mountain cat

that's a chunk of our land modeled at 1/16" = 1'-0". each of the topos is 2 feet high. cat is not to scale.

In The Vicinity...

As many of you have noticed, the google maps link we posted leads you to Jameson Hill Road in Clinton Corners, whereas our place is actually in Stanford. This location is just approximate. We actually have no address yet. But when we do get one, if you were to mail us a postcard, it would say Clinton Corners, as this is the nearest post office. Stanford, scenic and lovely as it may be, doesn't have much to offer in the way of commercial activity, save a so-so pizza joint and a fire station with a really loud siren. As for our yet-to-be-determined address, we may possibly have a say in our future street name. so far, the front runner is Badonkadonk Boulevard, which of course is named for the native american populus that once inhabited nearby Wappingers Creek. But we're waiting for your suggestions in the comments below. Maybe we'll award a prize to the winner...

We have been up to the property numerous times already for design-related trips, but have not really explored the neighboring towns too much. A few weeks ago we took a day trip up north to see what else dutchess county has to offer. It is about 1.5-2 hours north of nyc, straight up the Taconic Parkway. From our newly-posted photos, you'll notice that our first stops were the local wineries, which offer super tasty wines of many different varieties, not to mention spectactular scenery. All the vineyards are open to the public and have tastings (am to pm) for a small fee. Yeah, that's pretty much all we got out of that first day trip, but there will be more to come. Also in the food arena are the numerous farmers markets in Hyde Park, Millbrook, and Rhinebeck. One of the reasons we were so attracted to this particular area is the plethora of outdoor athletic activity we are so lacking in the concrete jungle. There is plenty of camping, hiking, mountain biking, golfing, horseback riding, and fishing. Actually, right down the street from our future house is a stocked trout stream. I think it's Wappingers Creek. For the shopper, pretty much the entire Hudson Valley is peppered with cute little antique shops, but a few times a year, Rhinebeck has a giant antiques fair, and also a general crafts fair featuring local artists. There are also estate auctions in Beacon for those in search of upper crusty home furnishings and such. For culture hounds, the center for performing arts in Rhinebeck offers theater, dance, etc, as does Bard college (the theater building was designed by Frank Gehry). There seems to even be some live music at Bardavon Opera House (the calendar shows events all over the Hudson Valley, and is not just opera) and in Millbrook. For fine art, there is dia:beacon, which was recently opened by dia (a contemporary art institution in Chelsea) in an old box factory, and features such artists as Richard Serra, Louise Bourgeois, Donald Judd, and Dan Flavin, to name a few. It's right on the Metro-North train line and worth an entire day trip. A bit further west is Storm King, which is a sprawling outdoor sculpture park. I haven't been yet, but i've heard it's amazing. Also in the vicinity (but further north in Saugerties) is this place called Opus 40, which I've never been to, but my aunt Judy pointed out to me. It's this ginormous masonry sculpture/landscape built by one dedicated artist.

That should be enough to keep you occupied til the next post...

Our First Post

Welcome. We'll be keeping this blog as we attempt to navigate the process of designing and building our Stanford, NY weekend home. We hope you'll join us for what promises to be a long and bumpy, yet completely exciting ride. Nina will try to update the blog once or twice a week with new info, although it may be less frequent in the beginning. Bill will do his best to add snarky comments to Nina's posts.

Above is one shot of the land, with some nice glare. You can see more photos by clicking the link to the right, or by clicking here. Please check back often, and don't hesitate to leave your comments. We look forward to sharing this experience with everyone.