Down on the Farm

After our hike on Monday, we took life easy on Tuesday.  There are always a few chores to do, books to read, knitting, and sudoku puzzles.  We did a little of all of that during the morning and after lunch went for a drive about town.  On our way home we stopped at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center to check out the Mountain Farm Museum.

There are several structures which make up the “farm”; all of which are original to the park though they may have been moved to Oconaluftee from other areas.

Naturally, located at the front is the home place.  We noticed smoke coming from the chimney so we stopped in to see what was happening.  We were a little too late for the lunch meal.  The ladies in the kitchen, dressed in period costume were just cleaning up from whatever they’d prepared.

Of course, every farm had this essential structure--the outhouse.

The apple house, which was originally in Cataloochee Valley, is the only building on the farm not made entirely of wood.

The barn brought back a lot of memories for me.  It is very similar to the one my grandfather had.  My brother, cousins, and I whiled away a lot of afternoons in that barn.

There are a couple large gardens on the farm.  Both had been tilled, but it didn’t look like anything had been planted yet.  It’s not past the frost date in this part of the country yet.  In fact, the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway is closed for snow today.

As we went past the corn crib, this little fellow came running around the corner.  The corn crib may have been his home.  He didn’t look like he’d missed many meals.

Our visit to the farm brought back some fond memories of my childhood when I’d visit my grandparents for much of the summer.  It is all very nostalgic and somewhat romantic to think of being self sufficient--raising and growing your own food, sitting by the fireplace in the evening working on the latest quilt, picking apples from your own trees, gathering fresh eggs.  Some call these the “good ole days” when life was simpler without the fast-paced rat race we sometimes get caught up in nowadays.  Those days are nice to remember, but I think I’m happier with my rat race--especially since it’s no longer at the office.

By the way, we are once again camped inside the National Park and do not have cell service.  Posting may be sporadic depending on our trips into Cherokee.

That’s all for now.  Thanks for tagging along.