from Chris
It’s been a “boots on” week for me. That’s my version of “game on” or “being ready to rumble.” I own a pair of cowboy boots—something I earned honestly because my daughter’s been a horse owner for a decade and a half—and I get them out when it’s time to get down to business.
This week marked the start of my nineteenth year teaching writing at St. Bonaventure University in western New York. I always wear my boots …
from Chris (with a special appearance by Elizabeth!)
Preparations have been underway all day for our first wedding of this first weekend of October. While it promises to be a busy few days, it was nice to enjoy the quiet before the storm with a stroll around the property to enjoy the wedding decorations as they came together. At the center of the decor are luscious full chrysanthemums in vibrant magenta, lemon, and rust. And, of course, there are pumpkins …
The petunias in the fountain outside the Riddick House are still showing a lot of color this fall.
…
from Chris
The Fourth Annual Emerging Civil War Symposium at Stevenson Ridge kicks off this Friday. We’ve been posting updates all week long at Emerging Civil War (catch the updates here). We have a few more surprises to announce later this week as we get closer to kick-off.
A few tickets are still available in advance or at the door–although supplies are VERY limited at this point. $125 covers events on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, including ten speakers, …
from Chris
As I’d mentioned last week, I tried my hand this spring at raising some ducks for Stevenson Ridge’s pond. We’ve had a few questions about the ducks since then, so let me take you back in time to Tuesday, May 23, when the ducks first arrived. I received a call from the post office at 4:30 a.m., inviting me to come on down and pick up my ducklings. They arrived in a box smaller than a shoebox.
I …
from Chris
We have a new house at Stevenson Ridge. It sits pondside between the Log Home and the Riddick House. We call it the Duck House—because it houses ten new ducks we’ve bought to the pond.
I decided to try my hand at being a “gentleman farmer” the spring. As an adolescent, I used to raise chickens, and I’ve always wanted to have a few again someday. Well, the time still isn’t right, but I did think a few …
from Chris
While walking the trails Thursday afternoon, I happened to stop and take a closer look at a small tree growing next to the trail. It looked as though it had been struggling mightily beneath the shaded canopy to grab what sunlight it could from the much, much taller trees that stood nearby.
As I was about to resume my walk, though, I had to do a double-take: there, hanging from one of the branches as though it were …
The May 1 battlefield at Chancellorsville
from Chris
The beginning of May always means the start of battlefield season in Spotsylvania County. The anniversaries of the battles of Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania all took place in early May (in 1863 and 1864, respectively). The Civil War first came to Stevenson Ridge on May 9, 1864, and stayed for two weeks. During that time, three-quarters of the Union army moved across the property.
Ironically, the work I’ve been doing these …
from Chris
We had our first snowfall of 2017 today….
…
from Chris
In Victorian times, it used to be traditional to cook a goose for Christmas dinner. While it’s more common nowadays to have ham or turkey, geese were nonetheless scarce around Stevenson Ridge over the holidays, perhaps to avoid the clutches of Chef Brad. However, they’ve turned up in force over the past few days.
Geese are grazers, so our lawns make perfect pasture, particularly with our pond so nearby. That has always made Stevenson Ridge a popular goose …