Month: December 2024

Bob and I arrived yesterday morning in Magnolia, Delaware, for maybe our 4th housesit where we will not actually meet the homeowners. We had lots of communication ahead of time, but our respective travel schedules didn’t overlap, so no meet up.

This is our first housesit in the state that was first of the original 13 colonies to ratify the constitution. The town of Magnolia, population 285, is in Kent County, just south of the state capital of Dover. The area was originally known as Caroon Manor when the land was given by the Duke of York, the owner of the land that was subsequently named Magnolia after his favorite tree. Another fun Wikipedia fact, the founders chose to have a circular boundary for the town to represent brotherhood (obviously, no one was thinking about representing sisterhood).

Within the town of Magnolia, we are located within the community of Champions’ Club. It is a 55+ active adult community. It boasts a golf course and has street names like Nicklaus and Augusta National. I do appreciate being consistent with a theme.

More importantly, we are caring for the very sweet Cassie, a 12 year old Golden Retriever.

Today, after stocking up on some groceries. We walked along the greenway path behind the community center. Along the walk, we saw indications that there was a former golf course along the walk that has given way to park space for the newer housing development.

This was a short sit for us. We leave tomorrow after just over a week stay with four fun felines. They have kept us entertained. Here’s some of our favorite photos.

Tomorrow afternoon, we head towards our next sit in Delaware.

Late this morning, Bob and I drove out to a trailhead to walk part of a rail to trail path that he had found. The temp was in the mid 20s F, but it was sunny and the path and trail were beautiful. Here’s the proof.

The part of the trail we were on ran alongside the Cheshire Reservoir of the Hoosic River. There appeared to be some cute houses or communities across the reservoir.

After our walk, we treated ourselves to a lunch out in a cafe in downtown Pittsfield before coming back to the house. And then this.

The snow wasn’t predicted until tomorrow night, so this was a surprise. Could get up to 5 inches tomorrow night, but parts of New York and other states have had over 1 foot.

Today, we picked the Berkshire community of Stockbridge to explore. With a population of just over 2,000, it is the smallest of the towns that we have visited. We started with a hike to a tower. It was a short but fairly steep hike and our first (almost) winter hike in a long time.

After we returned to the car, we headed to the Norman Rockwell Museum. We weren’t planning to go in today, but I wanted to at least get a photo of it. We got some extra surprises.

What we didn’t know is that Norman Rockwell’s son Peter is a sculptor and some of his work is displayed on the grounds. If you’re using your (perhaps big) head, you’ll see where this is going.

Then we headed back into downtown to check out the shops. We found a few to poke through as well as some just classic New England style buildings and a fun old hotel.

December already?! Today, I visited the home of the writer Edith Wharton (1862-1937). She was born into upper-class New York “aristocracy” who went on to become an award-winning author. Her most popular novels are “The House of Mirth,” “Ethan Frome,” and “The Age of Innocence,” for which she was the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Literature. She was also the first woman to receive an honor doctorate of letters from Yale.

She was also a garden and interior designer and wrote several design books. The home I visited today, The Mount in Lenox, Massachusetts, was an example of her design principles and her primary residence from 1902-1911, after which she moved permanently to France (without her husband from whom she was ultimately divorced).

When she moved, she took all of her belongings with her, so the furnishings of the house are period appropriate but not hers except for the architectural details, paintings put into the walls, and 1500 of her personal collection of books that the foundation purchased for the home.

The grounds are beautiful as well, and she designed the gardens. There is also a pet cemetery, as she and her husband had five dogs.