Since I was a pre-teen, I have wanted to build a “neat” house tucked into the woods. I currently own a tiny portion of an ecosystem that was once more common in South Florida than it now is: a tropical hardwood hammock. When I bought the property, some years after Hurricane Andrew roared through South Florida in 1992, it was badly infested with two exotic vines: air potato and gold coast jasmine. For three years, on a nearly daily basis, I worked to get these vines under control. I succeeded with the air potato but experience ongoing re-infestations of gold coast jasmine due to a substantial population of raccoons. My dreams of building a house, however, were dashed by the ruinous taxation levels of this area and by soaring property values. While those property values are on their way down, the cost of building, combined with property taxes, makes it prohibitive to consider such an idea in retirement.

Enter Floyd County, Virginia. Many folks have asked me how I, a foreigner who knew no one in Floyd County, came to find the place. The short answer is that I saw an article in the Asheville Citizen-Times (I was considering buying property in the Asheville area) that touted Floyd as the closest town in the United States to the European “slow-city” movement. I had no idea what a “slow-city” movement was, but it sounded intriguing and so I launched an Internet search for Floyd County. Because I am an artist, among other things, I was even more intrigued when I discovered that Floyd County had a substantial population of artists working in every imaginable medium: words, clay, metal, wood, beads, fabric, dance, music, theatre, photography, painting, and other mediums that I have yet to be introduced to. There are also a number of organic farmers with Community Supported Agriculture plans available and many folks have large gardens and know how to can fruits and vegetables. Floyd County is not a paradise, though — there is severe poverty and some friction between those who have lived there for generations and those “not from around here.” But there are also a large number of opportunities to get involved with the community and make friends. Hooked, I made my first trip to Floyd County in the spring of 2007 and was mightily impressed. At the Jacksonville Center, I met a young woman who convinced me to risk taking a wood sculpture class at Touchstone Center for Crafts in Farmington, PA, in the summer of 2007. When I came back to Floyd in the fall of 2007, I still felt an enormous attraction to the area and set out to find property. Eventually, I found what I hope will be the place where I will finally be able to build my cozy little “neat” house.

The property is on a south facing gentle slope and is heavily wooded with second growth hardwoods. The parcel had been “high-graded” (the best trees were harvested) perhaps 50 years ago, so I was left with another ecosystem that needed to be restored. The first step was to clear the trees for a route for an access road into the property, a project admirably completed by one of my neighbors, who needed firewood. My most recent trip to Floyd County (and the reason for the recent hiatus in posting to this blog), resulted in making the final arrangements for getting the road built.

Here is a picture looking up the hill:

And a picture looking down the hill:

For the time being, until I pick out a house site, I’ve decided to create a turnaround area high up on the south-facing slope:

Finally, a view into the woods. The trees that have multiple trunks are called “coppiced” trees and are evidence that the original tree was cut down with sprouts from the stump creating the multiple trunks:

For anyone who has property in Floyd County and is contemplating building, I have had some experiences that I would be happy to share. Contact me off-line.

Next spring, Jason Rutledge, of the Healing Harvest Forestry Foundation, will use his horses to selectively cut the trees on the site, following his philosophy of “worst tree first” logging, to improve the timber stand. After that happens, I will have a better idea of the “lay of the land” and be able to make a decision about where to create a house site.