First Weeks in Virginia

September 26 to October 11, 2014
Greenfield Mountain Farm
Near Charlottesville, Virginia

 

This is the first of a few posts to whiz through our time in Virginia and get caught up to the present.

In addition to medical appointments and car repair and maintenance, we have gotten a few other things taken care of in our first days back in Virginia where we have familiar doctors, tried and true auto shops and well known stores.  It’s just easier to do everything here.  It messes less with our travel fun.

 

Winnona took a trip up to the Crutchfield headquarters for a new weather band radio.  Hers quit working a while ago and try as we might with checking fuses, wiring and anything else David could think of, we could not resurrect it. 

And of course nothing can be fixed any more.  You just have to throw it away and buy another one.  What happened to all those little radio and vacuum cleaner and toaster repair shops?   I am rather ashamed that we are such a throw away society.  I have always wondered where we think “away” is.  Out of our personal sight I guess.   Your local landfill puts the run off of everything there into the underground water supply.  And if you have a well you drink it and if you have city water they “clean” it and fill it with chlorine.   It’s just amazing how little we care.

 

Crutchfield was able to install another weather band radio.  I’m told it is lots better because it is more souped up electronically which to me just means to me more things to go wrong that we can’t fix.   They also removed and recycled the big old clunky front TV so we can put a much lighter flat screen in while we are here.  Notice the hole between the cabinets in the first picture and the old monster below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our farmer friend Mike Cook spent some days sprucing up the farm.  We barter the haying with him since the farm no longer has horses and burros to keep it under control.  He gets the hay if he will cut it.  Win/Win.

 

Looking pretty shaggy here.

 

So shaggy you can hardly see the blue dot that is Mike above.

 

Actually the grasses were nearly as tall as the Tall Grass Prairie in Kansas.   We only have him cut it once rather than twice a year which does make for thicker taller grasses.

 

Looking toward the mountains

 

Looking toward the farm house there on the left.

 

 

Nearly finished fields.  The Blue Ridge in the background.

 

 

All finished. It looks green and great out the living room bay window.

 

Now we can see these guys coming back from the pond which needs its banks trimmed by scythe.
Don’t want Mike and his tractor to go swimming.

 

 

We also discovered squatters had taken up residence under and over the porch.   It took a week but David finally evicted them all.  Looks like we’ll need some wire screening behind the lattice to keep future members of the G.Hog family from digging their way in.

 

 

 

 

It is wonderful to enjoy the late blooming hydrangeas and roses.   I hadn’t thought to see them this late in the year.  Too soon the frost will nip them.