As the seasons beautifully change again, I am in awe of the golden quality to the sunlight as well as the deep oranges and reds I see on the trees on the bluff as I approach the end of Reimann Road. Time to exhale and be in the moment at this gorgeous place we can hardly believe we get to steward into the future. Even as the weather turns colder, the Brisbane House continues to be a place of solace and connection for many guests. Among them have been an author and former NPR correspondent; a former curator at the Haggerty Museum in Milwaukee; a relative of Levi Coffin, who was an abolitionist friend of Brisbane’s in Cincinnati; a couple who celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary with eight of their friends; a bride and groom who had their micro-wedding here; an actor who performed her one-woman show with Two Crows Theater; my now 90-year-old orthodontist from when I was in middle and high school, and his family, and a preservation architect from Kentucky who shared his drone photos of Brisbane with us. Oh and P.S. (ha ha) a woman who works at the Hilldale post office who has heard me go on and on about the Brisbane House for four years finally booked an overnight for her husband’s birthday. They loved it and I was thrilled to share it with them!
This fall we also hosted two local book clubs. Arcadia Books’ Silent Book Club was here for the second time. They get together and present what they’re each reading, then I give a short tour, then everyone picks a room where they’d like to sit (or lie down) to read for an hour (with snacks). So many headed for the screen porch! For the first time, we hosted the Spring Green Community Library Book Club and they all discussed “By the Fire We Carry” by Rebecca Nagle. Since it is Native American Heritage Month, they read a book about the forced removal of Native Americans, a 1990s murder, and a Supreme Court ruling that affirmed Native rights to the land. Heavy and heartfelt discussion.
If you’re a fan of Bruce’s art, you may have joined us for his open studio up through the woods, then back down again for some seriously good hot dogs and a leisurely afternoon on the screen porch (after I did a speed clean from a house full of guests just checking out, phew). Another highlight of the fall was my introduction to puffball mushrooms. Bruce noticed them on the path to the studio and I saw some in our yard. I did my research, talked to neighbors, and decided to go for a taste! I cooked some up in butter and gingerly ate it. The flavor was mushroom-whisper, texture was pretty unremarkable, and I didn’t get sick or die! I was also completely impressed by my gourd harvest that grew from last year’s that I pitched into the garden bed and covered with compost. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was very exciting.
Looking forward to the holiday season, I’ll be able to squeeze in a celebratory weekend for me and my local girlfriends around my birthday—an overnight treat I allow myself every year. Then we’ll will turn it over to some locals renting for a Thanksgiving extravaganza and then guests coming from Seattle to visit family for Christmas. I love decorating for Christmas with candles in the windows and a Charlie Brown-type white pine tree from our yard decorated with popcorn and cranberries…maybe like they would have back in the day?
Looking forward to next year, we’ll host another great-great-grandchild of William Henry Brisbane who lives in California!
I am just itching to share with you some comments we’re had from recent guests:
“What an absolute GEM! There was so much to love about this amazing restored home, from the architecture & careful restoration work to its history & thoughtfully curated art collection. The hosts were so kind and responsive. We loved that we were able to bring our two small pups, and they appreciated the large water bowl & treats. Everyone in our group commented on how comfortable they found the beds. I bring a pillow every time I stay somewhere, and I didn’t even need to use it because the pillows were also perfect! The grounds are private and lovely; I enjoyed my morning coffee watching a family of 11 turkeys investigate the yard behind the screened-in porch. We spotted a hummingbird feeding at the phlox, and I noted a nice variety of birds via my Merlin app. 🙂 The location is convenient to both Spring Green and Mazomanie, and there are lots of places to eat/things to see and do in the area. If you have a larger group, I highly recommend booking the whole house (including the summer kitchen room). Such a memorable stay!!”
“If I could give 50 stars, I would. This place is so so special. It was perfect for us to hub at for a wedding we were attending in the area. We spent lots of time out in the screen porch and would have stayed for a week if we could. Can’t wait to come back someday!”
“As avid travelers, we constantly seek that extraordinary destination we eagerly want to share with our family and friends. The Brisbane House truly surpassed our expectations. This hidden gem, nestled in the woods, offered a fairytale experience.”
“We are here and are never leaving.”
