Millpond Collective 04

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WELL BEING IN THE GARDEN

SEPT 2022

GONZO'S POLLO: MAKING FOOD WITH HEART

CABIN IN THE WOODS TOUR

THE HISTORY OF HOTEL 24 SOUTH

ON THE COVER TREEHOUSE IN AUGUSTA COUNTY, VIRGINIA

THE TEAM SAMANTHA SHOVER

EDITOR, JOURNALIST + PHOTOGRAPHER

JONATHAN SHOVER

MANAGING EDITOR + VIDEOGRAPHER

TABLE OF CONTENTS INSIDE THIS ISSUE HOTEL 24 SOUTH: HISTORIC AND BUILT ON FAMILY

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RIVERBEND: A CABIN IN THE TREES

18

GENERATIONAL RECIPE

29

GONZO'S POLLO: PERUVIAN CHICKEN MADE WITH LOVE

35

WELL BEING IN THE GARDEN WITH EMILY GRAY

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pillars FAMILY “Millpond Family” is the heart and basic building block of our business. It seems like each client we work with ends up becoming folks that we want to cook out with, laugh and cry with, and follow along as they go through life’s big adventures. This section of the magazine is devoted to people that we want to highlight that manifest all things “family.”

HOME We want to incorporate all senses of home in the magazine whether it be highlighting an old home built on history, taking you on a tour through someone’s amazing kitchen, giving you the most amazing warm-your-belly recipes contributed by the best cooks we know, and even helping you to remember the things that really make a house a home.

BUSINESS It is hard to know every single business that surrounds us. We want you to know about the mom and pop places that started 20 years ago, or the business of the 16 year old kid who just started out. We want to shine light on the people that we see shining light on others...and following their dreams while they do it!

GROUNDED This section of the magazine is devoted to all things well-being. We want our Millpond Collective readers to have some insight into others that may help them be more in tune with their spiritual, mental, physical well being...whether that be from visiting your local plant nursery, to learning about how to breathe. Grounded is the broadest topic, but probably one of the most important ones of all!

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PILLAR OF FAMILY

HOTEL 24 SOUTH THE HISTORIC HOTEL IN STAUNTON, VIRGINIA THAT HAS WELCOMED SO MANY PEOPLE TO THE VALLEY

We walked into a room off of the main foyer of the incredible Hotel 24 South and one of the owners, Allen Persinger, begins to reminisce on what the room formerly was. “Inside the room, there was a fountain.

That was called the fountain room.

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If the carpet was up, you could see the outline of the fountain.

But in the 50s, when air conditioning became a thing, the ceiling was lowered. They air conditioned it because that was the big, new thing…that and color TV, I guess. Back in the day.”

Allen has been a part of the hotel since his parents bought it in 1968.

He even lived in the penthouse apartment during his college years!

Since he was 14, the hotel has been a place of memories and meeting so many new folks that have been welcomed there since his family has owned it. It hasn’t always been the glorious picture of remodeled perfection though! When asked what his first memory of the hotel was, Allen was quick to tell us: “My dad brought me here when I was 14.

There was a padlock. The hotel had been closed since April and this was like September. He opened the front door and we walked in and I could still smell the grease from the restaurant

that was in here. There were tons of windows along the wall (currently those windows have been expanded into conference rooms for events but the original frames of the windows and brick walls have been retained!) and there were small, old-timey shutters and they were all this way and that way. The sun was coming in and covering the old furniture.”

Now, when you look around, that same hotel foyer is stunningly remodeled with updated paint, furniture, and light cascading through. The old furniture is removed, and those shutters have gone bye-bye!

1979 Present Day

As you look around, it is easy to see that this hotel is not an easy undertaking to run and maintain and takes so many hands to make it run smoothly.

Allen waves and says hi to some of the cleaners coming down the stairs, and continues to show us around. We were spellbound as to what would make someone decide to buy a HOTEL! Allen goes on to tell us about the beginnings of their hotel ownership: “My dad worked for Virginia. Power and Electric Company which is Dominion Energy now. He retired from there at age 54 and sold real estate part time.

He was always into things. At the time, there was a hotel in Lexington and there was one in Winchester and they all had become senior living kind of places. Back then, people went to Holiday Inn. He bought it with a business partner and later ended up buying out his portion.

