Dog is GOD spelled backwards PET FRIENDLY HOMES

And in many of our homes this is so true as our pets are like a member of our immediate family.  We like to make our animals happy because it gives us such pleasure to see them respond to our kindness.  If you are building new or a major remodeling, why not consider a pet friendly home?  The pets will love it and your life can be made easier with some forethought.

First consider how you live or are going to live and then design.  A move to the country can change your dog’s life in much the same way that yours will change.  Muddy paws or heaven forbid that your friend rolls in a mess to cover his scent or maybe just needs a good cleaning, consider a small dog shower in the entry way which could be elevated with positive flow to the drain.  Flooring should be durable as stone or ceramic and the subbase needs to be waterproof.   Over plywood a low viscosity epoxy with very small colored aggregate might work and can be attractive.  Remember that the larger the aggregate the harder it is to clean.

On areas that will need extensive cleaning a seamless polyurethane coating can be used as it is flexible, seamless and waterproof and is produced in many colors.  As with any coating applied to wood or concrete make sure the appropriate vapor barrier is in place prior to application.

A room with a view is appropriate so your dog can look out over his domain.  Under a window construct a “built in” for storage that also gives them a place that is theirs.  This space allows your protector an opportunity to bark and alert you if someone is in his area.  You might consider ramps or stairs for older animal’s ease of access.   A bed beneath cabinetry in the laundry could provide a cave and safe haven if needed. A pet friendly entry, dog doors, and a feeding station that is easy to clean might be considered.   By checking on line you will find many great ideas to help in your design.

CARBON FIBER for Structural Strengthening of Concrete or Wood

Structural Strengthening of Concrete or Wood Using Carbon Fiber

If you are concerned about the structural integrity of a building that you are considering purchasing, or that you already own, a solution might be the use of carbon fiber for its high strength, its ease of installation, and a diminished project down-time for the structure. For example, if you desire to increase live loads on a floor, gluing two to four-inch wide thin, flexible carbon fiber strips to the bottoms of the beams and/or the floor will increase structural strength.   Or if there is a concern about the integrity of the columns supporting a floor then a carbon fiber wrap might be the solution.  Thin carbon fiber sheets are glued around the columns and saturated with a low viscosity epoxy resin.  If aesthetics is a concern then a coating may be applied over the surface.

4 inch carbon fiber strips

Carbon fiber wrap

Carbon fiber uses:

            Increased live loads on floors

            Installation of heavy machinery in buildings

            Changes of building utilization

            Aging of existing construction materials

            Fire damage

            Removal of slab sections or openings

            Design or construction defects

Most often carbon fiber repairs will need to be designed by a structural engineer and installed by a competent specialty contractor. Instead of an expensive replacement solution, carbon fiber is a repair solution for your investment.

Yes, Deer! Baby it's cold outside -

AMERICAN TREE FARM SYSTEM Mountain Mead Farm has been a member for 25 + years!
Being a good steward of land means being involved in WOOD - WATER -

RECREATION - WILDLIFE in many ways throughout the year.

When the first snows arrive we use our 4X4 tractor with a back scraper and chains all around to open roads connecting two deer browse areas on either side of the Christmas Tree fields. We do this to insure good movement for food and escape paths if needed.

When apples are abundant our white-tailed deer will have abundant food supply early on. As we are situated near the northern extreme of the white-tailed deer's range, functional winter habitats are essential to maintain stable populations of deer.

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This red maple bud may not seem like much to us, but after being hungry for three months the deer are excited to have fresh food. We have marked red (soft) maple for next year’s fire wood for friends and we will cut them down for deer food. The small deer will come running when they hear the chain saw and immediately start to feed. As their hunger is stronger than their fear it is impossible to get them to run away.  So, we simply move to the next area and wait for the deer to catch up.