I’ll tell you—this kind of feedback sure makes me feel like washing windows four times a year! Some of it is due to the Asian lady beetles finding new digs after the soy fields are mown in late August. They keep us and our pest control hero hopping! I guess their natural habitat is light colored stone cliffs with dark openings, so the next best thing in the US is our house :/ If it’s not their “snail trails” on the windows, it’s the overspray from trying to control them. Touching up scuffs and nicks, scrubbing minerals from the grout, patching the spots where “someone” small and furry has been gnawing on the porch, and shampooing the carpets are just what needs to be done to respect this beautiful old place and make it as fresh and lovely as possible for each guest. That and scheduling around the nearby prairie burns and hunting activity that’s part of the culture in the country. Oh yeah, and filling the woodpecker holes on the gable end facia forty feet up twice…and now we have to do it again! They even pecked a hole in the bat box! Come on you guys!
As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, we’re turning a lot of our attention to the land around the house. There are 18 acres that need TLC and with our amazing, knowledgeable neighbor, Sue, jumpstarting all around us, Bruce is branching (ha ha) out in a big way this fall. Sue’s land-management buddies Bill Moore and Rob Baller have coached Bruce up on a chainsaw purchase, complete with chainsaw chaps, helmet and hearing protection, and he has unleashed on some of the weedy trees that are snuffing out the chance of an oak savannah. Soon we’ll have selectively cleared another acre added to last year’s four, and will be ready to burn in order to coax the native species that can really thrive here. Hopefully it will also help to bolster some of the threatened bird habitats. We all get so excited every time we hear the call of the whippoorwill! More of that please!
Side note: Sue turned us on the world’s best apples from Oakland Fruit Farm in Richland Center. She delivered a bag of Crimson Crisps and fresh apple cider donuts. You may know I love to travel all over the world, but it’s very very hard to beat these local treats, right here, while at the Brisbane House. Some lucky guests got some, too.
Last big news event of the fall: our neighbor from Madison, Rob Griffen, is starting his own business as a wood worker and furniture restorer. He appeared at the right time with the right skills to finish the staircase by placing a finial at the top of the rail! It’s a gorgeous cherrywood acorn that he turned himself based on the acorn finial that is in the den and sits atop the staircase post leading to the third story. It’s silky smooth to the touch and is absolutely perfect. Now I can say the house is truly done. Except for some shoe trim I really should install in the summer kitchen. And a skinny clothes closet for the summer kitchen, too.
I can’t help myself, I have to include some more wonderful reviews. The range of guests is so fun to learn about and I love to hear what matters to them:
“Its location close to Taliesin and House on the Rock gave us plenty of entertainment during our stay. The home is surrounded by trees and gardens. So peaceful and lovely. The host is extremely helpful and responded quickly when we inadvertently locked the bathroom door. We look forward to another stay at this lovely home.”
“Our stay at the Brisbane House was absolutely magical! The drive up to the house is private and wooded and when we entered the house, we were surrounded by the elegance of an expertly renovated historic home. The house was cozy, clean and had thoughtful touches everywhere! The kitchen was easy to work in and had everything we needed to enjoy our cheese and wine on the screened in porch while watching the fireflies at night. I especially enjoyed the book with notes from past guests who shared memories from their stays along with the coffee table book that detailed the historic restoration process of the house. Each bedroom was colorfully decorated and had stunning pieces of art related to the story of the history of the house. We felt so relaxed and comfortable throughout our stay. We cannot wait to return!”
“Our family has stayed at Brisbane house twice now and each time it has been a stellar experience.”
“What an absolutely marvelous place! Four friends who met on a Habitat Build in Florida seven years ago came here to have some fun. The location of Brisbane House was perfect! We decided we could cook dinners and breakfasts in. We learned to dance around each other in the kitchen as we cooked. The kitchen table, with the fresh-cut flowers from the garden, was the place for good conversations. We all agree! We will be back—it’s too perfect! It’s beautiful!”
“Staying at Brisbane House was our treat of the year—many years! Lee (your orthodontist) and I loved our night in the summer kitchen. Nummy, comfy bed and waking up with the beautiful yard and trees around us.”
“Holy wow! What a treasure of a spot—to explore, to appreciate, from which to venture. Your curation of pieces of history, works of art, themes of inclusiveness and celebration bring such BEAUTY to this home. It is such a peaceful, idyllic setting and we got to see an incredible sunset. It was the perfect setting for Katie’s bachelorette and all of us would love to return.”
“Thank you for sharing your labor of love adventure with us. It truly is a step back into history. William Brisbane lives on in this home and area he developed.”
Do you see yourself in any of these remarks? Think you would like to book a stay? We can always host another fabulous guest!