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I got my real estate license in 1989 and I had it all those years.

Dad was in real estate part time and he really liked it, so my parents said, ‘you have a family business here, and we're paying you. You need to focus on the business and not sell real estate.’

They never wanted me to do it so I didn't until 2005. My sister’s office was right back in that corner (talking about upstairs).

My dad, sister, and my mother, and I worked together to run it.

We had maybe 15 employees total then, and to this day, the highest level of employees we have had is about 75.” We walked upstairs where you can overlook the foyer

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and Allen continued to tell us about all the changes that the hotel has gone through. “When the hotel was renovated, we used historic tax credits to help with the financing for the hotel, which was quite substantial.

Everything was gutted for the most part and re-designed to keep with the needs of today’s clients (larger rooms, larger beds, larger doorways and bathrooms, etc) but the center hallways are still there and kept like they originally were. Some of the rooms are just dummy doors.

Something old. Something new. Something borrowed. Something blue.

339 Walnut Hills Rd, Staunton, VA www.canabarn.com canabarn@gmail.com

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*All vintage photos of the hotel were submitted from Allen's personal collection*

We had to keep the hallways original for the tax credit money, but everything behind those doors was gutted. During the renovation, we could stand on one end of the building and see to the other end. The renovation and addition took from April of 2014 until we opened back up in September of 2015.” As we walked around the corner of the upstairs foyer overlook, an old wooden organ sits at the end of the hallway.

Allen walks over to it and begins to tell us the story of how it came to be: “It was hidden in the wall. That's what saved the organ from damage and destruction

through the years of people coming up here and pilfering it.

You couldn't get to it. We found it when we were opening walls up during the renovation. When they found it in the wall, it was filthy dirty. A guy in Chinquapin took it and restored it. They restored the cabinet too because the cabinet used to be black it was covered in cigarette smoke and aged. It was made for this hotel in 1923 since the hotel was built in 1924 (hence the name, Hotel 24 South!) and it's one of a handful of survivors that still remain. We love to play Christmas music on it during the holiday season.”

540.943.2723 CALL OR VISIT US TODAY!

waynesboro, virginia

Allen showed us the original hallways, the pool, the workout area, and even the kitchen and pulley system they use to this day to transport the food up and down to different floors. The kitchen is in the same exact spot as the original!

As we neared a corner of the hallway, there is a room with an ice machine and next to it is an elevator door. Allen goes on to tell his craziest story yet: “This used to be an old elevator in here (pointing to the ice machine room) that you had to push the metal grate up to go up and you pull it back towards you to come down. At the time, it wasn't there. In the winter, we would foolishly close that door to that shaft because the wind would come through the hotel and all this cold air would come in through that door if it was open so we kept the door closed. I just assumed that it was on the lobby level and I was going to open the door and be at the lobby. I opened the door and stepped in and fell down the elevator shaft!! I always think somebody really was looking out for me. There’s a beam that goes from the front to the back wall to put the track on and somehow when I was falling, my arm went up and caught that beam and stopped me before I hit the bottom. It was just a freefall! I have a scar on my leg to this day to help me remember it!

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Allen walked with us outside so we could take some drone photography of the property and took us to the massive magnolia tree that covers the front of the hotel. It towered over him and he is a tall guy!

As he rested his hand on the trunk, he explained that he and his mother planted that tree when he was just a young teen and it wasn’t even half his height. Now it almost goes to the top of the hotel! As time has passed, things have grown, been renovated, additions have been added, more and more people have come to the famous hotel to stay, but the memories still stay fresh in Allen’s mind and we were so happy to help them be remembered through this article. We are so thankful for this historic hotel and all that it brings to our amazing city.

• PORTRAITURE • BUSINESS • ARCHITECTURE • WEDDINGS

photography contact us 540.836.7392

@millpondphotography

PILLAR OF HOME

CABIN IN THE TREES THIS HOME IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY IS FULL OF HISTORY AND COMES WITH ITS OWN TREEHOUSE

"A labor of love lasting 13 years, a log tavern dating to 1770 and a log cabin dating to 1790 have been carefully joined on a stone foundation and meticulously restored with authentic hardware and exquisite detailing creating an incredibly enjoyable and comfortable environment. A 40ft x 12ft solarium has been added from remnants of the original home that sat on the property dating to 1794." The property rests within massive mature landscaping and trees above the gorgeous Middle River. Inside the conjoined log cabins are "wide heart pine floors, wavy glass windows, antique locks and latches, and beaded paneling."

