Welcome to 119 Dale Avenue!
a great place to live…
We are 2 sisters that own a rental property at 119 Dale Avenue in Ossining, NY. This property has been in our family for over 51 years. We’ve had many happy families live here, and then go on to bigger and better things for themselves.
If you live in Ossining, you have probably driven by our property many times. Almost everyone that comes down our driveway says the same thing, “Wow, I didn’t know all of this was back here!”.
Our property is unassuming from the street, that’s for sure. We like it that way. We call it our own private compound.
Our property has 2 houses with 2 apartments in each house. This setup is unique for the area, as there isn’t another like it around for miles.
Mailboxes. The mailboxes are set up on the front house for easy access for the mailperson to deliver. We set them up like the apartments, front house (1st and 2nd floor) and rear house (1st and 2nd floor). Each one is already labelled with your apartment number. I just add your last name on the right side of your mailbox, when you first move in! No worries about theft, I have a security camera on the mailboxes 24/7!
Packages are no problem either! We have our white wicker chair on the porch that delivery drivers notice and leave packages there or at your mailbox. And the porch is covered by another security camera, so again, theft is non-issue here!
Apartments. We rent 3 of the 4 apartments. Any apartment available for rent, will be listed here.
Each apartment is independent of the others. Each has its own private entry walkway leading to either a porch or a deck. Each entry has a super sturdy solid door from the outside. No worries about disturbing your neighbors early in the morning or late at night, chances are they won’t hear (or see) you.
Our Property:
Our property from Dale Avenue to the Kill Brook:
- Front (Gray) House
- Courtyard Area
- Rear (Beige) House
- Private Parking Lot (9 cars)
- Backyard Lawn Area
- the Kill Brook
The Grounds:
The Gazebo. You can see the courtyard area between the houses in the photo above. I have a paver gazebo area for shade and relaxing. Hanging flower baskets and birds chirping make it feel like a magical garden.
Trees & Flowers. We have a lot of beautiful evergreen, flowering and fruit trees on our property. There are dozens of bushes, shrubs and perennial plants around every corner. The colors and natural beauty are just breathtaking.
We have a Yoshino Cherry tree (just like the famous trees in Washington DC) and 2 Jane Magnolia tress that bloom in the spring. Magnolia trees live from 80 to 120 years! I planted these in 1996, so they have a long way to go.
The flowers, colors, and smells of that time of year, are just magnificent.
One of my favorites is the hydrangea on my walkway. Hydrangea can live 50 years if well taken care of. Mine loves it’s spot and gets bigger blooms each year. And the color is my absolute favorite! It can range from a blue to a purple color depending on the acid in the soil, and the time of summer. So gorgeous!
Animals. Animals of all kinds come to live on and love our property. We like to think of the property as a sanctuary for all creatures. Everyone is welcome!
This is the little chipmunk, I call Chippie, who lives under my step.
I leave him walnuts and snacks. And I don’t charge him rent. 🙂 He (and his family) have been here for years.
Our resident birds on the property just got their own upgrade! My sister gave me this lovely birdhouse for Christmas. Their previous house got destroyed by a woodpecker. It’s gorgeous cedar wood that won’t easily rot or get bugs. It even has a latch to open the front and clean it out for the next residents. We had to put it up in January because by the time it’s warm enough to swap out the old one, it would already have new residents in it! Then we’d have to wait another season.
Lighting. At night, I have automatic pathway lighting, spot lights and railing lights that light up the entire property with a serene ambiance.
All of the bulbs are a warm white LEDs. Not only do the LEDs consume only a fraction of the energy of other bulbs, but they also help to reduce our carbon footprint on our beautiful planet Earth. They come out with new LED technology all the time, so our old LEDs outside just got an upgrade. We now have brighter bulbs at 300 lumens with only 3 watts of power used!
We also add in solar lights for accents where ever we can. We like to conserve energy where we can. The gazebo is completely encircled with the glow of soft solar lights.
The parking area has a super bright motion flood light. No surprises in the parking area at night with that light!
Drip Irrigation. I have also installed an entire system of automatic drip irrigation around both houses and the courtyard area. Drip irrigation delivers water slowly, at low pressure, at or near the root zone of the plant. Because the water delivery is so precise, it saves water, time and money. Water only goes to the root of the plant, with no concern of wasting water.
Everything is automatic, and I have it set to water, in the warmer months, at 11pm. This assures the plants have cooled off from the hot summer sun so they won’t burn. No one has to worry about not being home in time or forgetting to water, all of the trees, shrubs and delicate flowers with a hose. No worries when you go on vacation, everything will still get watered while you are away.
The drip irrigation waters everything from shrubs, trees, pots, flower beds, railing flower boxes, and hanging plants. It even waters the hanging plants around the gazebo.
This year I added an extension to water the tiny flower window boxes on the cute little shed too. It just looks too cute with colorful flowers, in miniature window boxes on the small doll house shed. Now the flowers get watered with the rest of the system, and they continue to bloom, thrive, and look adorable.
The Backyard. Beyond the private parking lot is a large fenced in lawn area surrounded by trees. It’s fenced in on 3 sides, and very private.
The very back of the property ends at the Kill Brook. It is a babbling brook that is so soothing. Tenants in the rear house say they can hear the brook at night with the windows open in the summer.
Maybe you noticed the chimney/fireplace structures in the yard? Yes our dad was a master stone mason (hence the lovely stone work on our property), and he used to forge his own tools. He made those tools in the fireplaces he built in the backyard. We have kept them as a lovely homage to all of his hard work.
The colors of the leaves are lovely in the fall. Some have been known to bring a chair down to the lawn and sit by the brook with a cup of tea and a book. What better way to relax and enjoy a weekend morning?
Enjoy the snowy backyard in the winter. If you have a day off because of a snow storm, it’s the perfect day for playing in the snow, a snowball fight, or building a snowman ⛄️!
This video below was taken by our long time tenant (since 2003) Bill, in 2005 during a snowstorm (sorry I had to edit it down to give you just a glimpse). And finally, yes, most of the time, the deli remains open, even in the snow… see for yourself in the video! That is a big benefit when most stores are closed due to snow, you need some comfort food, and you don’t feel like cooking.
Lastly, the property behind ours beyond the Kill Brook, is owned by Dale Cemetery. They are just the quietest neighbors. 😉
