New Listing or Why I've Been Busy

Just posted on Instagram Tuesday 6:45pm

The owner took this photo and I love it.

The cherry tree wasn't as pretty when I took this photo.

The owner took this photo too.

We already have appointments lined up and the first showing isn't until Friday. It has been a whirlwind but it's up and running.

See you later. xo

Hello Novmber

I posted this image one year ago a tan color HERE. So far, I have posted January through November in Red. The description for the tan one at Harvard can be read here. 

We had a horrible rain and wind storm overnight and I woke up to a tall tree from my next door neighbor's property over the part of my driveway leading down to my red barn and the canopy of the tree with no leaves in my front garden. No damage was done and a tree person said my part of the cleanup will be very inexpensive. It was horrible just after midnight when I woke up to see what was happening outside. And then I heard the crash but could not determine the source. I slept soundly somehow and found the tree when I opened my front door. Power never went off and many people all around me had much worse damage. All that on Halloween night too. Yikes. Hope you didn't have any damage. xo

Morris Essex Dog Show 1927-1957

This panoramic vintage photo is on display at Harding Township Town Hall and the event took place just up the street from my cottage. The man who built my house was born in the home of Marcellus Hartley Dodge (his family was in service there). In adulthood, he purchased the land to build his own home from Mr. Dodge as shown on my deed and I am the second owner. The lot was much larger back then and provided income in later years as he sold off land for new houses but was still able to maintain a smaller private lot for his cottage, now mine.

The inscription below the photograph: 

Morris and Essex Dog Show 1927-1957

An international event spanning thirty years, the Morris & Essex Dog Show was hosted and sponsored by Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge, daughter of William and niece of John D. Rockefeller, and her husband, Marcellus Hartley Dodge, owner and Chairman of the Remington Arms Company. In 1939, the show exceeded records previously held by Crufts, UK and Westminster shows, becoming the largest one-day dog show in the world, With over 65,000 attendees and 4,456 canines arriving in 10,000 automobiles, it required four times as many tents as the Barnum & Bailey's Circus. No other dog show has ever matched this one for its elegance and standing.

Click on each photo to enlarge and see how formally the people were dressed for this event.

Red Barn Complex with Windmill

I took this photo yesterday with my iPhone without my feet touching the ground. Yes, I was in my car! This delightful farm is near my cottage and I never tire of driving past. I had been taking a few pictures at The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge and had to drive by this pastoral setting coming and going. It was on the driver side on my way home. It has everything, doesn't it? A partially frozen pond with an aerating fountain in the center that is actively working in spite of the cold weather. Look closely and you will see the spray. I especially love the windmill and the long barn complex is fabulous. Swoon. I put this on Instagram too but the top and bottom were cropped because of the square format used there. 

We had a gray day up until just recently. I was sure it was going to snow but it never did. It's still being forecast for tomorrow morning but just a dusting. I've got my TV evening all set up. It's PBS all night -- Pie in The Sky, Father Brown, Scott and Bailey. I'm looking forward to all three English programs. Can't wait! xo

Wild Violets, Cropped.

This closeup of my wild violets is my original photo cropped to show how beautiful they really are.  I did not know they were called Viola Sororia or that they're the state flower of New Jersey. How nice.

New Jersey's Natirar Farm Launched by Sir Richard Branson

PEAPACK-GLADSTONE, NJ -- Take the international influence of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin trademark, a 100-year-old estate in central New Jersey, two young organic farmers from Vermont, and a culinary school -- and you get the beginnings of a farm-to-fork enterprise -- The Farm at Natirar. Sounds like something Alice Waters would embrace.

The World-Class Resort & Spa + Cooking & Wine Schools debut at the restored 1912 estate formerly owned by the King of Morocco who never spent one night there. Read full press release here.

We locals refer to this estate as the Kate Macy Ladd Convalescent Home. Natirar is Raritan spelled backwards after the Raritan River which runs through the property. Malcolm Forbes was instrumental in the sale of this landmark to the King of Morocco. A large portion of the undeveloped land is now Somerset County parkland. It's wonderful that this beautiful landscape is preserved open space with walking trails that are open to the public.

This is quite something for this beautiful part of the NJ countryside where Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis had a country home and rode with the hunt on these very grounds. I used to ride my bike past Natirar in the early 1970s when I lived nearby. I am sure everyone involved is very worried about the economic conditions and the timing of this opening which is long overdue. Time will tell. Have a great weekend.