HISTORY: "The two authentic cabins were sourced right here in Virginia, and brought to this property in the 1980's. They were carefully re-assembled and a new, handcut limestone foundation right above the river. The section closest to the river is a two story log tavern from 1770 and the other section is from 1790."

Also on the property is a two car garage and shop, a log cabin studio or detached office, a "party barn" with its very own bar and place to hang out and play pool, and the stunning "observation platform" overlooking the river with its very own outdoor kitchen and sky-scraping outdoor fireplace.

One of the most unique features of this property sits within the trees only a short four-wheeler ride away from the house: the treehouse.

This is one of the most incredible building feats we have seen yet!

Down a mile lane, through chestnut railed pastures to the river, there sitting on a bluff rests the most exquisite example of log cabin perfection, with its long porch overlooking the winding, gentle river.

Stepping through the 220 pound cross boarded Indian door into the first home, you find yourself back in the 18th century as the sunlight cascades through hand-done wavy glass windows onto the beautiful floors. Gazing into the six foot dragon's mouth fireplace, you can see where the meals were prepared when this house was a tavern in the 1770's.

The richness of these 14 inch wide logs is counterpointed against the red painted beaded paneling boards that describe the closed staircase and the only encroachment of the 20th century - a modern kitchen featuring heart pine counter tops and conveniences such as dishwasher, counter-top range, and built in oven. Upstairs are located the four bedrooms and two baths. This provides ample space for visiting guests.

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The two homes are joined in classic fashion by a beaded panel "dog trot" that was once an open area between the two homes. Now this serves as the hidden washer-dryer laundry area and an area for a half bath on the first floor.

Stepping through the carpenters-lock door to the 1790's house (the younger of the two homes) is like stepping ahead 50 years in time as one finds in this larger home, higher ceilings, narrower beaded ceiling joists, fireplace surrounds, 14 inch wide beaded paneling and an outstanding pocket-door

separating the two main-floor rooms. The windows in this part of the home are modern energyefficient types that, along with similar energy saving features, make it old in character but warm and pleasant to modern tastes.

Along the back of the 1790's house runs a solarium featuring a hand-made brick, basketweave floor and 16 hand-cut beaded roof joists that had been part of the original stone home built on this property in 1794 and demolished for its stones in 1989.

(Text from Kit Collins)

EST. 1975

QUALITY CARE

LARGE & SMALL ANIMALS

(540) 337- 6200

BUZZ BY OUR DRIVE THRU 2201 N Augusta St Suite 100, Staunton, VA 24401

@thequeenbean.va

(540) 688-1583 www.queenbeancoffeco.com

The treehouse found within the woods of this incredible property just BLEW our socks off. The current owners decided to build this beauty for their grandchildren to play on when they came to visit. Once you make it through the woods to the treehouse, you climb the stairs, and walk across the hanging bridge to access the walkway to the treehouse door. The windows are reclaimed and some are even stained glass panels echoing the colored light into the treehouse main floor (there are two floors!) Another set of stairs within the treehouse leads you to a bunk room with two twin beds for a glamorous camping experience.

The whole treehouse has electricity wired to it from the generator outside next to the outhouse that is also functioning. This is the icing on the cake for a beautiful and one-in-a-million property!

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GENERATIONAL RECIPE IN EVERY ISSUE, WE LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT A SPECIAL PERSON THAT IS WORTH HONORING BY SHOWING OFF ONE OF THEIR SIGNATURE RECIPES

Is there someone in your life you want to honor? Submit their story, special photos, and famous recipe to 29

hello@millpondphotography.com for a chance to be featured!

SERVING

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TIME

2 HOURS

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Pat Hunter is a wife, mother, and grandmother (to one of the owners of this magazine, Jonathan!) and radiates pure light in her Staunton, VA hometown. She is known for her knowledge of antiques, her green thumb, and her abilities to whip up anything in the kitchen especially Sunday morning pancakes! Our favorite recipe she makes is her "Company Chicken." That is her go-to for an easy meal to prepare for guests.

