Folks in Franklin County, Virginia (like us) have begun to receive 2008 real estate reassessment letters from the county government. Our farm acreage and farm outbuildings increased in assessment by nearly 300%!

Someone explain to me why three A-1 farm parcels totalling 111 acres (34 acres open, the rest in mature forest), with three barns and land that won’t perc well enough to allow anything less than 5 to 10 acre lots should be worth seven f#!$ing digits!!! My farm property tax bill is jumping from $2,000 to $6,000 a year.

I haven’t received the assessment letter for the 17 acre house parcel yet. If they think 111 acres and three barns is worth $1.145 million then the sky is the limit on the house with the million dollar view.

Ugh. I missed the November 1^st deadline for registering for Land Use, so I don’t think I’ll have much luck making an appeal. No harm in trying though!

I don’t mind paying taxes but a 300% increase is plumb beyond reason!

This very nicely made 10×20 victorian style cottage shed, built by Pine Creek Structures out of Pennsylvania (with a retail location on Route 220 in Rocky Mount, VA) represents phase 1 of Moira and Chloe’s small animal barn. I’m going to be ordering a custom 10×14 shed that I’ll join with this shed, to make an L-shaped barn suitable for our chickens, small pets, and our future pot belly pig and pygmy goat.

The slope required that I order about 80 tons of crusher run to build up the level base for the barn. Once the other section of the barn arrives, I’ll do the landscaping. I’ll add a couple of shade trees; build small animal paddock fence, add a cobblestone walking path, and so on. By early next Spring it will be ready for the pig and the goat!

If you’re in the Virginia area and are ever considering brick for your house then I’d highly recommend Old Virginia Brick in Salem, VA. Pictured above is their wood moulded brick product, 30 years after construction. It’s still in great shape and as you can see, the imperfections of the wood moulding process adds a very whimsical texture under certain lighting conditions. The brick patio is also 30 years old and is also Old Virginia Brick.

Our door and window trim will be renovated soon and I’ve been trying to help Nancy and I lock down a color to use during the job. Pictured above is the trim around the kitchen door after I sanded and painted it with a slightly darker yellow paint than what was previously used. It’s a bit dark and depressing so I’m going to go for a brighter tone. I’m thinking that the color I’ve “standardized” on for wood used in landscaping is the next candidate:

Pictured above is the color I’m going to try next. It’s an Olympic oil based paint mixed with a Lowes “Biltmore” color called Soft Ivory. It’s a gorgeous creamy tone that shifts its hue depending on the outdoor lighting conditions. I think the house trim will wear it well! I’ll give it a go this week and post a photo.

Yay for me!

Foliage season in Franklin County, Virginia is only just barely approaching peak, with a substantial amount of oak left yet to turn. Maple leaves are sporting some great color, but the real star of the show in our neck of the woods are the deep red leaves of our glorious oaks.

Colors do seem muted this year, no doubt. Trees here endured a late Spring frost that killed off nearly the entire season’s leaf growth, forcing all trees to regrow a new batch of leaves. Most trees failed to recover a full canopy. On top of that, trees here endured a long, hot and drier than average summer. After all of that one might assume the foliage season would be terrible. But let’s face it, it’s still gorgeous. This is one of my most favorite seasons!