Three House Nooks

THE MUD ROOM is a nice feature of this house.  Shoes and boots are in the grey cabinet and the bottom of the brown cubbies. Grey bins hold batteries, collars, and the like. Top left has e-bike chargers, a spare leash, and a hat or two, while top right has game cameras and a small drone.  Behind me are a washer and dryer and a big farm sink. There is a laundry chute which feeds invisibly into a cabinet above the sink. The padded chair is a nice place to sit while lacing up shoes or loafing with a book while the laundry takes a spin. The coat rack to the left of the chair is always overloaded this time of year, and the chair takes the overage going in and out. At night, one of the house dogs sleeps in a crate in this room, generally lulled to sleep by the dryer.

THE BREAKFAST NOOK, below, is right off the kitchen and the living room. Big bay windows look out on 8 bird feeders and an over-story of 80-90 foot oaks. The fused-glass piece hanging in the window was picked up in Shepherdstown, Maryland. The left side of the bay window looks out on a large deck, accessible from both the living room and a spare bedroom.  This deck has over-sized outdoor furniture on it, a sliding shade awning, and a hot tub. From the hot tub, I can see the bee hives as well as the owl nest box installed high in a tree over the garden shed.

THE READING NOOK, below, houses one of three bookcases holding natural history and other exotica.  Next to the  bookcase is an antique Chinese butter churn, which holds a few utilitarian walking sticks. On top of the chest of drawers are skulls of various types, most jumbled into a large glass canister.  I have some African art (masks) to hang up, but sloth has stalked me. The bit of tapestry above the chest of drawers is a bag face collected in Turkey. The red rug us Tunisian, and has been in the family for over 60 years.  The wooden twig rocker was picked up in a big antique emporium in Emmitsburgh, Maryland.  In this room, in addition to the padded reading chair in the pictured corner is another identical chair in the opposite corner.  Unseen are two large wall pieces — a 5-foot tall Dogon Mask from the border of Mali and Burkina Faso, and an ornate wooden ceiling panel from Morocco. Large sand roses (rose de sable) from Algeria, and cross sections of fossilized tree trunks from the American southwest, are on the floor.  A wooden screen hides a small desk and chair against the same wall as the window.  The window looks out on the small orchard (18 trees) that I planted below the house.