Southwest Virginia
I often tell people that I was born in New Jersey, but I was raised in Southwest Virginia. The truth is, after attending college in Blacksburg Virginia, I never left. I ventured deeper into my new home state finally settling in Abingdon. This region has a gravitational pull on me, the mountains that look like they are adorned with broccoli in the summer, the way the mist rises out of the hollers and back into the endless sky every morning, and the genuine hardworking people with stories to tell are just a few reasons why I cannot see myself leaving. The people here have taught me about survival, resourcefulness, grit,and determination all traits that are paralleled by the biodiversity that graces this region. It is my goal to meet more characters, see more biodiversity, and tell more stories about my adopted home in hopes to become an appreciative naturalized citizen. If you have a story to tell, don’t hesitate to reach out!
The mountains have watched this tradition every year when the farmers search every crack and crevice of their vast property for Black Angus Cattle. It’s time to wean the new calves and they need to come off the mountain to be sorted and moved to different pastures. Sometimes the ATV can be helpful, other times it’s a dog, but most of the time it’s you and your legs. The terrain here is steep and you’ve got to go with equipment you can trust.
On a brisk autumn morning the trees ambitiously exhale knowing that this may be the last opportunity to provide the gift of clouds in the Southwest Virginia mountains. Winter is coming and their leaves will soon fall.
If your front end loader doesn’t rise before the sun you’re guaranteed to be behind for the rest of the day.
Risk, Sweat, Frustration, Sacrifice. All words that describe the daily experiences of a farmer. It’s those experiences that somehow coalesce into traits like patience, humility, grit, and serious stubbornness. It must be after experiencing years of autumns in places like Rosedale, VA that they somehow pull wisdom out of their unpredictable lives. After every frost-bitten morning comes the opportunity to spend time in the prismatic yellow shade of a maple tree in the afternoon heat.
The Stuart Mansion in Rosedale, Virginia appears frozen in time.
If you’re going to skip school, you’re going to work; rain or shine. I caught this pair coming off the mountain after searching thousands of acres of property for Black Angus Cattle. The rain just started to slow down, but visibility was low. The boy in the yellow jacket was stoic as his teeth chattered through his braces. Once his father decided to go back home (most likely for the welfare of his son), he did not put up a fight. There is something to say about the people of SWVA and their ability to suffer in silence. You’ll never hear anyone around here admitting that they’re cold, hungry, tired, or sick those are words that everyone else can use while work is getting done.