The week, starting September 18th, it’s been noisy and messy at the Red House, the dooryard crowded with construction vehicles all doing their thing. Specially designed bobcats scoop out the dirt, rocks and sand from under the old house. A scary-looking pile driver drills holes into concrete and granite and two excavators (one large, one smaller) move earth up and out of the way. And a crane lifts 40-foot long I-beams into the air to move them into position.

Jeff Blake and his team inserted six 40-foot I-beams running front to back, and prepared for four 50-footers to go in side to side. This red machine holds the mechanical jacks that will lift the house.

Thursday we saw progress on both fronts. Jeff jacked the house and Henry set up forms for pouring the footings. Nils, though very excited, demonstrated excellent balance during the inspection.

While the boys in the big trucks moved the earth around, Nils and I worked to uncover hidden stone walls. We removed bittersweet vines, and cut brush to reveal double-sided stacked stone walls that once defined the fields’ boundaries.

At the end of the day, we sat down to rest as the sun was setting and noticed that while the old farmhouse was already in shadow, the new site was still enjoying the golden hour.