Today has been so exhausting in so many ways.

The plantation has been overrun with people all day and we cut down our three trees.

My first person today was a local teenager who is working on pulling bricks for us. He is doing a great job, but it seems to be slowing down as he is finding it harder to pull ones that are so covered with over grown grass. The next person was the Master bee keeper and his wife preparing for the tree with the bee hive to come down. Then we had a landscaping service come in to give us an estimate on the grounds. No sooner did I finish with him then the tree service people arrived. Then a newspaper reporter and photographer arrived. While all this was going on, our air conditioner/heating company returned to work on the system to prepare it for opening. Then the woodcarvers came in to watch the trees come down. We even have a stray dog show up around mid-day! Needless to say, the plantation has been as busy as a bee hive.

Our first tree to come down was the Red Maple with the bee hive. The Master Bee Keeper needed to be somewhere later so we didn’t want to make him wait. I stood back as I watch Matthew with MOTs Tree Service pull out his chainsaw. That is when the emotions hit. I knew I would be upset and would shed a tear or two. But what ended up happening was really overwhelming.

Matthew started cutting and pulled a small chuck out of the base as a start. Then he made sure the area was clear and called out “All Clear”. This I would come to understand was the signal for the end. He quickly started cutting around the tree in a circle. Then is when I heard the cracking. Before I knew it, our Red Maple dropped to the ground. As soon as the tree hit the ground, my emotions sprang up and slapped me in the face. I had to turn away as I started crying. You would have thought I was watching someone I love die.

After about two or three minutes, I was able to pull it together and watch the Master Bee Keepers at work. Quickly they ran over to the tree in their suits and started searching the hive. But it didn’t take long for me to realize something was wrong. The Bee Keeper turned to me and told me that when the tree came down and because it was hollow inside, the tree collapsed around the bee hive and the bees were trapped in the tree. It turned into a rescue mission to see if we could save the bees.

Matthew came back and started clearing branches from the tree, trying to get to the hive. Once he was there, he started making cuts close to where the bees were in hopes of freeing them. We all held our breath. One cut, nothing. Two cuts, nothing. Three cuts close, but not there. Then he hit it. The bee keeper came back over and started searching again. Still not close enough.

While this was going on, the tree crew started working on the oldest tree, the hickory close to the front of the house. I walked over and sat down on the porch and watched as they dropped branches from the tree to prepare for it to come down. Every cut and ever limb was just like a part of me was coming off with it. By this time, I was also talking to the newspaper reporter, Cathy Jett with the Fredericksburg Free Lance Star. It seemed to help keeping me busy talking about the plantation.

Then the time came. Matthew came in and as he had before cut a chuck from the base. Now this tree is pretty big, so he ended up cutting a total of three chucks out. Then the call from Matthew, “All Clear.” I knew the end was coming. I stood up on the porch focused on the tree. Tears had already started rolling down my cheek and I tried to brush them away without fogging up the camera viewer. Then the crack. I could feel the breath rush out of my chest as I uttered a small cry. Then it happened. The tree dropped to the ground.

I quickly turned my head and cried harder. But what amazed me now as I sit here and think about it was the silence. No one said a word. Not a sound came from anywhere. Not a bird, not a car, nothing. It was silence for just a minute, then two, then three. All you could hear was my crying. I have to say I was shaken by this experience. My whole being was crying out for the loss of this old tree.

Then as I worked to calm myself, I could hear them discussing the age growth rings. Everyone wanted to know. Was this tree old enough to have been standing here when James Madison was born? After a quick count, Matthew said that it looked like it was around 180 years. That would place its starting year to around 1833. It wasn’t standing here where Madison was born. Nor was it here during his years he could have walked by it. James Madison would have been alive at Montpelier during its first years, but he would have been in his final years. Later Matthew would reconfirm that it was around 180 give or take 20 years. This means it could have been standing during his term as president, but still not old enough to have been here during his childhood. Matthew would also confirm that it is not a hickory tree. It is a variety of mulberry trees that are not indigenous to Virginia. This means that it was brought here and planted. It also showed sights of attempts to save it in the past. There were steel rods, cables and even concert inside the hollow where someone tried to keep it together.

