Peacock Room Freer Gallery of Art Washington, D.C. Since Farmguy and I are traveling to Washington D.C. every week for our wine course, we’re also taking advantage of being near so many fantastic museums. During one of our recent trips to our nation’s capital, and on the suggestion of my art teacher, we visited the Freer Gallery of Art […]
Hamish and Friends Green Hill Farm It’s cold….A-GAIN. I don’t know what it’s like where you live, but around here, it seems like it’s either 60 degrees or 15 degrees F. The temperatures have been so up and down! We began the new year with a lovely polar vortex, single digit temperatures, and pipe freezing winds–just to remind us that, yes Virginia, it’s still winter. Then, Mother Nature, Father Forecast, or some other maniacal meteorologic relative decided, wouldn’t it be fun to give everyone weather whiplash? So, just like that, we were hurled out of the depths of an arctic blast, only to land in what my grandma used to call “pneumonia weather.” You know what I’m talking about…first, it’s a bone-chilling 7 degrees, and then, out of the blue, some warm-a$$ El Nino winds blow in a humid 68 degree day—all within a two week period. Yeah, good times! You see, this warmer weather, while appearing to be a reprieve from winter, actually isn’t good for anyone—human or animal. It’s hard for sheep as their bodies have trouble acclimating to the changing temperatures. And, that balmy 68 degrees can feel warmer than it actually is to us as well…so warm, that we’re running the air conditioner or having wine on the patio without coats, hats, and gloves—cue pneumonia weather. And, you don’t have to be a sheep for that difference in temperature to make you feel crummy. Unfortunately, […]
Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli, 1486 Uffizi Gallery Florence, Italy Liberty of Poetry by Pio Fedi, 1870 Santa Croce Florence, Italy Atop playwright Giovanni Battista Niccolini’s tomb in the basilica of Santa Croce is a statue remarkably similar to New York’s Statue of Liberty. Both depict a woman in neoclassical robes with a crown of […]
Sunrise on Green Hill Farm “Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.” ~Gautama Buddha (c 563 BC-483 BC)
“Do I smell banana pancakes?”
You know how you hear a song, and it takes you right back to a time and place? We’ve all experienced it. Well, the other night, Farmguy and I were watching a film called, The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. There’s a funny scene where the characters sing “It Takes Two,” by Rob Base and DJ E Z […]
Olive and Finn are a part of our menagerie of critters on Green Hill Farm. These sweet kitties were born in 2012 in our 150-year-old barn. Today, they continue to live in the barn, enjoying a special room in a restored area. Their space is complete with windows, air conditioning, heat, and plenty of toys—a regular Kitty Ritz. I was […]
Last week, I shared a post singing the praises of September. Around here, September is normally a lovely time of year—temperate weather and blue skies; however, since my post, it has been nothing but overcast and rainy. So, instead of enjoying sunny days and views such as this one….. We’ve had gray and cloudy days like these. And, this is […]
September is my birthday month, and thankfully, I’m turning another year older. I am now firmly into my fourth decade–or as my husband corrected–fifth decade, because you count 0 to 10 as your first decade…..okay—whatever! The bottom line….I am forty-something and well into the journey of my life. And, with this understanding, I started considering the passing years and what […]
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.
fourth generation farmgirl 