Landscaping Improvements at the Inn - update

Summer of 2015 has been filled with landscaping projects at the Bridges Inn at Whitcomb House. We began last year with pruning the large maple trees and many of the large shrubs on the perimeter of the property. 

Today, August 13, we added a new bird house -- it's actually an owlhouse! And not exactly considered landscaping, but part of the property improvement project, is a new American flag. It wasn't intentional but the owlhouse and the flag match!

 

This year, we cleared out the pathways and brought in pine bark mulch on the east side of the house near the gazebo. We planted many new flowers.

 

 

August 11, 2015

An abundance of flowering plants are in bloom now, such as black-eyed Susans, many types of lilies, pansies, hydrangeas, roses, phlox, lucifers, and Shasta daisies.

 

                       Lucifers                                   Shasta daisies

We continued work along the front, Main Street edge of the property. We pulled out overgrown shrubs and plants and planted some dogwoods and small maple trees. We filled in much of the area with pine bark mulch.  Perhaps our biggest accomplishment was to remove the old, uneven granite steps that went to the front of the inn (which no one used). This required work on the old stone wall to make it continuous, closing the opening to Main Street.

 

Masonry work on the stone wall will be done in the near future. Meanwhile, there's ongoing upkeep, such as mowing the lawn, watering the plants, and weeding. And David takes care of all the upkeep (shown weeding below)! We love the sunflowers that he planted and have sprouted around the yard!

                    

Shown below are flowering plants and bushes from earlier in the season.

        Late spring rhododendrons             Lilacs the last week of May

Lupines

Local Places to Swim

If you're looking to cool off or have some fun at the beach without having to drive very far, take advantage of the lakes and ponds in the Monadnock region.

The closest to the Bridges Inn, and our personal favorite, is Richardson Park, on Swanzey Lake.
Open from Memorial Day through Labor Day, daily, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. It's a shady beach with a nice view and water quality is generally considered good. There's no charge to get in and plenty of parking. Shown below, Richardson Park is for Swanzey residents only, including guests of the Bridges Inn.

Otter Brook Lake Recreation Area in Keene and Roxbury and Surry Mountain Lake Recreation Area in Surry (shown below) are operated by the Army Corps of Engineers. Both are picturesque, family-friendly places for swimming, picnicking, and canoeing. There's a sandy beach, roped-off swimming area and plenty of grassy areas to set up games throughout each park. There are also picnic tables and rest rooms.

On Spofford Lake in Chesterfield is Wares Grove is on Route 9A. The water is shallow for a long way out and is great for young children. The large sandy beach has a grassy area in the shade with picnic tables, a concession stand and a volleyball court, basketball, tetherball, and a swing set. There are bathrooms and grills. There are resident and non-resident fees.

For more information about swimming holes in the Monadnock region, click here.

In addition to directing Bridges Inn guests to places to swim, we can help you plan other activities to fit your particular interests.

"New" Chairs

Owning a house built in 1792 means that we continually make improvements, both inside and outside. We have updated the plumbing, electrical, and heating systems; we have replaced windows; done significant work on the slate roof; and landscaping. We have replaced ceilings, floors, walls, and wallpaper in various parts of the house, carefully striving to retain the antique character of the house.

Redecorating is one of the improvements that's most fun for me. By redecorating, I am referring to the aesthetic side of things, such as wallpaper, new curtains, furniture, antiques, and the like. Recently, we succeeded in blending the new with the old by purchasing a set of four chairs-- two with arms, two without -- from Attic-Antiks, a local antique store. We had the chairs reupholstered by Debbie Does Divans with fabric that matches existing dining room drapes and chairs and also fits in with the color scheme in the living room.

The two chairs with arms (shown below) fit in our living room beautifully and are quite comfortable, too. When we have a large group at the dining room table, we use them to increase the seating.

"New" chairs in the living room in front of the 70-year-old Christmas cactus

We only had six dining room chairs and when we had more than six people at the dining room table, we used a variety of unmatching chairs. The chairs without arms are now part of our dining room (shown below).

Below are two of the six dining room chairs that Debbie Does Divans reupholstered a few years ago. The original and "new" chairs match so well. Debbie has reupholstered many beautiful pieces of furniture in the inn and we value her precision and skill.

Shown below is the dining room table, set for breakfast. The runner on the table is made from the same fabric as the chairs. The dishes were a set we bought at  Attic-Antiks a couple of years ago.

Dishes shown close up

Our guests appreciate the details and extra little touches that we put into the inn. And we appreciate doing business with local companies that we can rely on. 

(Note that the fabric on the chairs and runners is from the same bolt of fabric. The lighting and time of day make the colors look very different in the photos.)