A few little snowflakes falling. Flurries. Drifting but not collecting. Not yet at least. Perhaps overnight. But the forecast offers little cause for optimism. Cold. Plenty cold. But slim on precipitation. An un-January state of affairs, I say, so let’s salvage a snowy souvenir from January 2, 2008.
Walk with me down the driveway toward Lake Champlain. About 6” of fresh snow. Clearing skies letting the blue through, even some afternoon sunlight here and there.
Now let’s look down the bank to the unfrozen winter water mysterious with lake smoke drifting in a barely perceptible breeze. Rosslyn’s boathouse is still early in its rehabilitation, new pier and gangway built, but critical reengineering and restructuring still incomplete. Too far from completion to rest easy with winter advancing, with the threat of ice flows…
[Back in 2006 our] inspector had warned me [that the boathouse] was “one ice flow away from a watery grave”. (Source: Boathouse Restructuring)
17 years to the day after these photographs were made, I rest easier. The historic rehabilitation of Rosslyn’s boathouse was tremendously taxing in more ways than I can summarize. But the engineering, the construction, a decade and a half of reassuring endurance, and the endless hours of adventure and magical memories have rewarded us so many times over.
Now let’s turn back towards the west and look at Rosslyn. A handsome home even then. But her historic rehab was still far, far from the finish line.
I’ve mentioned previously a desire to experiment with generative AI as a way to explore a quasi epistolary discourse with our property. Role-playing a love letter of sorts. So I’ve tapped Anthropic’s Claude and ChatGPT to see what each might make of the next two photographs.
In addition to uploading the images, I input the following prompt.
Geo: These photographs were taken on January 2, 2008, and they offer different angles of the same property, our home, which we had been renovating continuously for about a year and a half at that point period. It would be another year before we completed the majority of the renovation and were able to move in. How would you describe this scene?
Within seconds Claude offered the following response.
Claude: These images show a stately Federal-style or Greek Revival home in a serene winter setting. The house is painted in a warm cream/yellow color with brown shutters, featuring classic architectural elements including multiple brick chimneys, symmetrical windows, and an elegant portico entrance with columns and an arched doorway. The two-story structure sits on a stone foundation and appears to be quite substantial in size.
The property is blanketed in fresh snow, creating a picturesque winter scene. Bare trees frame the house, and there appears to be wooded area surrounding the property, suggesting a private, rural or semi-rural setting. The bright white snow contrasts beautifully with the cream-colored exterior and the patches of blue sky visible through the winter clouds.
Given that this was during your renovation period in 2008, it’s impressive to see the exterior already looking so well-maintained. The consistent architectural details, straight lines, and overall solid appearance suggest careful restoration work. The multiple chimneys and substantial size of the home speak to its likely historical significance – these types of homes were often built in the early-to-mid 19th century.
Would you be willing to share what were some of the biggest challenges you faced during the renovation process? It must have been quite an undertaking to restore a historical home of this size.
Astounding! Not 100% perfect, but damn near.
I put the same challenge to ChatGPT, and this is what it came up with.
These photos capture a stately and serene winter scene of your home, standing tall amidst a snowy landscape. The soft beige facade contrasts beautifully with the stark white snow, while the bare trees and subtle shadows create depth and a sense of quiet calm. The vintage architectural details—such as the symmetrical design, shuttered windows, and the inviting entryway framed by classic columns—exude timeless charm. The property appears to be nestled in nature, with the surrounding trees providing a tranquil backdrop. It’s a snapshot of a moment when your home was transforming, embodying both the past and the promise of its future.
Less impressive, but only because Claude had already outperformed my expectations.
More than anything, I found myself wishing that I had access to these tools, almost 2 decades ago when we were diving headfirst into this crazy adventure! I can only imagine how it might’ve shaped the course of our experience. 
What do you think?