I live in the middle of nowhere on a small pretend farm in Clarke county. My closest neighbors are monks at the Holy Cross Abbey. My land is on the Shenandoah river…lush and green in the summer, and beautifully crisp in the winter. I have a large collection of animals (the menagerie) including: 2 dogs (puck and moonshine), 2 cats (boot and tibia), a quarter horse (willie), and a donkey (hotey). Sometimes I have chickens (there are currently 18), pigs (which I eat), and a peacock.
My house was built in 1760 or so (nobody is really sure), and was part of a creek-driven industrial complex before the big flood of 1870. I built a timber frame barn a few years ago on the property, which I expect to last for at least 200 years. I also have a red woodshed, a chicken palace, a spring house and an apothecary shed.
In the summer, I have a large garden in the bottom land. In the winter, I light fires and work in the kitchen. I have massive bonfires twice a year on the solstice to turn the sun.
The apothecary shed is, contrary to rumor, not a meth lab. It is a nature center, experimental lab, yellow building, collection of cool stuff. On the apothecaryshed blog I talk about the stuff. Or whatever else comes to mind.
