Flat Rock Diary

Historic Places

“Back of every mistaken venture and defeat is the laughter of wisdom, if you listen.”

                      Carl Sandburg

Did you know that author and poet, Carl Sandburg, left school after eighth grade to work as a milk man? He held numerous blue collar jobs—farm hand, hotel porter, soldier in the Spanish-American War, to name just a few—before he ever put pen to paper. He lived the final twenty-two years of his life here in Flat Rock, on a 200+ acre working farm he named Connemara, after a particularly rugged breed of pony found in Connemara county, Ireland . He raised dairy goats. His home is now an historic site. I must be honest; I liked Sandburg's prose more than I liked his poetry, but who am I to criticize.

My writer-friend, Ellen, and I are here to write, but spent most of yesterday afternoon poking around Flat Rock, looking at property. We ran across a klatch of women enrolled in a four month long carpentry training program. They were cutting timbers for a house they are building using only 'green' equipment—hand saws rather than electric, for instance. The house will have straw-bale insulation and solar power, and will be built into the landscape without destroying the flora around it. Ellen was fascinated. She is a closet architect. I think the idea of teaching women such important life-skills is genius and long overdue.

This area lends itself to 'live off the land' notions. It has always had a less-is-more attitude; the houses are small, designed for efficiency and economy rather than pretension and status. Cabins abound, with natural landscaping rather than sheets of green lawn that require chemical fertilizer. I relate to the wisdom of the people who live here to respect the earth by maintaining a small (green) footprint.

Just up the road, Hendersonville is everything that Flat Rock is not. Touristy, trendy and overly gentrified, it stands in stark contrast to Flat Rock's “don't touch that if its historic” attempts to curb sprawl, bar big-box stores and stay true to the lay of the land. If you desperately need to shop, you go there; if you want beauty and serenity, you stay in Flat Rock. I'm staying in Flat Rock.

Today is beginning cool and quiet. Except for crows chattering, the birds are busy filling hungry mouths. A pair of wood thrushes nesting nearby rings their beautiful crystal bells now and then. It's going to be a good day for writing stories about home.

Hope your day is everything you want it to be.

In the spirit,

Jane