Millerton - Vegetable Garden

So it's begun.

I've already started some seeds: carrots, radish, beets, turnips, pumpkins. And I've planted some plants: squash, cucumber, tomatoes. But this year, rather than use up valuable top soil, I planted my potatoes under hay. A very good friend of mine, Dan, who is originally from Idaho (or is it Ohio... ;)... suggested it. He said, "that's how they do it there"... The best part is, you can just move the hay away from the potatoes to see how they are doing and see if they are ready to eat!

Next to the potato patch I'm planting pumpkins! This is going to be a fun summer!

Millerton - Things to Do

After a hard day of Gardening....

A really fun thing to do on a Saturday evening in the country is to attend an auction at Copake Auctions. And now, while you are sitting at home, enjoying a glass of wine on your wraparound porch, you can enjoy all that excitement through the internet by using on-line bidding.

This Saturday, Copake Auctions http://www.copakeauction.com/auctions/2011-05-14.html

is having one of their Estate Sale Auctions, “ Cataloged Americana” which starts at 5 PM and ends when everything has been up for bid. The best part is you can go, preview the items, mark down the ones you really like and then go home and wait until 5!

I have my eye on a few items (mostly for my yard) including this iron bench and these iron gates. But if the price isn’t right, forget it. That’s the other great thing about online bidding, much less stress.

The difficult part is figuring out what things are worth. There are a lot of collectors that attend these types of auctions so something that looks like it should go for $20 goes for 100 times that amount. Also, things at the beginning seem to go for more money than items at the end of the auction.

I’ll let you know what happens.

Update

Well, I didn't win the bench or the iron gate! But I did get this fantastic rocking chair - perfect for my porch! for $20! Yaye!

The Joy of Gardening in Millerton

“I dream of the days when I’m old and all I do all day long is garden”.

My father was a landscape architect and we grew up with a love and appreciation for all things plant. As a child we had a very large vegetable garden and living in San Diego, it supplied us with amazing fruits and vegetables nearly all year round. Sadly, at least until I have a proper green house, our growing season is only a few months long. So that means, as soon as the soil is workable, it “busy time” in the yard --- all work I love!

So, the plans for this coming weekend, as they will be for the next several weekends, are busy ones.

Early Saturday I'm heading up to Hillsdale and talk to Herrington’s people about rocks. Well, not just any rocks but fieldstone and blue flagstone. The fieldstone will be for the border around the flower garden and our new Japanese Maple . The flagstone will form our new walk way (or path) from the gate to our front door. “Gate?” Yes, the other major plan for this weekend is to stake out, measure and then meet with my guy Billy so we can get started on our picket fence.

These are the beginning elements (stone and picket fence) necessary to transform a boring front yard into an English Cottage garden.

One of the other things I plan to do is to change the windows. Well, not really change them because they are antique, but to update them. I recently came across this website: http://www.fixhome.com/Index.html which supplies window grilles (or grates) that can be installed over the windows. Look at any photo of a proper “Cottage Garden” and you’ll see that the homes always have these beautiful window grilles.

Anyway, one step at a time. So, this weekend two major things to accomplish and then the rest of the time I’m going to just be outside “gardening”… joy!

Millerton News

Cooperation among village mainstays builds a stronger Millerton
By WHITNEY JOSEPH - Editor
April, 28, 2011

MILLERTON — There’s no question the village of Millerton has seen a renaissance in the past few years. It has welcomed new businesses, additional residents and oodles of tourists.

The good news is the trend is continuing, with the development of such properties as 34-36 Main St., the future home of Little Gates Wine Merchants, which will be moving from its South Center Street location in time for Memorial Day.

Across the street, at the former M&T Bank, Jill and Paul Choma bought the vacant building to expand their shop, Gilded Moon Framing.

Around the corner, on South Center Street, Village Cycle and Fitness opened where Fudgy’s closed, saving Millerton from having an additional vacant storefront.

Just up Route 44 toward Connecticut there are plans to build a super-sized supermarket, as yet unnamed. The project that’s being proposed promises to be a draw to shoppers from around the Tri-state region.

All of this activity bodes well for the village of Millerton, according to Salisbury Bank & Trust (SBT) President and CEO Rick Cantele. SBT also set up shop in Millerton just last year, developing the highly visible corner of Maple and Main streets with a brand-new building that houses not only the bank but also the well-established law firm, Downey, Haab & Murphy.

“I think Millerton has done a great job,” Cantele said. “That’s one reason, certainly, why the bank put a branch and new office in Millerton. Millerton is a shining star in terms of what can be done in a small town in terms of creating a town center that has some vitality and excitement about it.”

Which is exactly why entrepreneur Andrew Gates, co-owner of Little Gates Wine Merchants, is so enthusiastic about the development of 34-36 Main St., which he is working on with his business partner, Will Little. Little is also the chairman of the board of investors of The Lakeville Journal Co., LLC, which owns The Millerton News. Gates also works as a broker at Sotheby’s International Realty in neighboring Salisbury, Conn.

Once completed, the development of 34-36 Main St. will be home to more than just the wine shop. Kamilla’s Floral Boutique is on the ground floor of 36 Main St. already. Eckert Fine Arts will also join the retail space, moving from Kent, Conn., to be a co-tenant at 34 Main St. One of the executive office spaces on the second floor is already rented, and there will be a personal fitness studio on the third floor. Gates will personally occupy loft space upstairs.

“It’s a unique property in our micro-region — I think of that as our little Tri-corner gap between Great Barrington and Rhinebeck where we don’t have a bigger town,” Gates said. “Millerton has emerged as a smaller but viable alternative to those bigger towns.

