be enhanced considerably once a bit of tree trimming is done! Mosquitoes were pretty fierce, but Chree said we could go ahead with the purchase anyway. Swam in Fern Lake for the first time – delightful! Crystal clear water and fairly warm even though this was only July.

27 June 2008

Visited the Fern Lake property with Tom Whittaker, seen trying to figure out just where the property line runs... much more on that later. The property consists of 2.83 undeveloped acres (approximately 600 feet deep by 230 feet wide), with the east end abutting Vermont Route 53 (paved, State-maintained road) and the west end fronting on the lake. Fern Lake was a long-ago glacial cirque and now is fed totally by springs and direct rainfall... there are no inlet or outlet streams. Consequently, it is one of very few Vermont lakes that has clear water... most are very brown / murky due to runoff from inlet streams. On the property there is a wooden stairway that goes from the Glassner's house down to a lakefront dock and dock storage shed. Quite obviously, most of the stairway is on the property up for sale... but the O'Connor's property deed gave the Glassners the right to use the stairway and dock for two years, then the Glassners would have to remove the stairway.  That right of access would transfer with a new sale.  After consulting with Chree, submitted an offer to purchase the property. Offer was verbally accepted, but then the owners reneged and allowed a bidding war to ensue, rapidly and substantially driving up the price. Obviously we prevailed, or this narrative would not be any longer than this one paragraph.

Prologue

Back in 1974 Chree (wife) and I bought a 39 acre piece of undeveloped land on a (sometimes) sunny dirt road up in the hills of East Calais, Vermont. Our thought, way back then, was that, when the time came, we would retire to that property. That land is across the road from the rustic log cabin my father built, where he lived in for many years, and where my brother now lives.

As retirement got nearer in the mid-2000's, Chree and I began thinking about the living situation we each desired in our golden years. For Chree, the fierce summertime flying insect situation (deer flies, mosquitoes, and no-see-ums) in Calais was NOT what she had in mind... Much as I love that property (especially in the fall and winter), I could see her point... and an unwelcome divorce if I persisted with Calais retirement plans. So, during our vacations for three years in a row, Chree and I looked all over Vermont for the right piece of property on which to build our retirement dream home. We saw some properties we liked (not loved), but ultimately decided to wait until we were sure we'd found the right spot. Along the way we met Tom Whittaker, a real estate agent in Brandon, Vermont. He showed us several properties in the Lake Dunmore / Fern Lake area - located about 12 miles south of Middlebury, Vermont (home of the prestigious college by the same name). One place in particular, an A-frame chalet on Fern Lake, Chree absolutely loved. Unfortunately, that property wasn't available just then... but was expected to go sale in the near future. (Note: never happened.)

Fast forward to January 2008. Tom called one day to say that a property had just come on the market on Fern Lake that he thought was just what we wanted. The piece for sale was half of a double lot owned by Sid and Shelley Glassner (who had their home on the other half). By the next day, as I was scrambling to pack up and head north to take a gander, the owners already had three offers... and Tom was told by their real estate agent that I shouldn't waste my time coming up to Vermont. For obvious reasons, we weren't going to put in a bid sight unseen. Alas, the property sold, two days later, to Tom & Lisa O'Connor, a couple of Middlebury teachers.

Then, on 25 June Tom called again. Seems that the O'Connors had decided that they didn't want the Fern Lake property after all. First thing the next morning I was speeding north (but OF COURSE never, ever, going faster than the posted speed limit...).