MENDING WALL - HAPPY FIRST DAY OF MARCH

Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,

That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,

And spills the upper boulders in the sun;

And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.

The work of hunters is another thing:

I have come after them and made repair

Where they have left not one stone on a stone,

But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,

To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,

No one has seen them made or heard them made,

But at spring mending-time we find them there.

I let my neighbor know beyond the hill;

And on a day we meet to walk the line

And set the wall between us once again.

We keep the wall between us as we go.

To each the boulders that have fallen to each.

And some are loaves and some so nearly balls

We have to use a spell to make them balance:

‘Stay where you are until our backs are turned!’

We wear our fingers rough with handling them.

Oh, just another kind of out-door game,

One on a side. It comes to little more:

There where it is we do not need the wall:

He is all pine and I am apple orchard.

My apple trees will never get across

And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.

He only says, ‘Good fences make good neighbors.’

Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder

If I could put a notion in his head:

‘Why do they make good neighbors? Isn’t it

Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.

Before I built a wall I’d ask to know

What I was walling in or walling out,

And to whom I was like to give offense.

Something there is that doesn't love a wall,

That wants it down.’ I could say ‘Elves’ to him,

But it’s not elves exactly, and I’d rather

He said it for himself. I see him there

Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top

In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.

He moves in darkness as it seems to me,

Not of woods only and the shade of trees.

He will not go behind his father’s saying,

And he likes having thought of it so well

He says again, 'Good fences make good neighbors.'

~Mending Wall by Robert Frost~

Robert Lee Frost (March 26, 1874–January 29, 1963) was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in the United States. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech.  Frost frequently wrote about settings from rural life in New England in the early 20th century, using them to examine complex social and philosophical themes.  Frequently honored during his lifetime, Frost is the only poet to receive four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry.  He became one of America's rare "public literary figures, almost an artistic institution".  He was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1960 for his poetic works. On July 22, 1961, Frost was named poet laureate of Vermont.  You can click on this link to find more information about him.

There is an interesting article here about the wildlife that can be found in a stone wall.  It is where I found today's poem.

Photo taken along the Snickersville Turnpike last May 2023.

A DRIVE ALONG THE SNICKERSVILLE TURNPIKE, VIRGINIA - FRIDAY, MAY 5TH, 2023 - PART 4

 I am taking a couple of days off.  I have left my comments on but will be very slow answering them.  However, I will answer all eventually.  Luckily I had a few posts already done and scheduled, which included this coming Saturday and Monday posts.  Hopefully I will be feeling better by next Tuesday, but if you don't see anything then, you'll know I am just resting up.  Gregg and I have Covid but we are being well taken care of.

We are looking across land that once belonged to the Phillips Family, dating back to about 1798.  It is part of The Waterford Foundation and a self-guided tour can be found here.

According to what I read on one of the signs, it said those line of trees are the Osage orange (also called hedgeapple) which were planted by farmers to create a natural hedge.  The signs I have included below may be difficult to read even when enlarged, so I will repeat the info as I go along, as well as adding other information I found, plus links if interested.  This is what an Osage orange looks like (all photos showing the fruits, including the bow, were found online).

When I read about them, I found that Native American tribes in the Plains quickly discovered that its strong yet flexible wood made superior-quality bows.  According to legend, a bow made from the Osage orange was worth as much as a horse and blanket for Native American traders.  Shown in the photo is obviously a modern-day one but made with that particular wood.

The fruits are 4 to 5 inches in diameter.  The surface is deeply grooved and rough, covered in wiry hairs.  Underneath the ridged surface, the flesh is dense, cream-colored to pale green, and contains 200 to 300 oblong, light brown, edible seeds. When the flesh is sliced, it releases a sticky, white liquid that can be irritating to the skin and may cause a rash. 

As read: "Osage oranges have a green, bitter flavor with a hint of cucumber and a fruity, citrus-like aroma. The flavor is generally unpleasant, unpalatable, and some may feel ill after ingesting the bitter fruit, causing many to deem it inedible." There is more here.

