As a child growing up on Green Hill Farm there were two things that I looked forward to the most: visiting with Grandma and Granddaddy Rieley and summer time. One thing that I liked best was neither required dressy outfits or shoes. I also relished the freedom of an undetermined day, one without rules or routines. I’d run around on […]
“No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face.” –John Donne “The leaves fall, the wind blows, and the farm country slowly changes from the summer cottons into its winter wools.” –Henry Beston
On Green Hill Farm, we have a menagerie of sheep, chickens, cats, and dogs, and it’s my goal to make sure that everyone is healthy and happy. That includes our injured hen, a Buff Orpington called Honey. When she became lame, we started putting her outside everyday to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. In addition to Honey Chicken, we […]
With the arrival of fall, my thoughts turn to cool, crisp mornings, fields full of pumpkins, the smell of a crackling fire and the taste of hot apple cider. This time of year often causes us to reflect on happy times. It’s always interesting to me how our senses ignite memories. Memories that take us back to a single, meaningful […]
In looking back on the experience of saving my family’s homeplace, I’ve realized that not only was it a gesture of love, but more importantly, it was an act of faith. Faith, or wearing my rose-colored glasses as I like to say, sustained us through difficult times and propelled us forward. I don’t know where we would have been without […]
There’s a sign that hangs in our vestibule or small covered porch that says “PERSEVERANCE,” and it’s been our mantra since moving to Green Hill Farm. My husband and I were in our early 30s when we decided to take on this project. Sometimes when we look back at pictures we say, “WHAT in the world were we thinking? Were […]
Ten years ago this year, my husband, Scott and I moved to the place where I grew-up. Although Green Hill Farm in rural Virginia is a 100-year-old family farm, the main house was built around 1790, the brick cottage between 1750-1775, and the farm was referred to as Green Hill as early as the mid-1800s. My great-grandparents bought this farm in […]
My name is Tonya, and I grew up on a 300-acre farm in rural Virginia that has been in my family for over 100 years. After graduating from college, receiving my master’s degree in speech and language pathology, and living and working in a small city for six years, I decided to return to the place of my childhood. Here, in this rural area, on this patch of green, where for four generations my family has farmed, gardened, and lived, I, too wanted to be a part of this continuity. As a fourth generation farmgirl, I have many interests that not only include, but also go beyond the basics of farming, gardening, sheep and chicken-keeping. It is all of this and more that I plan on sharing in this blog.
