August at Merry Mount: A Place of Great Bounty

Today, on August 21, 2017, we observed a solar eclipse while noticing that two-thirds of summer has passed.  As we are ensconced in the warmth of summer, we stopped to give thanks for the beauty and bounty that surrounds us.

Summer Song

Air, still as picture lakes,

Ravenshade hammocked me.

Skies, calm as postcard blue

Dreamed, hovered over me.

Phlox, prim as needlepoint,

Wintergreen bowered me.

Day, tall as tamaracks,

Leaned, lowered over me.

Sun, hushed as silences,

Butterflies shadowed me.

World, wide as wonderful,

Bloomed, blossomed over me.

            -John Fandel

A Green Cornfield

The earth was green, the sky was blue:

I saw and heard one sunny morn

A skylark hang between the two,

A singing speck above the corn; ... 

The cornfield stretch'd a tender green

To right and left beside my walks;

I knew he had a nest unseen

Some where among the million stalks:

 

And as I paus'd to hear his song

While swift the sunny moments slid,

Perhaps his mate sat list'ning long,

And listen'd longer than I did.

            -Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830-1894)

May the remnants of summer shower you with blessings.

CPW

A Place for a Chinkapin Oak

As a memorial to my Dad, Charles L. Woliver  (5/21/1927-5/9/2017), my dear friends that make up the “Porch Crew” presented me with a gift card to Oakland Nursery.  They knew that I would want to plant a tree in his honor.

As I pondered the type of tree that I wanted to plant, I recalled a story from my childhood and I knew the tree had to be a Chinkapin Oak.

But before we get to the tale, let’s talk about the tree:  Quercus muehlenbergii

“Description:

A stately large-growing shade tree with a rounded outline and wide-spreading habit of growth, distinguished branching habit; best for larger landscapes where it can spread its wings, very tough and adaptable but somewhat slow growing. 

(Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder)

Chinkapin Oak has dark green foliage throughout the season. The serrated narrow leaves turn coppery-bronze in fall. The fruit, an acorn or nut, is borne singly or in pairs, matures in 1 year, and ripens in September or October. The chinquapin oak is especially known for its sweet and palatable acorns. Indeed, the nuts contained inside of the thin shell are among the sweetest of any oak, with an excellent taste even when eaten raw, providing an excellent source of food for both wildlife and people.”

Height:  50 feet

Spread:  60 feet

Sunlight:   

Hardiness Zone:  5a

Other Names:  Yellow Chestnut Oak

          http://plants.oaklandnursery.com/12130001/Plant/379/Chinkapin_Oak

Now for the tale.  When I was about 10 years old, we lived in a lovely little house that my Dad built with the help of a German emigrant and master carpenter, Mr. Capelle.  The house sat about 100 yards off the road at the edge of a patch of woods.

One afternoon, my Papaw, Ernest William Woliver (Ern), showed up with a gift for Dad- a sapling Chinkapin Oak tree that he had dug up from his Tennessee “holler”.  I was intrigued by the word Chinkapin and chuckled at the term thinking that my Papaw had just made up the name.  He and Dad took the tree into our patch of woods and found what they thought would be the ideal spot for successful growth.  Dad treasured his gift and began to feed, water, and nurture it.

The next summer, Dad had to attend a railroad union meeting in Kentucky (he was the Knoxville representative) and he turned over the chore of mowing to a young neighbor.  Upon his return home, the neighbor came by the house to collect his pay.  From afar, Dad looked over the woods, commended the teenager on a job well done, but asked, “Did you have any trouble?”  The young lad answered, “No, except for a tough sapling that I had to mow over several times, and finally had to take out my knife and cut it down.”  I noticed my Dad’s eyes bulge with suspicion and I followed him as he quickly headed to the spot where they had planted the sapling oak.  Upon arrival, Dad grabbed his head and exclaimed, “He has cut down my Chinkapin oak!”  Dad was distraught.

Several years ago, while walking around the Oval on the campus of Ohio State University, I noticed this label on a stately oak tree.

Immediately, the incident popped into my mind, and I fondly recalled the sounds of Papaw and Dad as they spoke the word Chinkapin. 

Now, almost fifty-five years later, on a beautiful summer day, (August 10, 2017) I have the pleasure of overseeing the planting of a Chinkapin Oak that is a memorial to Dad.  

It is my hope that the tree will stand strong against the wind and weather like my Dad did during his nearly 90 years of life.

CPW

The Barn: A Place for Shelter, Work, Storage, Reflection, and Play

This Old Barn

Imagine if this old barn could speak and tell us all it knows
of heat, and snow and great winds that did blow
The creatures that were boarded here, they lived, they ate, they slept
The mares that birthed their foals, the lambs that played and lept
The folks that bedded in the straw as they were passing by this way
thankful for the gift of rest, wool blankets on the straw they lay
The lovers that crept inside the shadows to share a stolen kiss, 
a small indiscretion, what could be the harm
History in the making, generations come and gone
While farmers work from dawn to dark, the days are very long
This old barn has seen it all through decades of seasons fare
It's secrets are safe inside, no one asks and no one cares
The roof sags, the doors hang, the windows are all gone
If someone doesn't love it soon this old barn will be gone.

By Victoria Feathers

Ms. Feathers’ poem captures the sentiment that we felt when we first considered purchasing Merry Mount. We observed the old barn and wondered whether it would be an asset or a liability.  Its state of disrepair led us to consider it a “money pit”, however, on close inspection; it seemed to be primarily structurally sound.  It’s voice cried out, “I’m old, but my experiences are many, and the secrets that I hold are a treasure trove of stories that deserve to be kept”.  I had been fascinated with old barns since my childhood, when I played inside and outside the barn on my Papaw and Granny’s place.  Such wonderful memories remain, so I was thrilled with the old barn at Merry Mount and although in some disrepair, I was determined to refurbish it with the hope that it would become a new sanctuary for work and play. So within the first month, we were clearing out decades of discarded materials so that we could determine how we would reshape the existing spaces therein.

Within one room, to our great benefit, we discovered that the lumber from a previously dissembled barn had been stored.  We used this bounty not only to shore up damaged posts crucial to the support of the structure, but also to enclose a corner room that became the chicken suite (coop).

Access to the loft was originally gained by climbing up a ladder attached to one wall.  We decided that a staircase was needed and in 2015 a new access was built from some of the recycled timbers.

Much of the early renovation work was completed by our “step” son, Quentin.  Loretta became Quintin’s carpenter apprentice.  He fell in love with Merry Mount through sweat and hard work, and in 2016 Quentin and his bride Courtney were married here.  As a tribute to them, we gave the barn a new coat of “barn red” paint.

The great cathedral loft has stirred my imagination, and I intend to build a playroom within it for our twin granddaughters.  

I can imagine them swinging on the large hay bale hook just like fairy children swing on a crescent moon.

When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires will come to you

Like a bolt out of the blue
Fate steps in and sees you through
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true

We are still making changes to this citadel so that the creatures that pass through on four legs or two have a comfortable place to rest. It is home and shelter for the menagerie of animals that presently live there: five goats, six chickens, three cats, and numerous bats.  Twice a day we enter this great structure to greet and feed the named creatures that lodge there: Aussie, Beatrice, Beulah, Edith, Gladys, Trudy, Mooch, Maude, Magnus, Ella, Clara, Walt, Wilmer and Watson.

 It is, and no doubt will continue to be a work in progress, but we are proud to say that it will not decay under our watch.

The Barn

The barn is a place,

To gather today,

To observe, reflect, and talk.

We work, we play,

We sit on the hay,

We are thankful for

Farm, folk, and flock.

CPW