However, putting those disappointments behind me, I must say that these last couple of weeks of Summer have been, surprisingly...well, quite nice really. So, you can no doubt imagine my utter delight when the forecast for week one of Fall here was for a damn near perfect week. You know the sort, night-time temps in the high 40's- lo 50's and the daytime highs in the lo-mid 70's. Blue skies, breezy, puffy white clouds and not a drop of rain in sight.
Right! No doubts about where we’re going to spend the week. And little doubts of how.
Our little "mountain farm" should provide the perfect retreat. "Far from the maddening crowd" , but surprisingly convenient for a place most people would describe as "out in the sticks". It’s just a 15 minute drive to town. A 40 minute walk with nearly 500 foot gain in altitude to Virginia and the glorious ridge-line view. A 20 minute drive to the New River Trail. Oh...and a 2 minute walk to "Gordon Pond".
A whole week of walkin’, ridin’, eatin’, drinkin’, and just plain ole chillin’. That’s what I want!
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| Welcome to the "Farm" |
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| Over the creek and through the woods... |
Walkin’...
This is fantastic walking country, if, that is, you don’t mind a bit of ... ok, a lot of uphill walking. But, as they say, the view is most definitely worth the climb. Starting at around 2500 feet, you walk out the roughly level 1/4 mile driveway, turn left and.... bam! You’re looking up at the 8% grade of what we call "Fender Mountain". For the next mile or so, it’s nothing but up, up, up Fender Road. Passing by the neighboring dairies, we have 3 , and on to ever increasing long-range vistas. It’s a spectacular mixture of rolling green high mountain pastures with the hazy Blue Ridge as a backdrop. A network of these little lightly traveled rural roads provides a variety of choices for a daily walk. Once you top-out on the ridge, around 3000 feet , "huff-puff", the road levels out considerably, you find yourself surrounded by 360 degrees of jaw-dropping views. It’s just magical!!
At any time of the year, well at least the warm bits when I’m here, there’s always a rhythm of activity. Cutting, raking, baling and putting up the big rolls of hay. Planting, cutting and putting up the corn. Spraying the "organic" fertilizer on the newly mown or cleared fields. Tilling and planting the Winter cover crop. There is almost always the drone of a tractor in the air. It’s a strangely comforting sound, especially if you’re not the one running it.
This week, all around us... time to cut the corn. Tall, really tall corn. 10 foot or more from the Summer’s overly bountiful rains, turned lightly brown. Time to harvest. I pass my neighbor’s fields. The combine, gobbling up huge swaths of tall stalks, grinding it into silage and spewing it into it’s companion truck. And in just minutes, another there to take it’s place. Each lumbering off under it’s burden to the nearby "silage pit", where it is piled to ferment, and provide the cows with Winter feed. Sandy often jokes as we pass one of our neighbor’s pits on our walk, "I don’t know what smells worse, what goes in or what comes out"? Aint it true?
The rhythms of the farms, the daily sound of the milk truck run up and then down "Fender Mountain", the barely perceptible changes of the seasons, the wave of a passer bye, a brief stop to chat with a neighbor. Each of these parts being exceeded by the whole experience.
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| Up on the ridge |
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| Almost like dancers, these two were perfectly synchronized |
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| On the way up "Fender Mountain" |
Ridin’...
There may have been a time in my life when I might have hopped on my bike and hauled my ass up "Fender Mountain" or the like... but, that time is not now.
That’s not to say I’ve lost my taste for riding, far from it actually. It’s just, I like my riding a bit more horizontal these days.
We are most fortunate indeed to have such a horizontal opportunity in the nearby New River Trail. It’s a rails-to-trails parkway complete with the original railway trestles and tunnels. The whole affair from Galax to Pulaski Virginia is about 56 miles. A bit ambitious perhaps, but, of course you can do it in stages. Our favorite stage... begin at the Galax trail head and ride the 12 miles or so along picturesque Chestnut Creek down to the junction at the New River. Brief rest, a long slow drink, often a chat with some other riders, and... it’s a delightful 12 miles ride back to Galax. Almost always a picnic lunch is enjoyed at a suitably scenic spot along the way. Now that’s what I call ridin’!!
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| A lovely way to spend the day. |
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| Lunchtime picnic at Chestnut Falls |
Eatin’...
