Where I Live

Jayna, a long-time Facebook friend, asked for a map of our farm so she could get a better idea of the layout. I sketched out the thing above -- very badly done but I had chicken to fry and potatoes to mash for the fellas coming over to watch Carolina in The Big Game last night. (Alas -- a great game but...) 

So here's a series of pictures that may explain it better...

Coming along the hard road, about three miles from the bridge over the French Broad, the mailboxes for the houses in our holler on on the left and our driveway is on the right. . .

The house across the street is rented out now -- it's where I imagined Dessie, in the opening scene of Signs in the Blood, living and in Art's Blood, the same house was rented to Kyra, and Boz and Aidan (was it Aidan? I don't actually remember for sure.)

Turning up our road, there's a small pasture on the right . . .

On the left is a road up to the Freeman Cemetery -- I've taken many a picture up there -- 

and on the right is another pasture.

Around the curve Justin and Claui's house and more pasture comes into view

Along with the pond and across from the pond a small pasture. That's the cemetery atop the hill to the left.

The pond again . . .

About a quarter mile from the mailboxes is Justin and Claui's house plus the big barn (site of the Easter Party and, fictionally, Elizabeth's workshop. Also a smaller barn and several sheds for storing hay and farm equipment.

In the field below Justin and Claui's house is a little two-stall barn where the milking is done. Also a small chicken house for the birds we raise for the freezer.

J and C's house below . . .

Across the branch from their house is the big barn  and on the right, the old corn crib (it showed up in Art's Blood too.)

That's our go-to-town car on the left -- it won't make it up the road to our house -- the Jeep does that.

Continuing up the road in the Jeep,  the old barn on the right
was used by our predecessors for their milk cows and their mule. The top was used to hang tobacco.

The house in the distance was built for my mother-in law. We call it the Gran House and it's rented out till such time as my older son and his wife are able to move back to NC.

Continuing up the road (that's the Gran House driveway on the left, the house in the distance and the field below it belong to our neighbors, who have another house up to the right.

Our property on the left, our neighbor's on the right.

The arrow point the way up.

What's left of our orchard on the left . . .

The barn above has stalls underneath where we once kept our milk cow and our mules. The upper part was for hanging tobacco -- except for the time in which we lived in it -- just like Elizabeth's family in Old Wounds.

Those are hop vines growing up the side . . .

Just above the barn is the chicken house for the egg layers and above it are the garden tiers and that's our house's roof beyond that.

Garden . . . house . . .

Almost there . . .

Looking back down at the barn and the chicken house . . .

Yet another old barn for hanging tobacco -- to the left of the big barn.

Across the road from the garden is the little log house where we keep garden tools. This is where the mushroom logs are.

And at the top of the road, before the sharp right turn that leads to the house, is the blue Lutyens bench . . . (Elizabeth and Phillip sat there a time or two.)

And this is where we park, a half a steep mile from the mailboxes. That's a solar panel that preheats our hot water and that's a funky little greenhouse on the end of our house

Up the steps to our front porch . . .

And to the view that explains why we put up with the road.