Martha's Garden Phase 1

During the winter we've been busy planning Martha's garden. The first step was designing a pavilion for the west side of the house that could use an existing concrete slab. So first we purchased a bunch of lumber... and cut it according to a sketch (and precise engineering drawings, of course). Then the lumber was ready for the paint shop at our Bay area workshop.

It was primed and given a good first coat, loaded on the flatcar and then transported to the Ranch in our truck. There, on a very cold, windy, cloudy Saturday we assembled it.

No Worries

The so-called Great Fire started just before 1 p.m. Saturday on the south side of Highway 78 and Scissors Crossing, east of Julian and near Shelter Valley. It was reported this afternoon that the fire is 40% contained. The farmhouse is a piece away and our neighbors report that nearby Jess Martin Park is the staging area for all manner of fire appartus and helicopters. While that's exciting, it's October, our favorite month, and it's fire season.

Summer's Here!

Early in June and in-between a high school and college graduation (congratulations to the lovely Martha!), we got to spend a full weekday week up at the Ranch. Most of our accomplishments involved organizing the garage and laying out surveying stakes and giving the ranch a haircut!

We also hosted our favorite plein air artist...

Biggest Screen Ever

At our last visit we installed an unbelievable 8-foot by 8-foot projection screen in the dining room. Partially Martha's vision for making the farmhouse friendly for groups, clubs and business gatherings and my vision for that future photography studio - not to mention that boy need for a big screen TV - the projection screen idea was born. "8-foot?" I asked. "Yes," she replied. And here it is!

New Pics

The Upstairs Bath

A nice place to read in the front room

The Breakfast Nook

Yep. A wood burning fireplace.

The Living Room from the Breakfast Nook

The Living Room again from the other side near the downstairs bath

During the first snow of 2011, we snapped some good shots of the inside of our farmhouse at the ranch.

Quite A Winter

We took some time out of our hectic sea level lives to enjoy our mountain ranch this February and we arrived just 10-minutes before the snow flyed! And 6-inches by the next morning! Quite a treat as last February (2010) we braved Highway 79 up from Alpine in a Kia sedan during a blinding - literally - snowstorm!

March Snow

Luckily (and blessed from some great prayers from the lovely Martha and some fancy driving from Michael, who hadn't driven in snow since his days in Illinois) we arrived back at the ranch minutes before the plows came out to clear the highway. During "snow days" here in Julian, be prepared and bring chains! Once you get here, you're okay but, whew, the roads are something else to the unprepared.
Revised 7-18-11

Welcome to Our Webpage

Last Summer

On behalf of the lovely Martha, welcome to our ranch page. There will be much more to come over the course of the next several years and if you're viewing this you're one of the first to learn about the exciting ideas that are in the future. In the meantime, thanks for taking a look!
Michael