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Category Archives: Stokes County

At last, a free day

I apologize for the long absence from the blog, and I appreciate the emails asking if everything is OK. I’m heavily involved in a local political campaign, trying to bring a little progress to Stokes County. Things will get back to normal after the election. Today was the first day in many days that I […]

A tour of Vade Mecum

Most of the readers of this blog are not from Stokes County, or even from North Carolina, so I need to explain what Vade Mecum is and why people in Stokes County are so concerned about it. A hundred years ago and longer, Stokes County was a tourist destination. People would come into Walnut Cove […]

No Fracking in Stokes: our new video

As regular readers know, I’ve been involved for the last two years with No Fracking in Stokes, a grassroots group fighting fracking in Stokes County and in North Carolina. Our group has released a new video, filmed here in Stokes County (except for the shots of actual fracking in the Marcellus shale area of Pennsylvania). […]

Christmas in Danbury

Carolers Carolers at the Arts Council reception Moravian star in front of the old Stokes County courthouse The old Stokes County courthouse Charlie’s surrey Charlie Inside the Stokes museum Mantel in the museum Inside the Stokes museum

The rewards of rural life

A concerned citizen speaks to the Stokes County commissioners. Though I certainly enjoyed my 17 years in San Francisco, rural life is far from boring. One of the good things about backroads places such as Stokes County is that the American system of government operates at a small scale. People know each other. It’s easy […]

Portable sawmill

Click on images for high-resolution version A neighbor hired a portable sawmill operator to come in and saw up his hyper-local poplar and oak. He’ll use the lumber to build a new shed. Note the steam-punk control panels.

A Stokes County promontory

Click on photos for larger version Stokes County pretty much has its own small mountain range, the Sauratown Mountains. These views are from Hanging Rock, the centerpiece of Hanging Rock State Park.

Road trip to Yadkin

I went on a road trip yesterday to Yadkin County, where most of my family live. Here are a few photos from along the way. For ages, I’ve been fascinated with the old concrete silos. I think it’s related to my fascination with towers. I’ve always thought that a silo could be converted into a […]

Summer: To hate thee or not to hate thee?

Looking toward Prabhupada Village from Moir Farm Road Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate… — William Shakespeare, Sonnet XVIII Wouldn’t it be wonderful if summer days were still temperate? I realized while I was mowing this morning that I don’t hate summer. What I hate is […]

Self-serve pumpkins and hay

I wish more farmers would put out self-service roadside stands. This one is near Sandy Ridge, five miles or so north of Acorn Abbey. I bought a bale of hay, but I’m not yet ready for pumpkins. Next month, when the weather is nice and cool, I’ll make pumpkin soup and pumpkin pie.