The "farm experience" is heavy on the eatin’.
I love good food. I love to eat good food. And, I love to cook good food.
Good food is simple, fresh ingredients prepared simply. No heavy sauces to cover it up. No fru-fru presentations. I want to taste the freshness of each ingredient.
So.... a stop by the farmer’s market for some local fruit and veg, the grocery store and, my kitchen’s stocked for the weeks feasting.
What do I cook? Well it’s Fall now. What I eat and drink will usually reflect the season.
Lunchtime’s a little cool today, I might prepare a hearty potato-leek soup with herbed pita toasts washed down with a hearty brown ale. Warm evening on the back deck might call for a onion/red pepper/squash/cauliflower/tomato ragu with farfalle pasta and a glass of Syrah. Yet another warm evening and charcoal grilled thick bone-in pork chops, brushed with Dijon mustard and sprinkled with herbes-de-provence, black pepper and kosher salt. The first half of that bottle of Syrah went perfectly. Another cool evening... braised NC cabbage with new potatoes, NC apples and smoked sausage. Oh... and more brown ale. Cooler evenings becoming the norm... saute the rest of that smoked sausage, make some milk gravy and biscuits... and skillet fried NC apples with lots of butter and cinnamon. Oh yeah....
And... there’s the local faves for a dinner out.
Brown’s Restaurant, family owned, is "home style" done right. Simple without an ounce of pretentiousness, they serve-up some mighty fine food. My choice is locally raised Rainbow Trout fried to a golden brown.
Mis Arados reflects the growing Latino presence in these Mountains. This family owned restaurant, well ingrained into the local culture, is always busy. This is without a doubt some of the best Mexican food I’ve had outside of Mexico. Ahh... Chilaquilles alla plancha (with chicken) and a cold Victoria.
Motleys out in Laurel Springs serves-up some surprisingly good Eastern NC style barbecue . For those of you who don’t know, it’s smoked pork butts, pulled (shredded) with a vinegar based sauce, and....it’s served on a plate, not a bun, with barbecue slaw and fries (sweet potato being my choice).
How can I eat so much? Well yes I do love to eat, a lot of things, but... I just don’t especially like to eat a whole lot at a time.
And... remember all that walkin’ and ridin’.
Drinkin’...
It’s true, good food and good drink make life so much more pleasant.
Just as my Fall palate for food changes, so it does for drink.
Summer will find me with a crisp Lager or Pilsner. A fruity/dry white , perhaps a blend, and, of course, a dry French Rose (always). All perfect for the lighter fresh Summer fare.
Fall’s arrival finds me drinking the brown ales, maybe a Belgian, an English or even a Munich Oktoberfest.
Wines trend to be full flavored reds, a Syrah, a Cote-du-Rhone, Bordeaux or Burgundy. Perfect for the heartier Fall/Winter cuisine.
And then....
And then there's Champagne! Champagne I will drink at any time with almost any food. It is quite simply, nearly a perfect food wine. Really! And, I just love it!
Warm Fall day by the pond. Sipping a glass. Maybe a dark Rose... a Chardonnay blend.... Champagne.....
Just makes life so much more pleasant.
Chillin’...
With all that walkin’, ridin’, eatin’ and drinkin’ it might sound little time’s left for just plain ole chillin’. You’d be wrong to think that.
I’m a strong believer in sittin’ on the front porch doing nuttin’ in particular. Maybe watchin’ the leaves fall or the light as it filters through the trees. Idle time is it’s own reward.
And... there’s "Gordon Pond". It’s the prize of the farm. 20 years ago my father upon seeing this swampy piece of land said "son, you need to build yourself a pond there". Heard that over and over. He’s gone now. Five years ago I finally built that pond, "Gordon Pond".
It’s a place just made for idling away an afternoon, sipping a glass of Rose and watching the big puffy white clouds drift by.
The water, by now a bit too cool. The hot sunny days, tubing on the pond, cold beer in my hand ... now just a memory.
But still... warm afternoon, sun on bare skin, cool breeze blowing across the pond, glass of bubbly in hand, best girl by my side.
Oh yeah. This is pretty sweet.
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| "Gordon Pond" |
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| Bubbly by the pond |