As the seasons beautifully change again, I am in awe of the golden quality to the sunlight as well as the deep oranges and reds I see on the trees on the bluff as I approach the end of Reimann Road. Time to exhale and be in the moment at this gorgeous place we can hardly believe we get to steward into the future. Even as the weather turns colder, the Brisbane House continues to be a place of solace and connection for many guests. Among them have been an author and former NPR correspondent; a former curator at the Haggerty Museum in Milwaukee; a relative of Levi Coffin, who was an abolitionist friend of Brisbane’s in Cincinnati; a couple who celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary with eight of their friends; a bride and groom who had their micro-wedding here; an actor who performed her one-woman show with Two Crows Theater; my now 90-year-old orthodontist from when I was in middle and high school, and his family, and a preservation architect from Kentucky who shared his drone photos of Brisbane with us. Oh and P.S. (ha ha) a woman who works at the Hilldale post office who has heard me go on and on about the Brisbane House for four years finally booked an overnight for her husband’s birthday. They loved it and I was thrilled to share it with them!
This fall we also hosted two local book clubs. Arcadia Books’ Silent Book Club was here for the second time. They get together and present what they’re each reading, then I give a short tour, then everyone picks a room where they’d like to sit (or lie down) to read for an hour (with snacks). So many headed for the screen porch! For the first time, we hosted the Spring Green Community Library Book Club and they all discussed “By the Fire We Carry” by Rebecca Nagle. Since it is Native American Heritage Month, they read a book about the forced removal of Native Americans, a 1990s murder, and a Supreme Court ruling that affirmed Native rights to the land. Heavy and heartfelt discussion.
If you’re a fan of Bruce’s art, you may have joined us for his open studio up through the woods, then back down again for some seriously good hot dogs and a leisurely afternoon on the screen porch (after I did a speed clean from a house full of guests just checking out, phew). Another highlight of the fall was my introduction to puffball mushrooms. Bruce noticed them on the path to the studio and I saw some in our yard. I did my research, talked to neighbors, and decided to go for a taste! I cooked some up in butter and gingerly ate it. The flavor was mushroom-whisper, texture was pretty unremarkable, and I didn’t get sick or die! I was also completely impressed by my gourd harvest that grew from last year’s that I pitched into the garden bed and covered with compost. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was very exciting.
Looking forward to the holiday season, I’ll be able to squeeze in a celebratory weekend for me and my local girlfriends around my birthday—an overnight treat I allow myself every year. Then we’ll will turn it over to some locals renting for a Thanksgiving extravaganza and then guests coming from Seattle to visit family for Christmas. I love decorating for Christmas with candles in the windows and a Charlie Brown-type white pine tree from our yard decorated with popcorn and cranberries…maybe like they would have back in the day?
Looking forward to next year, we’ll host another great-great-grandchild of William Henry Brisbane who lives in California!
I am just itching to share with you some comments we’re had from recent guests:
“What an absolute GEM! There was so much to love about this amazing restored home, from the architecture & careful restoration work to its history & thoughtfully curated art collection. The hosts were so kind and responsive. We loved that we were able to bring our two small pups, and they appreciated the large water bowl & treats. Everyone in our group commented on how comfortable they found the beds. I bring a pillow every time I stay somewhere, and I didn’t even need to use it because the pillows were also perfect! The grounds are private and lovely; I enjoyed my morning coffee watching a family of 11 turkeys investigate the yard behind the screened-in porch. We spotted a hummingbird feeding at the phlox, and I noted a nice variety of birds via my Merlin app. 🙂 The location is convenient to both Spring Green and Mazomanie, and there are lots of places to eat/things to see and do in the area. If you have a larger group, I highly recommend booking the whole house (including the summer kitchen room). Such a memorable stay!!”
“If I could give 50 stars, I would. This place is so so special. It was perfect for us to hub at for a wedding we were attending in the area. We spent lots of time out in the screen porch and would have stayed for a week if we could. Can’t wait to come back someday!”
“As avid travelers, we constantly seek that extraordinary destination we eagerly want to share with our family and friends. The Brisbane House truly surpassed our expectations. This hidden gem, nestled in the woods, offered a fairytale experience.”
“We are here and are never leaving.”
