Trip Back Home

My beloved bungalow on Pleasant Hill in Pulaski.

Most people take vacations in the summer, well it seems that rarely happens for us.  I admire families that travel and make the effort to get away.  Last Friday, my husband and I returned to our family home in Pulaski, Virginia that had been rented for the last 18 months.  We knew there was going to be a lot of yard work and we packed up our tools and headed out.  We worked and worked and worked and worked.  It was grueling.  Anthony departed Monday driving 3 hours back to our house in Charlottesville.  Turning the corner into our driveway sat a HUGE pine tree that had toppled over during a storm (plus 5 other damaged or destroyed trees laying haphazardly all around).  I stayed back at our old house to continue working in the yard, thank goodness, I would have fainted at the sight of our beloved pine tree splayed across our driveway. 

Could it get worse?  Well, YES!

My mother joined me on Monday to help with the continuing yard work at the family home in Pulaski.  We worked until Friday to the point of exhaustion.  I did manage to see a few friends and neighbors for a quick hello.  I never seem to have enough time to enjoy friends and hike the 70 acre field.  It's so peaceful back away from traffic noise, lawn mowers, and barking dogs.  My mother is going to try and sell our family home.  It is such a sad decision but managing a large property living an hour away is never easy.  If there was a way to have my cake and eat it too, it would be to move our home and yard to Charlottesville.  I've decided that if our family home sells to never return.  The thought of my 20 years of gardening being obliterated is too much for me to handle and the chopping down of the grand Maples would make me have a breakdown. 

A lovely restored old "Tea House".

Needing a little TLC - it's FOR SALE!

The little town of Pulaski was originally named "Martin's Tank" after the Martin family.  I am a direct descendant and moved to Pulaski from Charlotte, North Carolina to get back to my roots.  A big storm blew through Pulaski a month ago and damaged many properties, most will be repaired but it was sad to see several beautiful homes that continue to degrade due to lack of caring owners.  There are positive moments, some older homes have been purchased and saved and I was happy to see that the Train Station was restored after it caught fire.  Our grand Court House nearly burned to the ground the first month when we arrived and the Train Station caught fire 20 years later when we departed.

My Pulaski Southern Magnolia,
a gift from my father in law.

Now back "home" the real work begins, finish the chicken coop (our neighbors are moving in just 9 days and we're babysitting their chickens for 2+ years) and cut up wood that is down all around. 

So much for a "summer vacation".

-Rebecca