We wait until late summer to brush hog our fields making sure the ground birds are all flying and we are not disturbing their nests. But in early summer we do brush hog around the perimeter of the fields for paths and escape routes, but only after I have walked the path to make sure our new critters are not in the way.  Occasionally we see a treasure like this new born fawn and hope that in some way that our love for animals has somehow helped them be healthy so we may enjoy them for years to come.

www.vermontlandbroker.com

DAVID JAMIESON, REALTOR BROKER

802-522-6702

PROBLEM SOLVED - Christmas Tree Needle Drop

If you are celebrating a holiday and there are music, candles, fires and good times - I'm in! But we must also try and manage the stress and the mess that is part of the celebration. According to the National Christmas Tree Association the biggest complaint with using a Real Christmas Tree is needle drop.

Even a freshly cut Christmas tree will normally have brown needles attached to the stem and often on the branches. When the tree has been harvested early the chance for needle drop increases dramatically.

One of the best ways to eliminate the needle drop is to use a hand held leaf blower. Many of these machines boast of an air speed of over 100 mph so trust me that "needle be gone" happens quickly. When Mountain Mead Farm sold Christmas Trees to the wonderful folks at the Gardner Supply Stores in Williston and Winooski each tree was carefully air blasted to the delight of the customers.

Other possible ways include a pressure washer or a quick trip to the local car wash to eliminate this troublesome problem. Now you can enjoy the fragrance of your Christmas Tree.

Time to Know Vermont's Trees

“Do not be afraid to go out on a limb….That’s where the fruit is”

One of my favorite stories involving my son Jake happened when he was in the eighth grade.  His teacher decided it was time for a test on Vermont trees and to see if any of the students had any knowledge of the forests that surrounded them.  As he handed out the test the teacher explained that there were pictures of twenty trees and their leaves that he would like identified to the best of the student’s ability.

Almost before the groans had stopped Jake had turned the test in.  To the teacher’s surprise Jake had identified all of them 100% correctly.  Now here was a student that usually was not the star of the class who had magicly answered all the questions correctly in a very short time.   While the teacher did not accuse Jake of cheating, he started a discussion to determine how this miracle had happened.  Jake told him that anyone who had spent as many hours in the woods as he had following his father who would point his axe at a tree and ask “what kind of tree is this” could have passed the test also.

Although that was one way to learn about trees you might consider one of the following publications to learn about Vermont’s trees.

“A Beginner’s Guide to Recognizing Trees of the Northeast” by writer Mark Mikolas and published by Countryman Press in October of 2017 includes just 12 deciduous and 8 conifer species that represent almost 95 percent of the trees in the northeast.  So, it shouldn’t take that long to become an expert.

A more comprehensive book by www.ForestryPress.com is the #1 selling guidebook to Vermont’s 82 native forest trees, written for ages 10 through adult and is printed in full color with species data about: Bark, Twigs, Leaves, Fall Colors, Flowers and Buds.

There are many sources of information about our wonderful Vermont trees and I certainly hope you decide to get started soon.

FLOOR COATINGS Both VOC Compliant and Red List Free.

Made in Vermont – all ways better!   Manufactured in Hardwick is a line of coatings for both residential and commercial applications that is VOC compliant, red list free, contains no carcinogens, mutagens or reprotoxins.  These polywhey products far surpass the highest standards for VOCs and are approved for use in the strictest LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) platinum certified constructions.  PolyWhey  technology, uses whey protein, a recycled and renewable byproduct of CHEESEMAKING to displace toxic ingredients found in typical wood finishes which also adds to the durability. 

My professional career involved specifying, estimating and supervising the installation of coatings, waterproofing, and repairs around the United States. Hence, my tendency is to be critical of products and when it is my own home, even more so.

The first step was to prepare the surface by sanding down the high wear areas with a dustless grinder and vacuum system.  The rest of the surface was thoroughly cleaned with Vermont Natural Coatings professional wood floor cleaner and then hand applied the EasyWhey floor color until all surface color was the same.

Now the easy part was applying the Polywhey 3500 Wood Floor Finish which because of the small areas was applied with a nine-inch roller.  You can actually watch the coating “break” or cure with great consistency where you just applied

the product.  After a cure time of one and one-half hours the second coat was applied and then the third coat.  Trust me when I say “these are incredible products”.

www.vermontnaturalcoatings.com