February 4, 2008 – When I talk about mythically driven people, I really am often talking about Bill and Maria Heinrich. If there were ever a TV show called “The Restorers,” it would star these two, who left a cozy New York life behind to come up to the country and lovingly, painstakingly and beautifully restore old homes and buildings – like Mike’s Place, above, which they have been working on for two years, and the historic West Hebron Grange, which they are returning to glory.
  They work long hours in cold, dark, heat, build stone foundations, restore slate roofs, gut old houses with great respect and restore them precisely the way the were,  and they love what they do.
  Maria is also an artist who works in fiber, and whose works include quilts, chairs, shawls and fibersculptures. She works out of one of my barns and is the editor of Bedlam Farm Books.
  They are also great and loyal friends, and I am lucky to have them in my life. They are working on a book about their restoration dramas, and I am taking photos. I love this picture, which I froze my butt off to get, because it is typical of how they live. They bought Mike’s place, tracked down Mike to get some feel for his life, and then set about, mostly by themselves, restoring this old farmhouse to its original condition. Bill can go on at some length about noggins and lathes, but I don’t know what he’s talking about. I am in awe of the work they do, and they are extraordinary people, heroes really, with striking values that they actually live by.

Mike’s place, a labor of love. I could do this, I just don’t care to.