Hundred Acre Wood

Meet the cabin.

Our family has retreated to this enchanted hundred acre wood since 1948. My grandparents bought what was once a working sheep farm from a widowed school teacher, when my dad was just a wee little nipper. Years were spent fixing up the old -but charming- 1700’s farm house and barn. The rooms became filled with favorite family antiques, as the house was slowly rehabbed and ever-so-lovingly brought back to its’ original glory. My mom became a part of the picture when she and my dad started dating in high school.

Fast forward 12 years.

It was 1968 and one of the hottest August days on record when I decided to make my entrance into the world. While at the hospital basking in the glory of his first born, my dad received the phone call that the farm was gone. It had burned to the ground.

Everything was lost. It was devastating. Heart wrenching.

Shortly thereafter my dad and grandfather built another house, a little cottage, that became the haven where I spent many a weekend making memories growing up. The first of those weekends was spent sleeping in a tent. And being bathed in a bucket.

I took my very first steps in that very tent, on that very hill while chasing “long leg-ed mothers” (as apposed to daddy long legs).

On my 3rd wedding anniversary another tragedy unfolded. A bolt of lightning struck the house and once again…it burned to the ground. After much consideration, a decision was made by the entire family that we just couldn’t give up on the hundred acre wood.

A third house was built.

A log cabin. Stones from the old original barn where used to anchor the foundation, pine tree trunks from our forest were used to make the porch columns that stand guard and watch over our precious abode.

Inside a stone fireplace was built to honor the beloved fireplace of the first farm house. A walnut mantel was made from the 200 year old walnut tree that barley survived the second fire.

Large pine beams made from our very own pine trees stretch the width of the cabin to support the roof. They not only give support but strength and comfort in knowing that the inside of our cabin is made from part of our hundred acre wood.

We have once again filled the rooms with antiques…special treasures from many different places, people and relatives. Like a patchwork of memories that warm our hearts and hold us tight.

We have unspoken rituals and traditions here at the cabin.

The picnic table on the front porch is always dressed with the red & white check tablecloth within minutes of our arrival. Nana lovingly covers the table, rain or shine. It is always the first sign and quiet promise of the fun and relaxation that’s to come.

Flowers are gathered to adorn the counter.

Watches find themselves lonely and unwanted as time doesn’t really seem to matter when at the cabin.

The screened in porch is opened up and sits waiting patiently for visitors to get lost in a book or magazine.

The television sits quietly in the corner and is rarely turned on. Instead our visual entertainment is simply the view.

Not long after our arrival the deer greet us as we sit on the porch and let the stress of everyday life melt away.

The deafening internal mental talk magically quiets.

Nature speaks.

The gentle wind.

The crickets.

The frogs.

And we unknowingly listen.

And are soothed.

As we watch,

all of the splendor unfold.

We become enthralled in all of the majesty that we somehow miss,

when absorbed in our busy lives.

I watch my dad tenderly teach our girls about guns, of the artistry and the history and respect that they deserve.

Just as he taught my sister and me.

I watch my girls practice what they’ve learned.

A skill that has been lost in our generation.

And I am proud.

The cabin is about small, quiet moments

that speak volumes,

when you take the time to listen and see.

The cabin is about meandering down dirt roads in search of the seasons harvest.

It’s about antiquing in search of treasures left behind,

from generations past.

It’s about slowing down enough to just swing the afternoon away.

To reflect.

And smile.

The kind of smile that just bubbles up from the inside out.

It’s about lazy afternoons that stretch into relaxing evenings.

Even our dog Oakley stops to enjoy the view.

As the day winds down and the shadows grow longer, the deer awaken from their midday naps and appear once again.

A glass of wine is enjoyed,

while watching the sun slip into the horizon

leaving a blaze of sherbet sky behind.

A bonfire rages and reaches its’ flames up towards the now darkened sky.

The snap and crackle of the fire echos through the forest as we gather round to reflect upon the day.

Somehow while at the cabin, all seems right in the world.

The cabin is about a certain state of mind.

A certain state of being.

Perhaps we should begin each day with red & white check tablecloth on the table in preparation for all the good that’s to come?

Can’t wait to share more of the cabin with all of you. There will be some scrumptious recipes and fun antique finds in the days to follow.

Wishing you a hundred acre wood state of mind…all the time.

~ Wenderly

Wenderly

Married my soulmate. Mama of 2. Love to inspire. Can't help but to relish in all things beautiful inside & out. Join me in Savoring the Art of Living.

47 Comments

  1. A beautiful story and beautiful pictures. Thank you for sharing such a dear part of your family story.

  2. *sigh* What great stories you have to go with that cabin (those cabinS)! Wendy, this made me a little teary. I think every family needs a little hideaway like this place!