Pat "Mammaw" Hunter is first a wife to her Lee high school sweetheart, Snowdy. She put him through vet school, and to this day cares for him no matter how ornery he gets! Her selfless love flows to every person she meets. She loves her two children and her four grandchildren endlessly.

If you want to find Mammaw, check out the Factory Antique Mall, or fly up to Cape Cod, MA which is her favorite place in the world.

She is a treasure to us, and to anyone that knows her. We are so thankful to have this precious soul in our life!

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PILLAR OF BUSINESS

GONZO'S POLLO A COUPLE MAKE PERUVIAN CHICKEN WITH THEIR WHOLE HEART IN STAUNTON, VIRGINIA

We met Gonzo and his amazing wife, Debbie, at their home in Staunton to talk about their business and we watched as they cleaned and prepped some chicken to cook for us. This is no easy task. You would think that the chicken comes off some truck, and they throw it in their food truck cooker, and there you go. NO. It is a whole deal, but they love putting in the hours of hard work that it takes to bring their customers the best of the best.

According to Gonzo’s website, Gonzalo was born in Peru, and immigrated to the DC area with his family when he was in elementary school. He fell in love with his new home, became a US citizen, and has lived here ever since. Always a fan of the culinary arts, Gonzo finally decided to turn his favorite hobby into a career. And boy, are we thankful that he did!

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“It's not about if you love Staunton. It’s if Staunton loves you.”

-gonzo

We found out about Gonzo’s Pollo by word of mouth. At first, we were reluctant to try it because we have never liked food truck food, but so many people started telling us about it and encouraging us to stop by. We finally did, and not only was it the best chicken, Gonzo’s “Momma’s Beans and Rice,” and the best coleslaw and fried plantains, but we also made a friend. Gonzo immediately draws you in with a smile and treats you like a longlost best friend he hasn’t seen in years. That was it. After that, we were fans for life.

While Gonzo cleaned the chickens and Deb coated them in the secret recipe marinade, Gonzo joked about how funny it would be if their pet chickens were allowed to come look in the window while they cleaned the chickens to cook. Deb disagreed instantly as they both smiled. They both work together to do this strenuous process twice a week before their Wednesday and Saturday openings and it becomes clear why they are only open twice a week. This is not easy and requires so much of their energy to bring this food to us.

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The cleaning of the chickens is more

than

just

rinsing

and

throwing them on the grill. They hand check each chicken, remove fat and gristle, remove remaining feathers and buds that are left, and even scour the chickens for bones that were missed in the prep.

Then

Deb

takes

each

chicken and does a final quality control check before she handloads them up with marinade all over the outside and inside of each chicken. They sit overnight in the fridge to let all the meat soak in those amazing flavors from the secret recipe sauce, and then they are ready for the truck cooker the next morning. As they worked, we asked them a few questions.

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SAM: Can you tell me about how you guys met?

GONZO: A mutual friend; that's my take on it. It was my friend’s dark basement and I stopped by for his birthday. I told my friend that she's really cute but too young for me. She made me work really hard. I knew she was a photographer, but you know I had just come back from a tour in the Andes and took all these photographs. She invited me to dinner, and I asked her if I could show her my photographs because I was so proud. She looked at them and then said, ‘can I show you mine?’ She brought out her whole portfolio. I almost crawled into a hole because they were so good. The rest is history.

SAM: What is the secret to your amazing chicken?

GONZO: In Peru they interviewed this one guy, and they were trying to get him to pony up his recipe. And he says, ‘no one person will do that. All I can tell you is there's 11 to 13 ingredients.’ So that's the secret.

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“It's a lot of time and a lot of care. People don't know that. We just do this, you know? Which is fine. It's our job. That's what we do.”

-gonzo

COME STAY AT

An historic Circa 1929 cottage only a minutes walk to Downtown Staunton!

A wedding venue with stunning mountain views in the heart of Virginia's Shenandoah Valley

www.skyridgefarmevents.com

SAM: Can you tell us about the team behind Gonzo’s Pollo?

GONZO: It is myself, Gonzo, my wife, Debbie, and our chef, Josh. We are a team, but once Josh is in the truck, he's the captain. And we all know what we have to do. They kick me out of the truck, and put me out front so I can just chit chat and give them time to get the orders together. Josh is so great. He will be working in the truck and hear the orders as I take them, and before I can finish ringing them up, he has them sitting in the window for pickup. He is so fast!