“In an era of rising energy costs we are returning to the more traditional mixed-use model. It’s going to be an enormously important trend in the upcoming decades,” he added. “I guess for now I’m the guinea pig in that I am occupying the third-floor apartment of the new Little Gates.”

Cantele toured the future Little Gates property recently, as he has done with other properties in the bank’s vicinity, just to get a feel for his customers and their businesses. He said it gives his clients an opportunity to get to know the bank’s management on a personal basis and to show the bank “how proud they are of what they do.”

Gates said he was appreciative of Cantele’s visit.

“I thought Rick would like to see what’s going on in the community,” Gates said. “And he really enjoyed seeing the project.”

And the project is moving full steam ahead. Earlier this month Little Gates received its approval from the New York State Liquor Authority to complete its move; a May 30 opening day is the goal.

Taken in context of the entire village landscape, Gates said the completion of 34-36 Main St. can only add to what’s already great.

“It’s creating additional vibrancy and adding to Millerton’s already existing good momentum,” he said. “I think we’ve done a good job of paying attention to the particular business mix downtown and I think we’re very lucky in terms of where we lie on the global map.”

© Copyright 2011 by TCExtra.com

Spring In Millerton - Finally

Spring came late this year.

This past weekend it was too beautiful to do any inside chores (so foyer is still not finished). Rather, I went to Adams Fairacre Farms (near Poughkeepsie) and bought two trees I've been longing for. (Adams is a fantastic garden nursery and I will definitely write more about them later.)

The first is a little pink Dogwood, Cornus Kousa (a Korean high-bread). As you can see from the first picture, she's very young and stands only about 5 feet tall.

But one day, Little Miss Cornus Kousa will look like this, eventually rising to a height of about 20 feet tall - and about 20 feet wide.

What is especially terrific about this variety is it is very hearty and resistant to disease. Also, it's pink flowers (which are really pink leaves) last longer than the native dogwood although it is also one of the latest bloomers.

This is my other little love, a sweet Japanese Maple with a lovely red feather leaf (Acer palmatum var. dissectum). She stands only about three feet and will never get very tall - and is slow growing.

There were so many subtle signs of spring like the daffodils and tulips. But it's early still so the crab apples trees and cherry trees have only just begun to bud. However, as you can see from this next photo, our young plum tree, despite the very cold, very snowy and very long winter, has popped into spring with a lovely show of white blossoms.

Maybe we'll have a plum this year!

Millerton - Quiet, Quaint, but Not Boring

The Other Tri-State Area: Millerton & Amenia

Betsy Mccall (front left) and the farmers of the Millerton Winter Farmers’ market.

For a photo slideshow of Milleron & Amenia, click here.

On a typical Saturday afternoon on Millerton’s Main Street, license plates tell the story of this village’s snug panhandle location. There are equal parts Connecticut and Massachusetts, with a more ample percentage of New York. This Tri-State trifecta serves Millerton’s businesses well.

Take, for example, the crowded Harney & Sons tasting room where rows of smartly packaged tea tins line the walls. The scope of varieties is exhaustive, while the price range reflects purity and scarcity. A four-ounce box of Earl Grey is an affordable indulgence at $6.50, while the same serving size of top Ti Quan Yin would fetch $85.
“Just like no one was an expert in wine 30 years ago, the same thing has happened with tea,” explains John Harney, master tea blender, founder of Harney & Sons, and patriarch of the family that moved to the area from Pittsburgh in 1957. “There’s still a lot of growth ahead in the specialty tea and coffee industries.”

For the entire article go to: http://hudson-valley.chronogram.com/issue/2011/4/Community+Pages/The-Other-Tri-State-Area-Millerton-and-Amenia?page=1

Home Improvements

When we first looked at our potential home about a year and a half ago, it had some fantastic features and some not so fantastic features.

One of the home's best attributes is it's location, the Village of Millerton, and the fact that the property is only a block off Main Street, on a large lot, and on a quiet culdesac. What they say about LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION is entirely true.

I also fell in love with the oak woodwork - especially the red-oak floors which were in terrific shape. But from the start I knew I needed to make some changes to bring this home from stuck in the 70's to a more contemporary feel - but without losing it's Victorian charm.

As I've mentioned before, practically every room had wallpaper. And, as I've said, the idea of updating an entire home - practically by myself - was daunting. So, I had to pick projects. My first project was the foyer. I began by stripping off all the old wallpaper which left unfinished walls. I then "thin coated" the walls which is not necessarily a difficult task - but an arduous one indeed. Coat, sand, coat, sand, fix dings, coat, sand.... you get the picture.

FINALLY, this past weekend I was able to prime the walls and PAINT!

This is what the view from the staircase

- looking into the foyer and living room through French doors -

looked like when I purchased the home.

And this is what the foyer looks like now!

(Note, however, it's not done yet. Obviously the tape protecting the molding must come down, the radiator needs to be dealt with, the paper protecting the floor needs to be removed - but you get the idea. More photos will be posted when the project is completed so stay tuned.)

This fantastic shade of red is Benjamin Moore's Caliente (muy HOT - that's for sure). It changed the entire feel of the foyer. It's fun, warm, inviting and exciting. I learned a few things along the way that will definitely help with future painting projects.

• If you're going to paint RED, then prime with grey first. (These walls took 4 coats of paint - and I could probably have done more.)
• Leave yourself lots of time - it always takes longer than you think.
• Prep! Yes, put down that protective layer of paper or drop cloths and secure them tightly. It will really help when it comes to clean up and your whole painting project will go smoother.

I can't wait to get back at it! Only a few more steps before the foyer is complete and then I'll be able to move on to the next project. YAYE.