April Showers - not!

New Hampshire is dry, no fires outside because of the threat of brush fires, but trees are turning green and forecast for continued temps above freezing, so carving has moved to the deck and going strong.  Right now just trying to finish projects of miniature ducks, some antique and some flying, shore birds and a couple of Santa's.  Going out to the storage unit to check out wood supply (but also to find Pat's summer and spring clothes-she is tricky!) but need to get better organized.  Trying to keep my Facebook page "Papa Richter Carvings" updated with some pictures included in this post.

Will Be Antique Goose Miniature 

Miniature Sleeping Black Duck

Big news is that I have been accepted into the "Arts Alive Program" in the Monadnock Region; you can check it out at http://monadnockartsalive.org/artists/craft.  I've also applied to participate in the Keene City Art Walk in June-will have to wait and see where this goes.  The Art Walk is pretty cool in that artists display their crafts in store windows on main street down town for several weeks; during the opening night artists stand in front of the window and answer questions about their work.  I am still preparing a shore bird piece to submit to the New Hampshire Craftsman Group.  This is a highly judged presentation which requires that everything on the work be extremely high quality for acceptance into their stores, plus you get to participate in a week long festival in mid August. Could be great fun.  But on a downer note read the following:

One of Keene's oldest homes will be razed today, as the cost of renovating it appeared to be too high.

The Winding Brook Farm on Maple Avenue, built in 1785 by John Colony and now owned by the Cheshire Family Funeral Chapel, is scheduled for demolition.

Colony moved to Keene with his wife, Melatiah, in 1761 and settled on the Maple Avenue property that would remain in the Colony family for 155 years, according to the city's historical archives."Josiah Colony was likely born in that house," said Anita Carroll-Weldon, a member of the Keene Historic District Commission and director of the Horatio Colony Museum on Main Street, referring to one of John Colony's grandsons.

Along with Francis Faulkner, Josiah Colony bought the Colony Mill in 1815, according to the Historical Society of Cheshire County.Sidney J. Wilder purchased the property in 1919, where he started a dairy business. That gave the farm its present name, Winding Brook, derived from nearby Black Brook, which meanders through a side field, according to "Historic Homes of Keene" by Marjorie Whalen Smith.

She said that while the home appears to be dilapidated from the outside, the structural integrity of the house remains strong, in part due to its use of old-growth heartwood."The construction and the materials can't be replicated," she said. "The house has lasted over 230 years. Once they're gone, you can never have them back again. It's very sad to see them go."

Carroll-Weldon went to the home Sunday to take pictures of the interior and exterior. She also removed the original hardware from the front door, including a Norfolk-style, 18th-century wrought iron decorative latch. It will be recorded and stored with other items at the Horatio Colony Museum.

The above article appeared in the local newspaper the Keene Sentinel.  The house was located a block west of where I live so I got to see up close the destruction of this home; it had been turned into a rental property and not maintained and fell into a state of disrepair.  I talked with the contractor who was tearing the building down and ask him what he intended to do with the wood, his answer, take it to the dump or take it home and burn it.  He didn't have time to sort the lumber or preserve any of it as he had to be done by a certain date. 
 I walked around the site, picked up some square nails and was amazed at the thought of what I was seeing was wood from the 1700's!  I asked him if I could buy a couple of 12" X 12" beams that were under the house, he said take them.  So my next set of decoys will come from these amazing pieces of wood that were hewn by an ax, pegged at the ends to support this house built in the 1700's!


Everything is gone now, grass is sown, some funky out of place trees have been planted and we have lost another piece of history.  Oh yes, the Colony Families were part of the founders of Keene, NH.

Maine Lobster Man

Santa 

Dunlin Shore Bird

Santa Ornaments

So there you have the day, rain expected tonight and for the next several days up to 4" expected so will get a lot of stuff done.  Thank you for taking the time to check in with me-if you have any ideas about something you would like carved drop me a note and I will see what I can do.  Until then

Measure Twice and Cut Once