Visiting The Stone House Museum

A few weeks ago we traveled to West Virginia to visit with my Dad, sister and her family.  We like to go on little mini-vacations with Dad, so The Farmer, Dad and I headed over to the Winterset and Cambridge, Ohio, area.

Dad wanted to drive through Winterset to see if he could find the farm where one set of his grandparents lived, but although we went through the town two or three times and traveled several side roads, we couldn’t locate it.  I’m afraid too much time had passed and there were too many changes.

We did see this flock of sheep on our way into town, however.

Since I like sheep, they really caught my eye.

Another thing that caught my eye as we drove through town was this unique building at a local greenhouse.

I guess you could say they went to pot in a really BIG way!  I thought it was a rather clever idea to make a building look like a huge clay flowerpot though.

Since we couldn’t find the farm Dad was looking for, we headed to Salt Fork State Park, where we planned to stay the night.  On the drive into the park, we were greeted by a groundhog.  He seemed unconcerned to see us go by.

We decided to check out the Stone House Museum located in Salt Fork State Park.  Built in 1837, the Kennedy Stone House was home to several generations of Kennedy descendants ending with the great-grandson of the builder, Don Kennedy, who occupied it until 1966.

Being Celtic immigrants, the Kennedy clan brought with them memories of the stone cottages and castles common to Scotland.  Since there is sandstone in abundance in the foothills of the Appalachians, their home reflected this Scotch-Irish influence on early American architecture and was created entirely from stone.

The state of Ohio purchased the Kennedy property and surrounding lands to create Salt Fork State Park, which is obviously how the house got to be part of the park. 

The house was built from locally-quarried stone cut into 3′ x 1′ x 1′ blocks.  Because of its unique and enduring construction, the house is listed in the National Register of Historic places.  It sits back in a lovely wooded area, nestled among the surrounding hills. 

Then in 1967, the valley below the house was impounded to create Salt Fork Reservoir, so today the house overlooks the lake created then.

When you drive up to the house, one of the first things you come to is an outhouse.

Well, after all, it’s a necessary part of living!

We were also greeted by the sight of another flock of sheep on top of a hillside behind the house.

These didn’t move around much.  I think they were a little bored (board?).  Did you notice one little sheep in front splintered off from the rest?

On the hillside below the sheep, there was a little building with some honeysuckle growing up the side.

The Farmer tried to peek in-between the cracks to see what was in there, but couldn’t really see much.

There was also a bell down the hill from the flock of wooden sheep. (And who wooden like such cute sheep?)

Dad took a picture of “The Amos Bell” which once hung in a one room schoolhouse in Guernsey County.  It was saved from destruction by the Amos family who placed it in their garden.  Later the bell was moved to the Stone House property in honor of Robert Woodrow and Hannah McCleary Amos of Cambridge, Ohio, to honor their efforts in the preservation of the Stone House.

One of the first things we noticed at the house was  a bulletin board with a lot of pictures showing the house at various times in its’ history.

We peeked in through one of the windows to check out the interior.

I noticed a couple more sheep were in the house. But then, I notice sheep wherever I go!

It was hard to get a good picture since the room was dim and they were against a brightly lit window, but I couldn’t resist trying.

We also checked out the big root cellar.

It’s huge!  You could put a whole lot of food in there!  Of course, a root cellar was an important part of preserving foods for the winter before people had electricity readily available.

Dad and The Farmer walked along the bank in front of the house to check out the view.  The Salt Fork Reservoir is lovely.

All along the front of the house, there is a stone retaining wall.  The Farmer decided to take a rest and lean on it for a while.

It was an interesting place to visit.  As we were leaving, I took one last picture, this time of the weathervane.

If you’re ever in the area, it’s worth checking out the Stone House Museum.  We enjoyed our visit!

Ewes Look A Little Ragged

A few weeks ago we sheared our sheep.  We are not professional sheep shearers.  We’re not even SEMI-professional sheep shearers.  Okay, so we barely make it to amateur status!

The best I can say is the sheep are cooler since we sheared off most of their wool.

Part of the problem is our shearers.  I positively, absolutely HATE that machine.  When I called to order the shearers a few years back, well, I didn’t call to order shearers.  I wanted to order clippers.

I was ordering from a company I trusted, having ordered a lot of sheep supplies from them in the past with good results.  I listened to their representative tell me all the reasons why I ought to order shearers instead of clippers. 

Bottom line, I let him talk me into buying the shearers and I’ve regretted it ever since.  I thought I’d get used to them, but I never have.  They are heavy to hold, get hot, and are very finicky about getting just the right tension, and it’s waaaaaayyyyyy too easy to cut the sheep.

I wish I had bought clippers.  Yes, I know it would make shearing go slower.  I don’t care.  At least I wouldn’t be worrying about cutting the sheep,  It would make the whole process a lot less stressful.

For all of you who love to use shearers, more power to you.  But I still wish I had clippers.

Friday’s Farm Fotos

Just a few random pictures from around the farm…

More Roses!

There’s an old fashioned red rose bush blooming by one of the woven wire fences.  It was already here when we moved to the farm.

I have a hard time getting good, true-colored pictures of the color red.  The camera just doesn’t want to focus in correctly on it.

I planted a ‘Dr. W. Van Fleet’ rose beside one of the wooden fences we put up. 

It’s one of the few roses that will bloom in partial shade and is supposed to grow 15-20 feet.  I’m hoping it will cover a good bit of the fence.

Cinnamon On A Mower

Miss Cinnamon likes to climb all over The Farmer’s tractor.

She’s always finding some way to push the envelope – just *not quite* getting into trouble, but almost.

Shorn Sheep

About a week ago we sheared the sheep.  We are not very good at it and they look a little ragged.  I really, REALLY miss the young man we used to have shearing our sheep, but he moved onto to a different career.

Needless to say, the wool is worthless.  For one thing, there are way too many second cuts.  But it’s getting pretty warm here, and at least the sheep are cooler now.

A Blast From The Past

I finally figured out how to fix one of my cameras.  The shutter button popped off, and I had to buy a new one and install it.  When I got it out to fix it, I discovered there was a memory card still in it with some pictures from last fall. 

Here’s a half-grown guinea trying to decide if it wants to fly or not.  The adult wants the baby to fly up to the top of the pen to roost for the night.

Sometimes it takes a while for the keets to get brave enough to fly up onto the top of a building, then into the trees, but the sooner they do, the less chance they’ll fall prey to predators.

Peepers and Repeep

I rescued this hen from an abandoned nest.  A few chicks had already hatched, and the Mama Hen had already left with them.  I tried to get her to take the abandoned chick, but she wouldn’t do it.  Since she kept pecking at the chick, I raised it.

I named her Peepers because, well, she peeped a lot.  I mean a LOT!  At first I had her in a box inside the house, but I eventually moved her to a cage on the back porch because the incessant peeping was driving me crazy(ier)!

Now she has a little clone, and SHE gets to listen to the constant peeping!  I don’t think she minds though.

And there you have it, a random selection of pictures from the farm.  Have a great weekend!