He started working on Saturdays with me, and we just became close friends. He started working more and more. This guy's phenomenal. He's like a son to me now. He cares so much for the food, the truck, and us. He makes the best pico. He doesn't let anybody else do the Pico.

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SAM: Owning a food truck in a restaurant is no small feat. When did you guys know that you wanted to do this?

GONZO: I always loved cooking. I mean, even in college when there was a party,I was the one that did all the cooking. Also, when my family got together, I did a lot of the cooking too. My mom was a fabulous cook. My cousin's had restaurants in Peru, like amazing restaurants. Once I left the TV production business, I was trying to figure out what the heck I was going to do, you know, I don't know. And yet I knew I wanted to do something. I was still too young to really hang everything up. Deb still had work to finish and we came to Staunton for a visit. We were at the farmer’s market on a Saturday in October. Deb said, ‘You think you can live here now?’ I told her, ‘There’s no Peruvian chicken.’ She knew I was making excuses to not move here, and said, ‘Well, do something about it.’ So, it’s her fault.

The grand opening of the food truck was September 29, 2018.

SAM: How do you think that your previous careers have played into your success?

DEB: I think Gonzo’s expertise in production has made him able to run this business. It was about making sure he had the right equipment, and everything worked, and the schedule is good. He knew how to do social media. All those experiences he had with television just really helped in this new venture. He also has amazing taste.

GONZO: Deb is the hardest working person I've ever met. She's so creative. You should see her photography. She never gives up. And she tackles any problem or any challenge and will conquer it. She's taught me a lot about money. I come from an Italian family and Spanish family and we will give you the shirt off your back, but Deb is a realist. I mean, she's taught me that if I'm going to run a business, I can’t give it away for free…maybe a couple of times, but she has taught me the discipline of money and how to factor in costs, etc.

After Deb and Gonzo finished preparing our chickens, we met their pet chickens and walked around their gorgeous home garden. We love that not only are these two professionals at their craft, but willing to share, and willing to love others and put their whole heart and soul into it for their friends who they meet along the way. This is why Staunton loves Gonzo’s Pollo and why you will too.

Follow their adventures at their social media platforms @gonzospollo or check their website for their upcoming open days and where to find their truck! Don’t forget to ask Gonzo to do the truck horn before you leave!

PILLAR OF GROUNDED

WELL BEING IN THE GARDEN EMILY GRAY SHOWS US HER LITTLE SLICE OF HEAVEN WHERE SHE FINDS PEACE

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Emily Gray and her husband, Jacob, meet us in the driveway and their black and white pup, Lincoln, follows closely behind and begs for head rubs. Emily sips on a glass of water and the sun beats down overhead, but they still hug us and shake our hands. Their three boys come in and out of the house in the throes of the teenage years and are just as sweet. This family just radiates joy, and warmth. And it wasn't the heat of the summer we are talking about.

This precious family owns and operates Red Comb Farm found locally in Waynesboro, Virginia. Their farm is a FULL 5ish acres of pure farm goodness: orchard, garden, berries, canning summer kitchen, bees, wildflower field, and even a creek! Emily walks us around the farm and tells us her dreams for it, and how it serves them today. It wasn't always this perfect piece of heaven though.

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The Grays bought this property in 2011 with three young boys in their wings.

After asking the previous owner multiple times, she finally gave in and sold it to them! It wasn't in the best condition and was basically sitting on 5 acres of fields when they bought it. The Grays had a vision for it. They began working on transforming the property with raised beds, a barn, a chicken coop, and even working together as a family to build the summer kitchen with its very own sink and ovens for outdoor cooking. It served them well when they didn't have AC all those years until HVAC finally got added to the house within the last year. They slowly began the transformation of the house with the upstairs gut and addition. Now, you wouldn't be able to recognize it!

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Emily JUST transitioned to working part-time as a research administrator at UVA, and Jacob owns Redbud Construction, so this farm has been a side job that has brought them so much joy and peace through the years. Emily is now trying to move towards making this her full time job. She jokingly stated that they need health insurance right now for their sons who constantly have some sort of sport related injury but once they are grown up, she hopes to continue dreaming on how to make this her full time gig.