I’ll tell you—this kind of feedback sure makes me feel like washing windows four times a year! Some of it is due to the Asian lady beetles finding new digs after the soy fields are mown in late August. They keep us and our pest control hero hopping! I guess their natural habitat is light colored stone cliffs with dark openings, so the next best thing in the US is our house :/ If it’s not their “snail trails” on the windows, it’s the overspray from trying to control them. Touching up scuffs and nicks, scrubbing minerals from the grout, patching the spots where “someone” small and furry has been gnawing on the porch, and shampooing the carpets are just what needs to be done to respect this beautiful old place and make it as fresh and lovely as possible for each guest. That and scheduling around the nearby prairie burns and hunting activity that’s part of the culture in the country. Oh yeah, and filling the woodpecker holes on the gable end facia forty feet up twice…and now we have to do it again! They even pecked a hole in the bat box! Come on you guys!
As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, we’re turning a lot of our attention to the land around the house. There are 18 acres that need TLC and with our amazing, knowledgeable neighbor, Sue, jumpstarting all around us, Bruce is branching (ha ha) out in a big way this fall. Sue’s land-management buddies Bill Moore and Rob Baller have coached Bruce up on a chainsaw purchase, complete with chainsaw chaps, helmet and hearing protection, and he has unleashed on some of the weedy trees that are snuffing out the chance of an oak savannah. Soon we’ll have selectively cleared another acre added to last year’s four, and will be ready to burn in order to coax the native species that can really thrive here. Hopefully it will also help to bolster some of the threatened bird habitats. We all get so excited every time we hear the call of the whippoorwill! More of that please!
Side note: Sue turned us on the world’s best apples from Oakland Fruit Farm in Richland Center. She delivered a bag of Crimson Crisps and fresh apple cider donuts. You may know I love to travel all over the world, but it’s very very hard to beat these local treats, right here, while at the Brisbane House. Some lucky guests got some, too.
Last big news event of the fall: our neighbor from Madison, Rob Griffen, is starting his own business as a wood worker and furniture restorer. He appeared at the right time with the right skills to finish the staircase by placing a finial at the top of the rail! It’s a gorgeous cherrywood acorn that he turned himself based on the acorn finial that is in the den and sits atop the staircase post leading to the third story. It’s silky smooth to the touch and is absolutely perfect. Now I can say the house is truly done. Except for some shoe trim I really should install in the summer kitchen. And a skinny clothes closet for the summer kitchen, too.
I can’t help myself, I have to include some more wonderful reviews. The range of guests is so fun to learn about and I love to hear what matters to them:
“Its location close to Taliesin and House on the Rock gave us plenty of entertainment during our stay. The home is surrounded by trees and gardens. So peaceful and lovely. The host is extremely helpful and responded quickly when we inadvertently locked the bathroom door. We look forward to another stay at this lovely home.”
“Our stay at the Brisbane House was absolutely magical! The drive up to the house is private and wooded and when we entered the house, we were surrounded by the elegance of an expertly renovated historic home. The house was cozy, clean and had thoughtful touches everywhere! The kitchen was easy to work in and had everything we needed to enjoy our cheese and wine on the screened in porch while watching the fireflies at night. I especially enjoyed the book with notes from past guests who shared memories from their stays along with the coffee table book that detailed the historic restoration process of the house. Each bedroom was colorfully decorated and had stunning pieces of art related to the story of the history of the house. We felt so relaxed and comfortable throughout our stay. We cannot wait to return!”
“Our family has stayed at Brisbane house twice now and each time it has been a stellar experience.”
“What an absolutely marvelous place! Four friends who met on a Habitat Build in Florida seven years ago came here to have some fun. The location of Brisbane House was perfect! We decided we could cook dinners and breakfasts in. We learned to dance around each other in the kitchen as we cooked. The kitchen table, with the fresh-cut flowers from the garden, was the place for good conversations. We all agree! We will be back—it’s too perfect! It’s beautiful!”
“Staying at Brisbane House was our treat of the year—many years! Lee (your orthodontist) and I loved our night in the summer kitchen. Nummy, comfy bed and waking up with the beautiful yard and trees around us.”
“Holy wow! What a treasure of a spot—to explore, to appreciate, from which to venture. Your curation of pieces of history, works of art, themes of inclusiveness and celebration bring such BEAUTY to this home. It is such a peaceful, idyllic setting and we got to see an incredible sunset. It was the perfect setting for Katie’s bachelorette and all of us would love to return.”
“Thank you for sharing your labor of love adventure with us. It truly is a step back into history. William Brisbane lives on in this home and area he developed.”
Do you see yourself in any of these remarks? Think you would like to book a stay? We can always host another fabulous guest!
