Slightly slower Sundays offer a good opportunity to rewind and remember Rosslyn yesteryears. Today let’s time-travel back to December 22, 2008. Several intrepid carpenters, bundled up but unflinching, were tackling the final phase of suboptimal, subfreezing deck construction despite a significant pre-Christmas snowfall.
Sixteen years ago today several stalwarts from our original team of carpenters exhibited their dedication come what might. After persisting day after day in cold, drizzly rain, the team headed home for the weekend. We were racing an ambitious end-of-year deadline that would commemorate the conclusion of our home renovation (if not all of the outbuildings) with completion of the garapa deck located west of the ell.
However, the weather gods decided to double down on the already will-testing conditions. Snow began lightly over the weekend, but by Monday morning about a foot and a half of fresh powder lay on the ground. It was sunny and beautiful. But it was frigid.
[In the photograph above] a dauntless carpenter… [Kevin Boyle] is scribing and installing garapa treads, the final step to completing the deck. And despite the snow, it’s sunny and he’s dressed for success. This is certainly one of the downsides of installing a deck so late in the season (and one of the upsides of having such an amazing team of carpenters, willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done right and on time!) (Source: Garapa Decking 2008-2009)
Despite being only two days shy of Christmas Eve with subfreezing temperatures and looots of snow creating undeniably suboptimal conditions for deck construction, Warren Cross and Kevin Boyle got to work. Over the course of the day they redefined the heights of camaraderie and commitment!
Warren Cross is putting the finishing touches on our first deck build. Although the perspective may be misleading given the still unbuilt garbage and recycling “shed” which today stands directly behind Warren, this is the northernmost extension of Rosslyn’s deck…
But it you imagine the perspective as if you were standing just north of the morning room, looking back toward the carriage barnand icehouse, you’ll be oriented in no time. Oriented, yes, but nevertheless a bit disoriented too, I imagine, as you look upon a carpenter laboring in the snow to scribe and affix the garapa deck skirting / apron that will complete the installation that had began in the autumn with far more hospitable conditions.
It’s worth noting that Warren, already in his mature years when he worked on Rosslyn with us, not only threw himself into difficult endeavors like the one above, he contributed decades’ of experience and an unsurpassed work ethic that inspired everyone with whom he worked in 2008 and 2009. But there’s an even more notable memory that describes Warren. He was a gentleman. And he was a gentle man. It was a privilege to witness Warren’s collegiality, and Rosslyn profited enduringly from his expertise. But it was his disposition, his consideration, and his kindness that make me nostalgic when I hear him mentioned or when I catch sight of him in photographs. (Source: Upcycled Christmas Gifts)
Sixteen years after this outstanding accomplishment, on December 22, 2024, with a lighter but nevertheless wintery dusting of new fallen snow, we recollect and rekindle our gratitude to Kevin and Warren and everyone else who slogged ahead in November and December 2008 in spite of a singularly suboptimal, subfreezing deck construction situation. Days stretched into weeks, and the carpentry conditions worsened. But the team’s commitment didn’t dissipate, and the ambitious goal grew closer and closer until it was finally accomplished. In the snow. And freezing cold. By Teo dedicated master carpenters.
Thank you, Warren. Thank you, Kevin.
What do you think?