RAMBLING ROUND ... this past weeks rambling round looking for history, nature & other stuff was inspired by my love of visiting places ive never seen before ... such places dont have to be exotic or far away ... simply a pleasant surprise complete with at least one fascinating, unexpected, and delightful experience of learning something NEW ! youtube/watch?v=Jf772d9mR-g guthries version ... or ... youtube/watch?v=-o2Aj8ag1Xg ronstadts version ... or ... youtube/watch?v=76kx2CPXiyE dylans version CRAFTSMAN FARMS ... to satisfy dons interest in wood-working and furniture-making, we explored THE STICKLEY MUSEUM AT CRAFTSMAN FARMS stickleymuseum.org/ ... now a 30-acre national landmark, it was a turn-of-the-century 650-acre country estate of Gustav Stickley, a designer, furniture manufacturer, publisher, and leader of the American Arts and Crafts movement ... the estates centerpiece, a 1911 Log House, is one of the movements significant milestones ... while the house and its furnishings reflect Stickleys dream to live the simple life, he never lost his love of nature, which is described in one of many articles Stickley wrote for his magazine The Craftsman: The estate of Craftsman Farms was apparently planned by nature for just the use to which I intend to put it. It has heavily wooded hills, little wandering brooks, low-lying meadows and plenty of garden and orchard land, and the site of my own house is on a natural terrace or plateau half way up the highest hill ....Beyond this and over the tops of the low-lying hills around one looks straight out to the line of the Orange Mountains in the misty blue distance ....The picturesque possibilities of the place are so great that it is a marvel that they have never been seen or developed, especially as this part of Jersey is the home of beautiful country places. There is a friendliness about the natural conformation of the land that makes it seem homelike before one stone is laid upon another or one bit of underbrush is cleared away. DUKE FARMS ... to gratify my love of nature, don and i visited DUKE FARMS dukefarms.org/ ... i was pleasantly surprised to see how it had changed since i first visited years ago -- from estate and greenhouse tours -- to a regional education center offering programs focusing on land stewardship and sustainability ... theres a lot more to see and do ... created by James Buchanan Duke and preserved by his daughter and life-long environmentalist, Doris Duke, the property now has an orientation center -- 18 miles of trails to walk or hike -- miles of bicycle paths to explore -- and a tram for those needing assistance ... also, birding and butterfly/dragonfly watching ... as well as geocaching, painting, and photography, plus more ... if you go, remember to take your bicycle/helmet ... and have fun !
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 01:00:23 +0000
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