Goodbye to the Farm

Thursday October 25, 2012
Largo, Florida

 

It’s been a LONG week.  And I’m exhausted but I do want to have a record of what’s happening so here goes.

 

Friday October 19

We haven’t stayed long enough to hit the height of the color but it is pretty fine as I walk around for one last look.

 

I look out to the barnyard.  Notice the corner of the shop in the yard on
the picture left.

 

 

I walk around  to the the south east and look back at the walk out to the barnyard.  There’s the ‘rest of the shop’.

 

 

On around to the front porch, I sit a  while in the swing facing the mountains.

 

 

Around to the west yard.  This is the view of the mountains which carry the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It is the view that we see through living room bay window .

 

 

Humpback Rocks on the Blue Ridge Parkway is off to the left just beyond the middle of the picture.

 

Pretty hazy day for the mountains as I walk around to the north west looking toward the pond.  It’s that small body mid picture left side.  Actually it has become more like a wetland.  Cattails abound.

 

 

 

I walk down to the pond and look back

 

 

I look up from the pond at the  mountains.  It’s just beautiful here.  I love it with all my heart. 

 

Time to say good bye. 

 

 

 

We’re off down the road.

 

 

As we curve around the farm lane, I ask myself, why AM I leaving this lovely place at this most beautiful time of the year?

 

 

Because I have to.

David has his 3 month post transplant tests in Florida next week.

 

 

My 92 year old father moved to Colorado on Wednesday where my sister in law has found an assisted living facility for him.  My part of this is to clean out the entire house and sell it. 

 

 

So right now we are in Largo doing just that.  I’m up to my ears in busy.  10 hour days.  But I’ll post how we got here tomorrow or maybe a few days from now.

And What Else??

Wednesday October 17, 2012
Greenfield Mountain Farm

 

What else has been going on OTHER than the house work?  Well, there’s leaf peeping.

 

It’s finally starting to look like fall here so I’ve been getting all the eye candy I can since we will be gone before the peak.  Sure wish it would have come sooner.

Oaks and Willows are my favorite trees.  Weeping willows and any kind of oaks – white, red, black, live…… although I really am partial to White Oaks.  The farm house is full of white oak furniture and one of the ways I knew Winnona was the one for me was by her interior white oak wood which sadly it seems no one uses anymore.   Guess I’ll just have to keep her forever.

 

 

But in the fall, those maples are just hard to beat.  They just stand up and shout LOOK AT ME!  

 

 

 

 

 

Along with leaf peeping, there’s Girl Watching…..

 

I dropped by to see Carmen who I suppose is technically my niece in law but suffice it to say that she’s family.  And now she and my nephew Justin have another addition to their family.  Little Norah is two and a half and a busy busy girl - hard to pin down for a picture but Carmen grabs her just in time.  :-)

 

 

Baby Elise was tired out (or bored??) by the whole thing.  Aren’t they 3 beautiful girls!   What a fun time I had reading books and chatting.

 

 

I brought the girls matching sleepers.  Their first “sister” outfits Carmen tells me and she was gracious enough to make them model them even though it isn’t quite cold enough yet and she sent me this picture.

 

Don’t they look like “the cat’s meow” modeling their kitty pajamas?   check out those feet.  Thanks Carmen!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And there’s always DONUTS!!

 

Long time followers know, there can’t be a trip to Charlottesville without SPUDNUTS.

 

 

Coconut, my favorite, don’t they look DELICIOUS??   Well those 4 that are missing definitely were.

 

While you are out tramping around in those woods doing all that leaf peeping you’d better beware cause that poison ivy is a creepin’ around.

this one final picture and this one is for Terri who must have remembered my mentioning this on a LONG ago blog and asked me about it when she came to visit. 

We swear by Octagon soap as THE poison ivy prevention system.  When you get back from hiking in these here eastern deciduous forests hop in the shower and wash off with octagon and I promise if you don’t miss any spots, you will not get the rash.  Throw the clothes in the laundry first and don’t touch them until wash day.  The oil is on them too.  But Octagon will take it off of your skin.

 

I receive no royalties or commission on the sale of Octagon soap. It’s just a GREAT product.

 

Pretty sure it’s available in most grocery stores but I’ve got a bar for you Terri just in case.  We’re leaving for Florida in the morning so meet us down there and pick it up.  OK??   :-))  And ya’ll come too ya’ heah??

Completed on time

Monday October 16, 2012
Greenfield Mountain Farm

 

Well it happened, the house is finished and on time thanks to our wonderful carpenter Brian Tinnell, the fabulous painters from Old School Painting and its owner Rik Prentiss. 

Remember when things used to be done right the first time?  Well in that sense all of these guys were ‘old school’.  Just try to imagine all the nooks and crannies in an old house and the details.  They took care of them all, repairs, scraping, priming and two coats of finish everywhere, including the roof.

