Strawberries

In 1958 5 acres of strawberries were planted off of Barber Pond Road and behind the farm house. They were all planted by my grandfather Charles Bishop as a retirement project. A little stand for selling them stood on Barber Pond Road. It had a large sign with a strawberry painted on it at the top of the stand. I sometimes sat in the stand and sold berries, being a child at the time I relied on customers to figure out how much to pay. There was also Upic and my father delivered them to local stores.

The Door into Summer

Like canning summer fruits to enjoy in the winter, so also the heat of the summer can be preserved to enjoy in the winter. 

The gravel hills with exceptional drainage are a tremendous asset. They offer a chance to build homes that require less fuel to heat or cool.

A conventional home could be built and the ground covered with insulation and plastic, a concept called Passive Annual Heat Storage (PAHS). It keeps the summer heat in to warm the house in the winter.  Keeping the water table away from the warmed earth is not a problem, and gravel is easily dug.

An earth shelter home with great views could be built on the south slope of the gravel hill.

A greenhouse which saved the heat of the day would not require fossil fuel to heat.  

Kettle Holes

There are two kettle holes on the property, about 50 feet across or less.

Because they are both on the side of hills, they are steeper on one side than the other, suggesting a theater with seating on one side and a stage on the other.

Kettles have a unique history. As the front of the glacier retreats it sometimes leaves behind huge blocks of ice which becomes surrounded by sediments carried by glacial melt water streams. As the ice block melts, a depression forms called a kettle.

Power Lines

Electricity came to this area in 1946. Because the homes were far apart, and the road winding, power lines went straight across the farm, and not on the road. This was changed about 5 years ago with poles installed next to the road. The right of way has reverted to the owner. The poles have not yet been taken down, which is their obligation. CVPS contacted the phone company in November about removing their lines and the poles. Because those poles could potentially be used  by the new owner, so I have not requested for their removal.