One last bit of information, its wood withstands rot and decay, making them ideal for fence posts. After the widespread introduction of barbed wire fencing, Osage orange remained the go-to tree for fencing use, but this time it was for the rot-resistant wood that could be fashioned into fence posts to hold the newly invented barbed wire. And my snowball rolling down hill is taking effect because I also found this interesting page on the history of barbed wire.  There is none used for fence posts showing the barbed wire below.  Well, enough of the Osage orange!

The Phillips family had an annual yield of 500 bushels of wheat, 400 lbs. of butter, 65 lbs. of wool and 60 lbs. of honey and beeswax.

Thomas and Rachel Phillips were Quakers and were against slavery and secession, which in this case meant the withdrawal of eleven southern states from the Union in 1860, leading to the Civil War.  More history on that subject can be found at this website.  The following photo is cropped from the one above.  It shows some of the artifacts found.

One of the facts I found very interesting was that the Phillips Farm is "a registered Monarch waystation.  Monarchs on their annual migration to and from Mexico, find nectar and host plants here.  Bees also thrive and produce honey just as they did centuries ago" and "Today, more than 200 years after Thomas Phillips began farming here, his practices of haymaking and beekeeping, continue on the farm."

Unfortunately, I didn't see the Belted Kingfisher.  There was no path or gateway that we could see. The Kingfishers and other birds can no doubt be seen along the creek amongst the trees.  (I found out later there is a trail that can be taken.)

I found the above photo at pixabay.com

Others mentioned were the Eastern Bluebird, the Great Blue Heron, Red-winged Blackbird and the Red-Tailed Hawk.

That's all for today.  I have another post after this, of Waterford Village.  It will be my last from our trip along the turnpike, and will be posted next week.

A DRIVE ALONG THE SNICKERSVILLE TURNPIKE, VIRGINIA - FRIDAY, MAY 5TH, 2023 - PART 3 - BATTLE OF ALDIE

Under the weather as we both have Covid.  I have left the comments on but it could be a while before I return any visits.  We are not feeling that great but it is always a joy to read them and thank you in advance.  It came as a bit of a shock as the cases are very low in our area.  Well, there you go, you can't take anything for granted.  

I scheduled a couple of posts before I got sick, for Wednesday and Thursday.

Now to continue with our trip along the SnickersvilleTurnpike.

This is for those interested in the history of the American Civil War.

As we continued our drive, we came across an interesting memorial.  It is for the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry Monument, the Battle of Aldie.  

As peaceful and as beautiful as this area is, very intense battles during the Civil War were fought along the turnpike.  At this link you will be able to read more information. The memorial is located on the Snickersville Turnpike, Route 734 near Route 650, Aldie, Virginia 20105.  You will find it on the right when traveling north.  The survivors erected a monument to mark the spot where the heaviest fighting took place, on a sharp curve in the road north of Aldie.

The above marker will be easier to read if you enlarge the photo...

and names are engraved on the side.

Whenever we come across these memorials, we find ourselves being very reflective.  

Will mankind ever be free of these conflicts?  I live in hope that the more people study history, perhaps enough seeds will be sown for the future.  It certainly has been a very long road.

The property behind the wall is part of the Furr Farm built in 1798.  It bore witness to the battle on June 17th, 1863.  The farm is privately owned but you can see many photos of the outside and inside if you go here.  It's like stepping back in time.

We continued on with our journey.  There will be two more posts after this.

 The sun is shining and it is quite warm.  I hope you are having the same kind of weather in your part of the world.  Thanks for looking. 

A DRIVE ALONG THE SNICKERSVILLE TURNPIKE, VIRGINIA - FRIDAY, MAY 5TH, 2023 - PART 2

Continuing from yesterday’s post here, and thanks to Ginny’s question in her comment the same day, and also Linda's comment when she replied to her question saying, "It is named for the town of Snickersville, which is now Bluemont. That and Snickers Gap were named for a Mr. Snickers who operated a ferry, probably across the Shenandoah." Thank you ladies!  I searched online to learn that the village of Snickersville was named after Captain Edward Snickers who ran a ferry across the nearby Shenandoah River in the 1760’s. It grew quickly, and in the 1840's a General Store opened for business to serve the local population and travelers.  I am assuming the turnpike was also named after him. You can read the full history at this link. 

