"What's in a name? That which we call a rose

                                                 By any other name would smell as sweet."

But with Marketing, sure, definitely names matter.  That's why we don't call our homes the "Bennington", or the "Chatham" or the "Wentworth" - we are more down home than all that.  But I was thinking this over the other day with our Arts and Crafts line of homes.  One, it's a pain to write and say.  Two, lots of folks don't know exactly what it means, unlike the visual one gets with Cottage, or Farmhouse or Mid-Century.  And three, it just doesn't have that zing that I strive for.  So we decided to rename it, but then I couldn't decide between 'Craftsman' or 'Farm 21'.  I like Craftsman, and of course I like Farm 21, but whichever, I think the issue has been resolved.

And holy frickin' mackerole, now this house seems to be going into contract which will leave up completely sold out in Ulster County AGAIN.  So, it was only 15 months ago we entered the Ulster marketplace and one could say "Veni, vidi, vici" if one was so compelled.

I came, I saw, I conquered.  Not bad for a guy from the sticks.

The pics are a little dark regrettably, but we did some old school Morning Dew paint on the walls, salvaged red planking, whitewashed ceiling planks, early american floor stain, and host of our most legacy go-to choices.

And there is Tito, the master painter.

And from the rear... (very hard to not say something clever here)

...but I'm growing as an individual and hence kept such impulses at bay.

It's a dreamboat of a house - modeled after that winner Cottage 1, which started our path to fame and fortune, way back in 2007, when the local real estate community scoffed at the idea of a 2 bedroom 1300 sq ft home.

For under $330k, this home is rocking outside of Barryville NY.   We have a new strategy in Sullivan County with our spec homes (homes whos construction began without a buyer signed up) this year and that is to build the home, carve in the driveway, put the roof, windows and even the siding on so it can really be visualized by potential new homeowners, but leave the interior completely unfinished so the new homeowners can put their stamp on it.

And the Man Shed.

So congrats Todd and Tomoko.  You're gonna love it up here.

And the The Shack - that adorable little 500 sq ft 1 bedroom house up on Lucky Lake Road.  The house everyone wanted to see, the house I've owned for awhile.

Wow, the Shack, Ranch V - small 1 bedrooms that were built as the market and the magazines and my market information were pointing to smaller and lower price point.  Then, just like that, at the end of 2010, bam, the market changed for us and 2011 was not the year of the tiny house but actually the year of 3 bedroom 1500 sq ft farmhouses.  Just makes you value being a company that can turn on a dime, keep its ear close to the tracks and pivot into the prevailing winds, however slight and modest they may be.

I

Rabid beaver attacks NY man swimming in Pa. river

PINE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) -- A Boy Scout leader from New York who was attacked by a rabid beaver while swimming in the Delaware River is recovering.

The Poughkeepsie Journal reports that 51-year-old Normand Brousseau, of Pine Plains, was swimming in eastern Pennsylvania on Aug. 2 when a beaver swam through his legs and bit him in the chest.

The animal then bit him in the leg, buttocks, arm, hand and torso before he managed to grab it and hold its jaw closed.

One Boy Scout pulled Brousseau to shore, where he tossed the beaver away from him. The Scouts then used rocks to kill the animal.

A doctor confirmed the beaver had rabies a day after the attack.

Dutchess County health officials say a rabid beaver attack is unusual.

(you can't make this stuff up, nor do you get to use 'rabid beaver' in mixed company very often)

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Catskill Farms was building in Barryville long before it became trendy - now the farmer's market sells out in a few hours on a sunny Saturday Morning.

Catskill Farms has been adding great houses in Narrowsburg since 2003 with a big uptick in activity in the last 3 years.

With the Pig Fest, the Eagle Fest, the firework-less July 4th and now a sizable grant from Sullivan Renaissance, Narrowsburg seems like the place to be.

Which makes me wonder if the subtle impact of our homes and the subsequent homeowners is a lot greater than I give them credit for.  And that's saying something since I'm not afraid to say that our homes have a lot of impact.  I think we have 19 homes within a few miles of the town, including Farm 1, 2 & 3, where each day it seemed less likely we were going to make it out of the dangerous infancy of a business.

Now, the only thing to avoid will be a self-inflicted shot in the foot, which is typically par for the course for these small towns and their small town politics. Provincial charm is nice up to a point, and typically that point is where it impacts your wallet.