But one thing we do know. It was standing here during the Civil War and would have witnessed the Union Army encamped at Belle Grove. It would also have seen the detachment chasing John Wilkes Booth that stopped and rested at Belle Grove. They could have easily slept under or even against its massive truck at that time.

By this time, the bee keepers had gotten into the hive and had started recovering the honey combs and bees. They started moving worker bees to the new hive, but still the queen had eluded them. So they set up the new hive close to the open trunk in hopes they would move to the new hive.

Then we headed to the Ash. This tree has seen many bad storms and had lost two of its main sections on top. The trunk was also cracked in half and looked to be hollow. I have to say, I didn’t cry as this tree came down. Not that it didn’t mean as much to me as the other two. But this was almost like a mercy cutting. It was in such bad shape that it was just sad to see it suffer as it was.

When the tree came down, we were greeted by a huge cloud of yellow pollen. All I could think about was how I was going to be sneezing tonight! When it came down, the crack in the trunk just twisted leaving part of the trunk standing. As I walked over, Matthew called out. Inside the trunk you could see what looked like dirt. From this he pulled out this huge larva. It was almost scary! Next they found a beetle and we realized that we had found a nest of Rhinoceros beetles.

The larval stages of this beetle can be several years long. The larvae feed on rotten wood and the adults feed on nectar, plant sap and fruit. The females, which have no horns, can lay 50 eggs on average. The males have the horns. Males can live up to 2 to 3 years. Females generally die not long after they mate.

Matthew collected several of them and will be taking them to a place called the “Bug Box” in Fredericksburg. Here they will keep them to educate children on the species. I think that it is wonderful that we were able to provide a new home for them.

All that was left after this was to grind the stumps and cut the pieces for transport. The woodcarvers that were here today are from Virginia. They will be taking most of the wood to have it milled. From there, the wood will be made into either furniture or historic pens. Part of this wood will also be going to New Jersey to another Historic Pen Company to produce more pens. These companies are doing this free of charge and will be offering these pens and items for sale later. The part of the funds from the sale of these items will be given back to Belle Grove to go into our “Restoration Fund” for our three outbuildings. One of the best parts is the woodcarvers from Virginia will be making us a small colonial table from the wood.

We have gotten a lot of comments as to why we decided to cut these trees down. Believe me, if we could have saved them, we would have. But all of them showed sights of decay. If we had left any of them, they could have fallen at any time. If the Red Maple had fallen, we could have lost two other health trees. If the mulberry tree (what we thought was a hickory) had fallen, it could have damaged this 221 year old plantation mansion. We didn’t take this decide lightly and we loved them very much.

So now, I am sitting here in the formal dining room trying hard to get use to the new view of the bowling green. It looks so much larger without the two trees in it. If you stand and look at the mansion from the bowling green, it also looks so much bigger. We still have all the wood sitting in piles in and around the bowling green waiting for transport. I can’t image what it is going to look like after it is clear. The Bee Keepers have left the new hive near the old bee hive in hopes the bees will move to the new. They never were able to find the queen. They said if we are lucky and because they are exposed, they might move to the new hive. We will see tomorrow when he returns.

What I do know is that I will miss that old tree. I have only been around it for two years, but with the tears I cried today, you would have thought I planted it. But with is downing, so too goes the last witness of so many years. Children coming and going, families standing in its shade, soldiers resting after a long ride, storms and years of quietly waiting for the next family. If this tree could talk, what stories it must have had to tell.

To see all the photos from today

Please visit our Facebook Fan Page

and see the Trees of Belle Grove Album

Here is a new recipe to make your stomach growl…

French Toast with Caramelized Cinnamon Orange Sugar with Orange Marmalade Syrup

It is a wonderful twist on french toast with layers of favors.

Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

1 loaf of French Bread (you could use Challah Bread too), slice on the bias (at an angle)

1/3 Cups Sugar

1/2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon

Zest from one large Orange

1 Cup Maple Syrup

1/4 Orange Marmalade

9 eggs

3 Tablespoons Heavy Cream

1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 Cup Maple Syrup

1/4 Cup Orange Marmalade

Butter or non-stick spray

Directions

Heat Griddle or non-stick pan.

Mix Sugar, 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon and zest in small bowl.

