The farm, in it's early days was a new and grand home to the Millers. They ordered their house from a catalog, perhaps Sears. Mr. Miller was not a wealthy man, but a good business man and perhaps an equally good farmer. He built the house in 1905, roofed all it's outbuildings in red and called it The Red Roof Farm. He and his wife raised one son, to my knowledge- who was an extraordinary pianist, I'm told- and would often play a grand piano that set aside the stairway that one can still see as they enter through the front door. I understand this young man went on to become a physician.

The property was sold in the 40's to a couple who raised race horses in a massive barn (red roofed of course), and they renamed the farm Maple Lawn. (You can still see this etched in some of the concrete footings around the carriage house and the old silo.) Perhaps this couple were more attuned to the natural quality of the farm, noting that massive Silver Maple trees shaded much of the house and was home to a tremendous variety of bird populations. These century old trees still stand as a tribute to the ongoing charm of the place. And many birds to this day still call this wondrous place home, some rare sightings have been noted by me through the years. The shy birds that are rarely sighted in busier places often respond to the wildness of this farm, a mockingbird and his descendents never fail to make an appearance every year. Each spring comes on the wings of red-winged blackbirds, this is a yearly territory for them. Bird songs filter in through the windows, melodies mixed of mockingbirds, robins, bluebirds, king-birds, catbirds, quail, kestrels, red tailed hawks, cardinals, jenny wrens, song sparrows, "wild canaries" gold finches, turtle doves, barred owls, the occasional egret and trumpeting Canada geese, and this list goes on and on....ever so often a blue heron circles the place, perhaps from the creek to the east, his call is anything but lovely- but the sight of him speaks of a wildness that creeps upon this land yet leaves it as it found it- an oasis midst the soybean and corn fields so akin to Illinois.

From 1960 to 1970, the history is a little blurred. The house and adjoining properties were sold then bought at auction by the Richardson family (the mother loved the old house and setting and thought to renovate it some day. ) This family never did live here, although I'm told the mother had always intended to do something with the place, perhaps for her heirs. Instead, for 20 some years- the old place was left to renters and farm hands (the property surrounding is still in an estate of the Richardson's.) I obtained the slightly less than six acre homestead by writing an impassioned letter to one of the sons. I had stumbled upon the property in the early 90's and thought it exceptional though thoroughly overgrown and under appreciated by the current tenants. Quite remarkably, Mr. Richardson listened and realized that his once mother's fervent dream was in fact never attended to. My letter gave him second thoughts and we struck a deal. (Although I'm told, he and just about everyone in the vicinity thought we were nuts to take on clearly a property that had seen better days.) The house has showed hints of it's original beauty in each renovation through the years. I set out to restore an old farmhouse in the early 90's, I thought it was to be a renovation- very soon it occurred to me that resurrection was a finer point. Every nail pulled, every lathe stripped, every repair that occurred uncovered a bygone beauty that is a rare, timeless and durable still due to the excellent building quality of an earlier time.

We had the house inspected, found the structure sound though many updates and repairs would be needed. New vinyl siding was added after the entire house was wrapped, a new roof was added, eventually the boiler was replaced. The plumbing has been almost entirely replaced, the up and downstairs bathroom completely redone in the last couple of years. In the last six years, a new well has been installed and septic. The electric has been upgraded to a 200 amp service, a new Wick building was added with radiant heat added to the concrete floor, both in the work area and separately in the apartment/office/studio and bathroom section of the shed. All new energy efficient windows have been added to the house, custom work done on the stained glass overly large picture windows in the living and dining rooms. There were 32 windows total installed, along with new weather resistant doors. The front porch was renovated with new aluminum railing so I would never have to paint the beautiful but old wood railings again and again and again. The old carriage house now serves as a garden shed or two car garage underneath a completely torn off and rebuilt....red roof.

The outhouse has a history too. It is not original to the farm, I am somewhat of a "privvy afficiando"- there are not many of the little historical buildings left standing. I hauled it home from Pike County in 2000, on a trailer with a teenage son completely mortified by the experience of everyone asking, every time we stopped-

"Is that what I think it is?!" And then would go on and regale him with their outhouse stories as a child. The outhouse is named Mrs. Jones- back in the day, proper folks never discussed improper things. Often privvies were called The White House, or Mrs. Brown, or Mrs. Smith etc. My great grandmother recalled their outhouse being named Mrs. Jones, and would say- "Mother I'm going out to see Mrs. Jones." Ahhh.... the good old days.

