Buffalo rising had this article a while back about a house with a moat. While down there with my mom for the Linwood Home Tour, we decided to check it out. Its interesting to see its lined with logs. I guess that could be waterlight like a barrel but not in that condition.

Makes me wonder if I could do that for a pond.

Sitting in top of the roof I remembered how much I love it here in the summer. I just wish I got to the square a little earlier.

The garden is so beautiful right now. I wish the garden walk was earlier although I am sure it will be beautiful then too.

It gets better every year. I realized just how much I love our rustic backyard in the middle of the city during our BBQ party last night.

This is the same party I did a one handed cartwheel while holding a full size axe and chopping wood as dared by (e:Mike). I wonder if the dare had to do with his name on my insurance policy. The axe provided a lot of entertainment. (E:samathon1986) hit one log straight in half with the ax. So did (e:Terry)'s friend pat.

Partway through the party the grill died. Seemed like a disaster. Then I took over the grill and it worked leading to some pretty delicious grilled shrimp and pineapple.

Its amazing how much work it takes to keep the garden in order. Our property is big but its not huge. I can't imagine having any more gardens without having to hire a gardener or being retired.

(E:terry) hacked out the pussy willow tree to make way for vegetables gardens. Everything is so late this year because of the cold. I left Basra our last night and he was so sluggish today.

We really trimmed back a lot of the pear tree. I think I want to. teeing it even more. The idea was to get it as far away from the ground as possible as it got that horrible fungal infection from leaves to near the ground last year.

We had a tour of the neighborhood this morning. It started out at the new intersection near my house and walked down to ferry visiting 4 houses along the way. It started at 9am which was a little early for me.



Our house was the first. Its so weird to see it through the trees.



Someday I want to do a home tour where the hallway upstairs is stripped and all the rooms are done. Maybe it can be the 24 Linwood 2020 vision at the rate we are moving.


440 is so amazing. It must be so hard to leave after putting so much customization into a home. They had this really neat glass bubble with real preserved butterflies inside.


The kitchen granite was so beautiful. Its hard to tell in the pic but there was solid chunks of clear crystal in it.


They had this custom fireplace brick/metal grate constructed from an old air duct grate from recovered from a bank.


The original leaded glass in the massive staircase window.


We also toured the former Block Club presidents porch where he reconstructed the porch which had previously been turned into a room for the house. The old carriage port was bricked in but they freed it and fixed the stone.


The car port is so nice. I am thoroughly jealous of their house.


While walking down the street we also toured the outside of one of the "problem properties" on the block. When we used to live at 444 this house was a serious blight. It had been a rooming house since the 1930 and by the mid 2000s it was full on ghetto. I used to cross the street when I had to walk to the subway station because people would always harass me and try and sell me drugs. Housing court finally shut it down thanks to the work of the block club. Supposedly, someone has bought it now and is going to reconstruct it.


The inside looks like a disaster to me. I am sure it can be fixed but that level of disrepair gives me a heart attack.


The Beau Fleuve has magnificant stairs.


The original windows are so lively.


At the end we toured the new "Home" headquarters being constructed in a building on the corner of W. Ferry and Main.

I wish I waited to get my roof repaired. There was a major tax credit for it this year.

Its been several weeks since the tree fell down on the property down the street from us. The property is the back of the fairfaxes parking lot. Its annoying because no one ever shovels it, or cleans the garbage piles from it and now the tree. I wonder how long it will take.

I guess the church folk next door are not the only people that think parking on the lawn is acceptable. The people at the trashiest house on the street do the same thing. Their lawn is so jacked up now.

I love how they threw in some wood planks to try and make it parkable. This house is one plot that would be better off as a parking lot.

Finally completed the left three windows. Only twelve more to go. (e:terry) is now talking about hiring someone to do the tops. I am torn between wanting to ride the cherry picker and not wanting to do any more work.

Its really coming around. In one more year I think the outside might be done.

Well, minus a new brick driveway and wall blocking off the church.