 Set aside. Mix eggs, heavy cream, 3 Tablespoons ground cinnamon and vanilla in a wide dish (I use a deep dish pie dish). Set aside. In a microwave safe dish, mix 1 cup of maple syrup and orange marmalade. Microwave 30 seconds at a time until warm. Don’t over heat. Stir and set aside.

Coat griddle or pan with butter or non-stick spray. Dip slice in egg mixture and flip. Before you remove it, sprinkle the top with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Remove and place sugar side down on the pan or griddle. Repeat to fill pan or griddle. Watch closely. When the sugar caramelizes and side is golden brown, flip and brown the other side. Remove and repeat.

Serve with warm Maple and Orange Marmalade Syrup.

To see more food we will offer at Belle Grove

Please visit our Facebook Fan Page

Don’t forget to get your Cookie Recipe Submitted!

Deadline is just 17 Days away!

Click on James Madison to find out how to enter!

No Entry Fee!

Please Consider Donating to our “Restoration Fund” 

to help us restore our 1700-1800 outbuildings!

STOP!

If you are hungry and haven’t had a good meal in a few hours…

You don’t want to read this blog!

You have been warned!

Tonight I made a new recipe. It’s not anything out of this world or dramatic in appearance.

They just came out so good that I had to share them! 

They are….

Blueberry and Lemon Pancakes!

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour

1/4 Salt

1 tablespoon heaping Baking Powder

1/3 cups Sugar

1 1/2 cups Milk

1 Lemon (juice and zest)

1 large Egg

1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla

2 tablespoons melted Butter

1 pint of Blueberries

Directions:

Heat your griddle or skillet to medium.

In a large bowl, mix your dry ingredients (not blueberries). In a separate bowl, mix your wet ingredients (not blueberries). After mixing, add your wet ingredients to you dry ingredients. Mix until smooth, but may have a few limps in it. You want it thick as a normal pancake batter. If it looks too thin, add a little more flour. If it looks to thick, add a little milk. Once you have the batter right, add blueberries and gently stir them. Don’t over mix or you will break open your blueberries.

Grease you griddle or skillet with butter or cooking spray. Using a ladle, pour onto you cooking surface. Remember to leave enough space for them to spread out.

You will know when to flip them when you see small bubbles forming around the edges. You can peak too to see if they are golden brown. Flip and cook until golden brown on the other side.

Serve warm with Butter and Maple Syrup.

Next time I make these, I am going to use a Blueberry and Strawberry Compote instead of syrup. But you can see from the pictures… butter and syrup worked nicely too!

To see more photos of foods we have made

Visit our Facebook Fan Page and see our Album called Food!

Don’t forget to get your Cookie Contest Recipes Submitted!

Click on James Madison below for instructions on how to enter!

Deadline is March 31st!

No Entry Required!

Please consider making a donation to help us restore our three outbuildings and turn one into a museum!

Yesterday, we headed back to the plantation to meet with our landscape contractor, Linda from Arrowwood Landscape Design from Fredericksburg. We need to start the work on our driveway, entry to the plantation, sidewalks, parking area and grading of the grounds.

When we arrived at the plantation, the air was cool but the sun was shining and the sky was blue. As I got out of the car, to our delight, five eagles were cruising the currents, circling over the Mansion. Of course, my small camera just couldn’t get close enough to get a good picture of them. But in the picture I did get, you can see them just over the house. It was amazing to see them.

Once Linda and her helper, Rick arrived, they got with Brett to start discussing the ins and outs of what we want for each of those areas. I wasn’t really needed to talk with them, so I left to do some walking around the grounds and taking pictures.

www.arrowwoodlandscape.com

I wanted to show you some recent pictures of the trees we have in the Bowling Green. A lot of you made the suggestion for us to add some Magnolias. Well, we have two beautiful ones in the Bowling Green.

We did talk about which trees we are going to remove. There are three that we feel the need to remove, possibly four. The first one is the Hickory that is located just in front of the house.

The second is a Maple that is just behind another Maple in the center of the Bowling Green. This Maple has lost a lot of its top and is mostly a straight truck with little limbs.

The third is the Walnut located towards the front gate entry. It has lost most of its top and sides. It also has insects in the truck eating away at it.