  3. The cabin is beautiful and offers so much loving warmth. Just like you.
    I got teary, too, reading this.
    Live in the moment, sweetie. Drink it all in.

    xoxo

  4. For a moment, albeit too short of one, I felt I was there, with you. I could stare at the deer and the sunset for days and never miss TV either. Thanks for sharing; I could just feel your heart in these words.

  5. That is the single most lovely place I’ve ever seen, I think. Filled with so much love and family history! It’s so beautiful and peaceful. I’m inspired to set out and look for my own 100 acre wood now. Thank you for that.

  6. (sigh)

    To be there today would be heavenly me thinks.

    Thanks for sharing your special place. I hope one day we’ll have a space like that to share with generations to come.

  7. This is a wonderful post. Full of everything I like to read and look at !! Thank you !! What is it about red/white check that evokes home, food, comfort? Years ago I bought 2 Martha Stewart king sized red/white check flat sheets. They are a much smaller check than yours, and work perfect on our large picnic tables. When we don’t have the table dressed, we have stenciled a checker board pattern on the table top, and oh ! the hours of fun we have had.

  8. Sweet, heartfelt words…..stunning pictures…..loving traditions.
    Well-said you!
    If you’ve got hand-stitched quilts in there, I’m on my way…perfect!

  9. Wow! I want to live there. I want to disappear from the world there. Being my Great Great Grandfather was a true blooded Colorado Pioneer and silver miner, this is the kind of home I imagined him living in.

    Simply gorgeous!!!

    Where approximately is this may I ask?

  10. Reading the beautiful words in this post and gazing at all the quiet beauty in your photographs has given me a *hundred acre wood* moment in an otherwise busy day. Thanks for recharging my batteries and may you and your family be blessed with many, many more generations of peace and tranquility only found in this heavenly acreage.

  11. Wendy, this is the most beautiful post I have ever read. I LOVE the story.. the pictures.. the details… the love. You have captured something amazing here… I am feeling so blessed to get a sneak peak!

  12. I just ran across your blog today, for the first time, and saw your Hundred Acre Wood posting. I then was so inspired, took off for the grocery store, bought peaches and flowers and before I left sent an email with a link to your site to my grown children. Oh I so wish I had the foresight to have something like this in our family and I’m in awe of the inside of the cabin, let alone the grounds! It’s simply beautiful! Sending peace back your way, I received it from you with this beautiful post.

  13. WOW what a great place to have in your family, packed with history and traditions! I would live in that screened in porch if I could… book in hand, lemonade in a mason jar glass!

    Thanks for sharing that magical place with us!

  14. Thank you. I feel revived and refreshed reading your words, seeing the images and imagining myself there. In this hustle and bustle word we all need a retreat. Wishing you well, Fiona

  15. My family has a cabin too. In the family for 61 years now. I know EXACTLY how you feel. Its a wonderful thing that places like that still exist in such a crazy world, and I feel VERY lucky to have one to call my own 🙂

  16. Wendy, this is so beautiful in every way. The cabin, family gatherings and the stories. Life lessons, life memories and a soft spot to land everytime you visit. Really beautiful! I mean this, thanks for sharing.

  17. Awesome Wenderly:)
    Thanks for sharing your life with us. It’s a shame we all can’t have something like this to spend our youth in.

  18. GORGEOUS Wendy!! and such a sweet post! We have a family cabin too, and I know exactly what you mean.

    That picture of you in the bucket is ADORABLE!!

  19. Oh… sigh. Soooo lovely.
    I saw this yesterday and made a mental note to come back and enjoy this again.
    It’s so true… nature and a cosy home made up of history, love and traditions, translates into peace and tranquility of the soul.
    I’m up at my our cottage (parent’s cottage if we’re getting technical), and besides checking into my email and a few other quick things on the net, I’m letting it all go and enjoying. You described it so much better than I could, and I loved your post so much because it’s all so true. Back to basics.
    Thank you so much for sharing Wendy.
    xo

  20. Wendy, What a wonderful opportunity to revisit the “farm”. We could kick ourselves for allowing us to drift away from spending time with your parents, Marcy and you and your family. Sadly, we have not been to the farm since the original house was still there. Our goal is to put a stop to that and get there this fall.
    While we have always had the bond we developed in the 60’s, it is not the same as reconnecting and spending time together. We look forward to seeing everybody at the Akron/OSU game.
    Mike and Sarah

  21. I’m whimpering with the desire to live on acreage. I keep saying…someday we’ll buy some land. It looks so beautiful and peaceful. Both my sisters have lake cabins and can’t understand why I don’t share their love of owning lake property. The lake has no pull on me whatsoever, but show me rolling hills and a stream and I’m a goner.

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