I am sharing a few of the properties we saw.

We passed several wineries.   I have noticed more of them over the last few years, but wine has been produced in Virginia as early as the 17th century.  

This was the only mural I saw that day.

There are also very old-looking log cabins still standing.  

Another view of the one above.

And then there are places such as the following.

All different styles of architecture.

I enjoyed looking at the pretty homes, including the old log cabins and think of how it must have been for them way back when.  Such stories those old walls could tell.

I still have photos to share from our mini road trip.  More next time!

A DRIVE ALONG THE SNICKERSVILLE TURNPIKE, VIRGINIA - FRIDAY, MAY 5TH, 2023 - PART 1

It was a perfect day for a drive.  I searched online for scenic routes not too far from where we live.  I came across the Snickersville Turnpike Scenic route, a bit of a drive from home, but have been further.  It's also not our first time in the 30 plus years of living here.  We enjoy it as there is very little traffic compared to the main roads.  Always peaceful to get off the beaten path. Today I am going to concentrate on those skies.  It was an absolutely beautiful day.The turnpike is a quiet, two-lane road but perhaps we should have gone earlier in the morning as people were coming home from work and it was busier than normal.  Not rush-hour-busy mind you.Below is a photo taken very quickly, trying to get the gate.  Two cars were behind us and we couldn't stop.  Still, it's a gate with a beautiful cloud-filled sky, and trees.  I often wonder who lives in these homes with their long driveways.We pass by farms and wide-open fields.  George Washington used to travel them as a surveyor.  By 1786 it was the first operating turnpike in America, and heralded by Thomas Jefferson as a success.  

I was curious as I wanted to find out how the word 'turnpike' originated. I read online that it was formed from the verb 'turnen', meaning "to turn," and the noun pike, meaning "a sharp-tipped weapon." With a slight change in spelling, turnpike later came to be used as the word for a simple gate placed across a road.  In order to pass through the turnpike, travelers would have to pay a fee or toll.  It was used between the mid-16th and late 19th centuries as gates or some other barrier set across a road to prevent passage until a toll had been paid.

   Our modern-day toll roads we try to avoid (way too much traffic), but we do have a device on our window that ticks down each time we use them, and we take the unmanned lane when approaching the line of kiosks, so that we don't have to stop, unless there is backed-up traffic in front of us.  On occasion we have forgotten to 'fill the money-pot' so to speak, and a ticket arrives a few days later.  Always nice to be able to get online to replenish that money-pot immediately.  Fortunately, it doesn't happen but rarely.

The history of the turnpike can be found here.

We pass by these old wooden, colonial-style fences in many historical areas.  I found a history of fences at this link.  There are all different styles.  The page also offers an interesting history lesson.  The website is called "Plants & Gardens in Colonial & Early America.", hosted by Barbara Wells Sarudy.

This is the last photo for today.  I will have more and post them as soon as I can.

LINDA ASKED THAT MORNING...

 

“Linda asked that morning what it was about Charlotte’s Web that Ally particularly liked; maybe it would help to think about that, since it was Ally’s model book. “I like the family that comes together in the barn,” Ally said without hesitation. “I like that they aren’t all the same thing; one is human and one’s a spider and one’s a pig. I like that it has nothing to do with blood relations, and everything to do with love.”

Meg Wait Clayton 

a quote from her novel The Wednesday Sisters

A graduate of University of Michigan Law School, Ms. Clayton also earned bachelor's degrees in History and Psychology from the same school, and worked as a lawyer in Los Angeles.  She grew up primarily in suburban Kansas City and suburban Chicago, where she graduated from Glenbrook North High School.  She began writing in earnest after moving to a horse farm outside of Baltimore, Maryland, where her first novel is set. She now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.