People often ask me if I get to see all the beautiful houses in the magazine. Unfortunately I don’t get to visit all of them, but there are three in this Green Issue that I’ve seen.

I felt a strange connection to the first: the Buttericks’ house on the Lagoon in Oak Bluffs (page 46). Initially the home simply seemed like an enviable location on the water. As I toured through it though, I noticed features I have in my own home. I don’t know if our houses date back to the same builder, but I have the kind of rough-hewn wood paneling they have in the original camp-style parts of their house. They’ve done their own renovation, and so have I. It was fun to see the similarities and differences. (The numerous works by Island artist Steve Mills made me wish he was my friend too.)

The next visit I made was to Anna Edey’s house to see her soon-to-be indoor pool addition when it was under construction (page 38). All the solar-powered and eco-friendly features of the building were intriguing, and now it’s exciting to see and read about the finished project.

My last firsthand account is seeing my friend Tom O’Hanlon’s half-bath. My first visit was very different from what you see of the stately room inspired by Ernest Hemingway (page 54). To be frank, when I went to use the lavatory in his house, I couldn’t, daunted as I was by the big head of a deer that used to be mounted on the wall facing the toilet. It’s a small bathroom, and let me reiterate, it was a giant head. Sure, it was easy for guys to turn their backs to Tom’s trophy and do their business. But I’ve heard many a female friend would ask to use the master bath instead, as I did. I confess, it did cross my mind that the bathroom buck might have made a good story. But Tom’s new Hemingway head makes a better one.