Going Round the Dark Side of the Moon

So here I am - all excited to begin this new adventure of moving to my country farmhouse - and I have to pause with this modern techno internet way of sharing the ride.  Why you ask?  Because on Thursday September 5th - moving day - my internet connection in Arizona will be severed.  No electronic communication with the world.  Like going around the dark side of the moon.  Radio blackout.  Communication will not reestablished until a satellite internet link is established at Reedy Branch Road.  Having a technician come to the property from Richmond, about 65 miles away, to set up a receiver dish, etc., is about 25th on my list of things that need doing immediately.  Oh, things like cleaning the house that has not been lived in in several years, unload, unpack, buy a refrigerator and freezer, have a locksmith pick the old lock on the front door and make a couple of keys for it (only the back door has a modern lock set and keys), have the chimneys checked for safe use, and relined if necessary, get firewood for the winter, have the well water tested, fix all the inevitable plumbing leaks, till the garden and add compost to mellow over the coming winter  --  just to name a few, come first.  Dial up internet isn't worth the bother and sloooow speed, wireless cell phone based service is sketchy, cable doesn't exist - so satellite internet it is.  That will take a while.

In the mean time I will have to write letters - actual letters - on stationary - using one of my many fountain pens (yes - I actually own and use fountain pens).  Actually I am looking forward to it, but I do like my internet connection for the ease and convenience of email, shopping on-line (important when living so far from city shopping) and researching the knowledge needed for building, remodeling, planting, harvesting and so forth.

When I get back on-line I will begin blogging regularly........

Always want to include a picture: Old cabin on the property.

On Your Mark - Get set - GO!

Today is the official start of a journey that has been dreamed of for many years.  I closed on the purchase of an old farmhouse in the country on two beautiful acres of land.  In rural Virginia.  About 2,400 miles from where I currently live in the desert Southwest.  Call me crazy!

I am an easterner by birth and a southerner by choice, having lived in North Carolina for 17 years before moving to Arizona 14 years ago.  Now I'm returning to the gently rolling green land of the piedmont with two main aspirations in mind: 1) to grow organically as much of my own food as I can in a large garden and small orchard and 2) to restore this fine old home with good bones into the gathering place where all members of my far flung family and all friends can come to enjoy the peace and tranquility of life in the country (and help weed, feed, gather, pick, pluck, mow, dig, saw, hammer, plaster, and paint).  It is often said that the definition of a farm (or homestead) is "an endless series of chores and projects surrounded by a fence".

Reedy Branch Road is the name of the country lane where my little homestead is located.  I will be blogging about the adventures, successes, failures, disasters and triumphs in the gardens and on the grounds and blogging about the many house restoration projects as they happen.  I'll add posts about canning, preserving, cooking and baking too.

Now we are busy packing - getting ready to hit the road on our way to our new home.

The home was built by Miles C. Taylor in 1859  

The original detached kitchen, typical of the era, was enlarged and attached to the main house in 1905.
The 1905 addition was further enlarged in 1940

Future garden area

1864 'Gilmore' Confederate map noting 'M Taylor' property in lower right corner near the county line