Unto the Gentles of the Knowne World....

....Lady Gregoria Anne du Lac sends greetings! It certainly has been a long time. Many thanks to Lady Jerusha for this archival photo. Since I am definitely of the 'Old School' in the SCA, I have a lot of catching up to do and lots of stories to tell of my travels. Also, please keep in mind that I will likely switch back and forth between mundane-speak and SCA-speak in theprocess of this set of blogs so it will be easier to explain in terms for those SCAer's of a city persuasion that would like to make the move from city living to country living and perhaps how to do it on your own, with little or no help from a bank or other modern mundane worldly financial entanglements. In the mundane, we are using solar, wind and geothermal power sources to enable us to get 'off the grid', as well as sustainable agricultural practices to keep food sources local.

From journeys long and through lands far and wide, this is a window into the world here at Glastonbury Farm. This past winter, we began a new milk shed for my goats and their feed, which will become a craft shop as soonly as a more correct milk parlour is built, which could take a couple of more years.

The excavation for the new manor house cannot happen until the a few things take place, one of which is the construction of the new shed and the destruction of the old shed. I currently milk in this shed and it is not a very pleasant place as the chickens have taken residence.

A curious thing happened as we began the new shed- several levels of what appear to be an old medieval manor raised itself out of the dirt as we began to peel back the layers of time. This old manor may be several hundred years old, or possibly even almost twenty years old. In any case, this is to document the archeological records of the old manor and the construction of the new manor house and grounds. If any scholar wishes to visit and observe the process, you are all most welcome to come- just let us know ahead of time.

I'm going to attempt to do a weekly update on each level of Glastonbury Farm since it began as some of the oldest levels are still here and functioning. These will also be illuminated with photos and drawings of the oldest positionings of the structures here. The old gate house, called 'The Dragon's Gatehouse', is still in use somewhat, and while the structural integrety is still there, the house itself does need to some work to complete it. The chances are it will be deconstructed and then reconstructed in some manner after the new manor house is built.

This is a photo of the new shed foundation as it was framed in. In the background is ' The Dragon's Gatehouse'. We found an old midden behind the house with all sorts of curious objects and broken tools. You will also see in the background one of the 'caravans' that some travelers decided to sell and it is now used as supplemental housing for my older daughter. Discovered to be from the 'level 7' configuration of Glastonbury Farm, it is still of some use, but will be offered for sale here in the near future. The cleared area up the hill and to the left of the photo is the bottom of the clearing for the new manor house.

Above, we see the new shed framed in and in the background is the area cleared for the excavation of the foundation for the new manor house. We have done all the proper augeries and dousings, and have offered prayers so that the foundation construction will go well and not fall over into the swamp next door, which is also called 'mud waller flats'. We have been assured by the local thaumaturge and several out of state alchemists that the dragons and gnomes are well satisfied with the gifts we've given them in exchange for allowing us to build here.

These are our Town Crier's, Violet- left, and Willard- right. Along with the poultry constabulary of roosters Wakie-Wakie (that's what he says) and Mohammed (Upon Whom Be Peace!- When you pick him up, he shouts 'Allah! Allah!'), and a grimace of guineas, the farm stays running smoothly- no ticks or other bad insect pests.

This is our 'Fore-goat', Ammalyn Starchild, who oversees construction and keeps an eye on things. She also milks a gallon or so of milk a day, so she's a keeper here at the farm. Ammalyn is a Saanen dairy goat, also called Gessenay, which comes from the Saanen Valley in Switzerland.

Look for us in the next installment, at least each week. As we get more into the workings of things here at the farm, I hope folks will comment or ask questions on how we have done this or that or perhaps offer suggestions as to how we can do things more easily.

Thanks for stopping by- Lady Greggy, somewhere in the "Land of Shining Water'