I am told there is an excellent water table here, since having the well installed- I have never once hauled water, even with the mass waterings of market gardens. The well was witched in 2004, that was how the spot was obtained to dig it and I believe to this day the man really new where to find the best water source. There is still a livestock well on the northwest side of the property that holds water and I used it as well with the gardens and livestock, using a generator and jet pump- it too never failed to produce more than enough water. There is two cisterns outside to the east which also still can and do maintain rain water savings. (I also collect all rain water from the Wick building into a metal tank and throw bait Goldfish (as they are very hardy) into the tank so there are no mosquito larvae to hatch. The Guineas and the Peacocks keep the bug population down- many people remark- "How come you don't have mosquitoes?! Goldfish and Guineas of course! I'm far enough out from the city that the night sky shows the brightest starry nights. We often have star parties as every one knows that the glow from the city does not reach out here- the big dipper is ever present, every night. When the moon is full- you can actually go for long walks without a flashlight as the moon lights every thing up with a golden glow.

And the sunrises and sunsets are spectacular and breathtaking. From the house or the yard every day of every season the colors that only a sunset can provide grace this farm. I think the original owners knew exactly what they were doing aesthetically, for all the windows are situated to a perfect view and the North winds keep the house cool, along with all the shade of those trees. I rarely turn an air conditioner on- it stays in the 70's, cool and comfortable. The hedge lines to the East and West and the White Pines to the North act as wind and snow breaks in the winter- this farm was meant to interact well, I believe- with the natural forces surrounding it.

The tall (tallest trees in this area- they stick out like a landmark) trees in the yard are Silver Maples, Pine (I am not sure of the exact name, though they are as old as the Maples) Red Cedar, in the hedge lines there are massive Hackberries, mulberries (birds love them and will leave a garden alone with this known food source), Dogwoods, Mock Orange, Honeysuckle, Ash, Forsythia, etc. I am told that the yard around the house was landscaped when they built the house, so all the trees on one side had a matching pair on the other. The Red Cedars out front and next to the porch are as old as the Maples, just slower growing. Hawthorns have been planted by me in the orchard and along the West side of the hedge row. The Walnut trees scattered out back to the East, North and West were all planted I believe about 11 years ago. The White Pines offering much needed wind relief to the North and West were also planted about 11 years ago. I often trim them for Christmas decorations every year as they tend to have tremendous growth and don't mind me taking a bow or two. The little tree by the gate in the front yard is a special tree, a weeping birch and was planted as a memorial. The fruit trees in the orchard are Pie Cherry (2), Fuji Apple, Peach and Apricot. It does help production to prune the Peach and Apricot in early spring- and also to be a little rough with them. Yes, I said be rough, as in taking a bat and smacking their branches a bit too- this forces the tree to put on buds and make more fruit, they are dwarf and sometimes have to be made to bear fruit. An old timer taught me that trick after years of no fruit- he said I was entirely to kind to the trees and if I roughed them up they would begin to produce fruit. It worked.

My neighbors to the West (my only neighbors...) are the Campbell's, they have farmed in this area for years, only recently moving into the little pristine ranch house at the beginning of the road. For years my neighbors were Wanda and Virgil, married for over 70 years- and they too always felt something very special about our surroundings here. The Campbell's are very friendly and always wave. In the country you'll find your neighbors always looking out for you- at least I have found this to be true in this area.

The house is a grand old dame at the age of 104, she's been fixed up right- not too much makeup or inauthentic modernizations. The house still maintains it's age old charm, many remark when driving up-"I never even knew this place was back here, it's so peaceful and beautiful." The pumpkin pine wood floors still glow in that yellowed patina way, well worn, well loved all these years. The woodwork throughout the house is original, on the bottom story most of it is oak, on the upper story- as in most farmhouses in the day when folks didn't waste money- are lesser woods, though equally beautiful. The only woodwork to my knowledge that has ever been painted is in the kitchen, and bathrooms- that was first done by renters I suppose. Most of the woodwork still had the original varnish on it, some of it still does. It is an open and airy environment with beautiful views through every window, the outside comes into view making the spacious feeling even more prominent. Even in the long cold winter, the outdoors beckon beautifully while you wait, inside...warm and content.

(I have raised my family here, a fine place for children and family and friends and dogs and chickens to wander and be free. It is only a few acres but it feels like a hundred due to the woods to the east and rolling fields surrounding the farm. There is no traffic, the 1/2 to 3/4 mile road is maintained by the township. It's our own personal skate rink, bicycle trail, dog run, 4 wheeler run, walking path, lane. Deer are plentiful and you can often see them crossing to the east from the woods to the hedge row (South). The only hunting allowed is in the hedge row and that is only with a bow. Only one man goes there, year after year- and he's quite respectful and quiet. Too much information...I've gone on and on- but someday soon, hopefully- someone will want to know all these things that make such a lovely place a lovely home. For years, this property has been a labor of love and for years- the return has been infinite love. Everything put into this farm has been returned ten fold. It is a joy every time to turn down this lane and end up here at the end of the road, knowing the porch waits, the birds will sing, the frogs will croak and the wind will blow- it all seems here, like it's just for me. It's private, peaceful and it feels like getting away- every day. Every good memory I will keep will be because of this farm. Love and nothing but love has lived here- I do believe this is true, it's a feeling you get, an always welcoming sanctuary.