Emily admitted that homesteading and running a small farm is no easy task, and is MUCH harder work than her job in research, but she gets so much out of it despite the labor involved.

Emily and Jacob watched her boys grow up on this property and have their hands in the dirt picking weeds, and veggies for dinner. It taught them how to produce their own food, and it taught them a hard work ethic by helping Mom in the garden and with the chickens, and how to help Dad build the buildings that the farm required. All of this couldn't have been possible without this little slice of heaven that they call home.

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"I get so much out of the garden. After a day of work, I am tired, but fulfilled. "

-emily gray

Emily hugs her husband, Jacob, in her backyard summer kitchen.

As Emily collects the eggs from the hens in the chicken coop, she continues to tell us how their homestead brings them peace during these crazy times.

Turning off the news and getting her hands in the garden gets her mind off the negative and gives her space to think through it and breathe. Her love for yoga also helps! The farm just recently hosted a yoga session amongst the garden, complete with food from the garden, and all you could hear was the chicken clucks and the bees whirring around the lavender in the garden. They can't wait to host more events like that soon!

While Emily cans and maintains the flower beds, garden, and berry bushes, Jacob does all the pruning of the fruit trees and even keeps up with their bees and honey production. At first, he tried to be a bee whisperer and not use the bee protection clothing that most bee guys use. He quickly found out that he didn't have those magical bee whispering skills when he got 7 bee stings in a matter of minutes! Now that he has some experience under his belt, they sell honey every year and have a waiting list of people that want it. All of their products from Red Comb Farm are first come, first served, and nothing goes to waste from their homestead.

We walk away from the bee hives, and Lincoln leads us to the orchard of gorgeous peach trees and sits in the shade. They had a late frost earlier this year that wiped out all of their peaches, but typically they have bushels and bushels that are produced from their trees. They also have pear, apple, and plum trees. Pruning of these trees is no easy task and requires lots of chopping to keep them at a height where they can pick them. Typically Jacob chops 50% of the regrowth yearly to keep them manageable for Emily to gather. Jacob and Emily don't use pesticide in the garden because they want to be able to eat straight from the garden. They do apply a judicious schedule of fungicide spraying to prevent diseases and fungi on the fruit trees in the early season.

This definitely doesn't make it easier in the garden because that means hand picking off beetles, and slugs and dealing with un-wanted bugs all season, but it is a good trade off for Emily and the kids when they can eat straight out of the garden!

One of our favorite parts of the farm was the berry bushes. Jacob has. scoured the seed catalogs for the coolest variations of berries he can find and it shows! We tried their "pink lemonade blueberries" and they were delicious! Instead of a bright blue, they were light pink and sweet as can be.

They also had raspberries that were sweet and YELLOW! We had never seen a yellow raspberry before. Needless to say, we are now on their list for their honey and berries!

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For the years to come, The Grays plan to put in a greenhouse, and finish their big house remodel. Emily also wants to continue cleaning up and planting alongside the creek to create a park-like space. The hope to continue to host yoga sessions, and Emily even plans to get. her yoga certification to have the ability to teach them herself! They also hope to offer canning classes and events in the future.

With all this going on, teenagers to raise, and so much to do within their 95 jobs AND the farm, we are amazed that they are able to keep it all together, but together they do! This oasis that is their home, brings them the peace that they need to re-group mentally and get it all done! After walking around the whole farm in the heat, Lincoln agreed that a nap was in order, and led us to the porch of the summer kitchen.

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We hung out under the roof of the summer kitchen, and looked over the whole farm. The limelight hydrangeas bloomed right next to us, the ceiling fan was whirling overhead, and the scent of the lavender was still on my pants from brushing up against them earlier in the raised beds. We left the farm with a desire to return soon for our mini therapy session, and are already looking forward to honey and berry pickup day soon! Check out the happenings of the farm by following The Grays instagram page @redcombfarm so you don't miss any updates, events, or sales they have coming up!

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THANK YOU It has always been a dream of ours to create a magazine to share amazing stories of all things local.

We are so thankful for the hearts that follow our adventures and the support we have gotten along the way. We can't wait to continue to grow this platform and highlight how amazing our community is.

Thank you for your continued support, and for making this all possible!

Much love to you all, Sam and Jonathan Shover @millpondphotography

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