The Lake House

When we arrived at the house on Lake Groton a couple of weeks ago, there was a little sign in our parking area greeting us...  "Welcome Maher Family".  That was a nice gesture and a pleasant surprise!

I've always wanted to get some photographs of the inside of the house but that has always been one of those things that you never remember until you are back at home...  and missing the lake house...   and wishing you could scroll through some photos.  This year I was determined to get some decent photos.  (Which means shooting these photos was a task on a 'to-do' list I had for myself...  if it is not on a list, I never get to it.)

I shot a group of photos shortly after arriving at the house.  I had two reasons for jumping on this little project right after we first arrived...  First, the house was still organized and clean because we had just arrived...  and second, I knew I had to jump on this project while it was still fresh in my mind and not pushed out by other activities making me forget about it until it was too late...  yet again.  Even though I had this listed on my to-do list, I knew that if I got sidetracked, I would forget about my to-do list and the photos!

Unfortunately, those first photos turned out terribly.  It was very sunny and bright outside when I shot that first batch of photos so all the windows were glowing white and the inside of the house was completely dark.  The level of light inside the house was vastly different than the outside light so balancing the light was impossible.  I was going to need to shoot these photos when it was raining or simply closer to sunrise when it is darker outside.

A panoramic image of the house consisting of
four photographs...   shot from my kayak...

I didn't have to wait long for better lighting conditions.  The following afternoon was overcast and rainy so that was my opportunity to shoot a decent series of photos of the house.  I managed to get a good selection of photos so I thought I would share them here.  The full album of 24 photos can be viewed here - Groton Lake House Zenfolio album.

The panoramic image, above, was an interesting project.  I have attempted this shot in the past but never had any luck with it.  In order to get this shot you must be out on the lake...  in a moving, bobbing boat...  but motion is never good for photography.  To compound this challenge, I also needed to shoot four photos, from the same exact position, so that I could later stitch them together to make a larger wide angle image.  If the boat drifts or bobs up around like a cork in a wave pool, then the images will not line up correctly when I attempt to stitch them together.  Just before we packed up the boats to head home, I managed to get this panoramic image of the house (above).  I think this attempt turned out well for a change.

The inside of the house is warm...  with a cottage-y feel to it...  a lot of wood...  some brick...  simple lighting...  but still has quite a few modern amenities.  The best feature, however, is that half the house is actually positioned over the shore of the lake with a view of the lake out three walls.  This makes the living room a great place to relax!

The area between the living room and the kitchen is home to a nice wood stove.  The stove is great for those cold, damp days...   although we really had no use for it while we were there this year...  thankfully!  That stove can really add a nice woodsy atmosphere though.

The kitchen has been upgraded with some new countertops and repaired cabinets to minimize little critters getting into food.  There is also a new range in the kitchen which was a really nice surprise.  The old range was frustrating and a bit of a challenge.  So the kitchen has some nice upgrades.

Another big upgrade in the house... and a modern one at that...  is having satellite digital HD television and wireless internet through the house!  The internet was very useful since there is absolutely no cellular service anywhere in the area.  This made it easy to keep in touch with visitors and family, as necessary.  And the new satellite digital HD television came in handy on a rainy day and a few buggy evenings.

The house has three bedrooms and a loft bedroom.  The loft bedroom is more suitable for children and teenagers since the ceiling is a bit low up there.  Plus, access to the loft is provided by a heavy ladder mounted on the wall making access a bit difficult for people with physical limitations like I do.

When I was a teenager, I thoroughly enjoyed the loft bedroom of one of our cottages, the Shangri-La, on Brant Lake.  That loft bedroom at Brant Lake sported access by a narrow, steep, open staircase.  This loft at "Rocky Point" on Lake Groton is a nice, large area for Adam to spread out and have a place to call his own.

There is a nice cozy bedroom off the kitchen overlooking the lake.  It has a small, built-in bed that is almost like a large window seat.  That is a nice little bedroom!

There is a middle bedroom, under the loft, with a queen bed.  Back behind that middle bedroom is the largest bedroom with a full bed and a twin bed.  So there are three bedrooms plus the loft space with a twin bed.  This seems to be the perfect size to allow for some visitors whenever we are there.

Out the back hallway and door is a small covered patio with a gas grill.  This grill is used at least once each day...  and the patio area is convenient for hanging damp towels without them being visible from the lake.

This little cottage is very warm and inviting which makes us, and our guests, really feel comfortable and at home there.  Actually, this little cottage feels very spacious compared to home!  Our home is still a live-in construction zone with a few ongoing renovation projects in full swing at any given time so that certainly doesn't help with keeping the house organized and feeling like 'home'.

Now I think I need to get back to unpacking and putting things away.  After arriving back home and unpacking, our house looks like it has been ransacked!

Our next visit to Lake Groton won't come soon enough...  we should be back at the lake for more sailing in the next few weeks...