The skies are getting ominous here and I because of the sun, the main house color does not always look the same but it is.  See what you think.  Take a walk around.

 

 

East Entry to the screened porch and then kitchen.

 

 

Moving around to the South entry to its open porch then the hall and parlors.

 

 

south west corner

 

West side with the bay window and back door facing the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Old farmhouses had a door on every side but North.

 

 

North West Corner.  No door on the north.  Upper porch is off the Master Bedroom.

 

Even David’s shop, from which most of the original renovations to this old farmhouse came, got a new look.  It’s located in the yard to the right out of view in the first picture

 

We won’t be here long to enjoy it though since we leave for Moffitt later this week.  But it feels great to have it all taken care of.  Wonder how long it will take the wallet to recover??

Leaves and Leaving

Thursday October 11, 2012
Charlottesville, VA

 

It’s starting to feel like fall. 
Highs in the upper 60’s and low 70’s,
low’s in the 40’s.

 

Some of the leaves are falling but not even enough to rake.
My favorite flowers are still blooming.  We haven’t even had a frost yet.
And it doesn’t look like that will happen in the next 10 days.

 

 

Crossing my fingers for this next week.

 

Next week is the pull out date for moving further south and the leaves are just starting to turn.  I really hope I don’t miss the colors after having been here over a month.  That would be such a shame.  The farm valley is gorgeous in its fall beauty.   COME ON LEAVES!! 

 

 

 

The painting and carpentry should be finished this week-end and the hole in the wallet will be huge.  But that should take care of it for the next 10 years.  Hopefully.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s been an easy few weeks but lots of progress.

David’s numbers are improving.  He’s feeling less fatigue and taking fewer naps.  We’ve seen friends and gotten many things taken care of.

 

I’ve worked just enough in the yard to feel that connection with the land and am really enjoying the many variations of my pansies.  Such great flowers in both spring and fall.  Not too many flowers you can enjoy in both seasons.

 

  

 

 

 

What about those postcards you ask???

Where Winnona is parked, I can’t put out the living room slide to mount the latest postcards.  But once she’s on the road I’ll be posting pictures of the current status of the postcard Mirror Wall.   Thanks to everyone who contributed to its fabulousness!

 

 

 

Hope you are seeing Nature’s splendid palate wherever you are!

 

 

Really looking forward to being on the road again even if we are headed back to Moffitt for the 3 month evaluation.

Wow is all I can say!

Thursday October 4, 2012
Greenfield Mountain Farm

 

As I started to put this post together of a great visit with wonderful friends I went looking for something on my last post and noticed the page view counter.  It was 102,555 views.   WHAT?  I am dumbfounded at that number.  I would never in my life have thought that so many people would check out what in the world we are up to.  That is just amazing.  I don’t see the counter since it is at the very bottom and had actually forgotten it was even there.   I actually refreshed my screen since I thought there must be something wrong.  What a sweet surprise! 

 

The even bigger WOW was about friends who will drive 90 miles to visit you.  And that’s just what Terri and Mike did today.  They have been in Richmond for a while.  It was their hometown when they sold everything and went on the road.  They are leaving there soon and moving on south.

 

They hand delivered a postcard to add to my sweet collection.  That was so cute.  As soon as we get back on the road I’ll put all these recent post cards up on the mirror which will be more than covered and post a picture of it with the new additions.

 

We chatted about all the things we’d done since we’d seen each other last which included too many doctor visits for both Terri and David.

I made a pot of vegetable soup and we had that and a salad with the fresh Hanover tomatoes they also brought us for lunch from Hanover county.  By the time I remembered to take this picture the guys were on bowl #2 and all the focaccia bread plate was empty. 

 

 

It was a beautiful day so we went out to take a walk down to our lower field which Mike did remark was up a little hill and then down a bigger hill so it would have to be up a bigger hill on the way back.

Notice David’s defensive socks outside of jeans strategy for avoiding any ticks.  His mommy made him do it.  :-))  No one got any.

 

Here they are looking back at the farm as we start out to walk up the shorter hill.

 

 

This may look flat but it’s the beginning of the steeper down hill to the field.

 

 

After all the exercise we thought we deserved some pie.  It seems the only picture I took was the one of David cutting it.  Both Mike and Terri must have been standing just outside the picture.  I sure don’t pay much attention to what I’m doing.  Great photographer that I am.

 

 

Too soon it was time for them to head back.  What a wonderful afternoon for us, in the midst of all the workmen, to have time off to chat with friends.  We took some parting pictures out by the old barn before they drove off down the driveway.

 

Thanks Mike and Terri!   It was really wonderful to see you guys!!
Can’t tell you how much we appreciate your coming such a long drive both ways just to spend the afternoon with us.  
What great friends we have!!