The fourth is a Sweet Gum located just to the left of one of the Magnolias. It is a really health tree, but it throws off a lot of gum balls. It’s not on the “ax list” yet, but we are talking about it. You can see it in the first picture of tree with the Hickory and Magnolia.

One of the requirements that we are facing to get our zoning is to expand the driveway into the plantation. Currently it is 14 feet across, but the county has requested that we make it 20 feet across to allow for two car traffic. This could be an issue as there are ancient trees that have lined this drive that may have to be cut down if they are in the way of the expansion. So we needed to get out to the drive and walk it to see what might need to moved. We found that in most places we could move the drive on a slight curve to avoid cutting any of them down, with the possibility of only one that might need to go. But it isn’t looking really good so it could be a blessing.

We are also going to be required to move the entry twenty feet to the north of the curr entry to match up to the cut through on the highway. This doesn’t sound like much, but the cost could be an issue. We are also going to have to pave that entry back twenty feet. This isn’t much of an issue. The cost isn’t too bad either.

But I look at it like this. Right now, you can drive past the entry of the plantation and see the Mansion at the end clearly. If we move the drive to the north and put in the curves to make the twenty feet across, you won’t be able to see the Mansion from the road. I kind of like this. It makes it more of a “Wow” when you do come up on it.

While Brett, Linda and Rick walked the grounds, I kept myself busy by walking the grounds by myself. I have to say I love this time of year to walk the plantation. The grass has turned and thinned so I can see more of the ground and less of the grass. This makes it a lot easier to see artifacts laying in the grass. I have found so much so far just walking around. Yesterday was not expectation. I found two pieces of glass, one bottom piece that I think is kind of modern and one that is a lot thinner than modern glass and has writing on it. I also found another green and white plate shard. It looks like pearl ware and if it is, it could date in the late 1800s.

But the most exciting piece was my first intact piece, a bottle. Of course it does have a twist top, but it looks like a medicine bottle. Could it be from the late 1800s? Or maybe early 1900s? I will have to do some research and see. Or I might need to consult with Ferry Farm to find out. Either way, it was so cool to find it in one piece.

Another issue that I am going to have to face is the parking area. They are going to have to remove several layers of top soil to put in the gravel we are going to need for the parking area. The top soil that is removed will be moved to another area of the grounds to help fill in when it is graded. The issue that I have to face is what if there are artifacts in the ground in this area? Everyone kind of got a laugh when I said for them just to pile it up in the Bowling Green and I would sift through it all. But I am serious! I don’t want to lose anything we might find. So I guess I need to find a metal detector to start doing some sweeps in this area. Then I will have to do some test holes to see if we have anything there. Wow, I’m starting to sound like an archeologist.

On our way back home from the plantation, we made a stop at the House Key in Yorktown. The owners will be doing our interior design. We had stopped there a week ago and saw a bed that we were drawn to. It is a beautiful walnut bed that was from the late 1800s. But what drew us to it was the craving in the headboard. It is a Dogwood design. This is one of the interior design elements in some of the door entries. After talking with them, we placed it on hold! We are going to put this bed into one of the Junior Suites called the “Hipkins-Bernard” Room.

They were also able to show us two chairs that we really liked. One was a small love seat and the other was just a chair. Both are Victorian style and will go into a Master Suite upstairs called the “Turner” Room. Of course we will have them reupholstered to match the room. But they were great prices!

And I think we are going to be able to get the “Wheat Back” Shield style chairs I want for the Formal Dining Room. They will need to be reproductions since we will be using them so much, but I just love this pattern and style!

This week we have a few things on our plate. Brett is meeting at the plantation on Tuesday with several people that are involved with the Zoning Approval.

I will be working on the website and getting us started on Twitter. Since we are now going to be doing a lot more things, I thought you might enjoy some up to date pictures and status of what is happening for us. If you have Twitter, please leave me your account in a comment so I can add you as a follower!

I am also going to look into starting a Pinterest account and a RSS feed. I am still learning how RSS works. I feel so lost with it. But give me some time to do the research, I will figure it out.

Don’t forget to submit our Cookie Recipe for the First Annual Official Cookie of Belle Grove Plantation Cookie Contest! Deadline for entries will be January 31^st.

To see more pictures of Belle Grove

Please visit our Facebook Page!