Farewell, Winter!

From Julie H., historical interpreter:

As winter fades away, and the snow steadily melts, we leave behind our winter hours and trudge forward into the costumed season tomorrow (March 11th). We've been quite busy this past winter on many projects. We got a lot of woodworking done, we re-built some old fences, made sausage from our pigs for the upcoming season, and did a ton of sewing.

Kathleen, an intern, helps mix sausage:

Here's just a small portion of the brand new shirts and shifts we cranked out:

And of course, we already posted on the baby animals born in this time, and our new horses that have just arrived. So I'll leave you with some winter pictures of the past few months, in case you couldn't get here to see the beautiful scenery yourself.

So we are now BACK IN COSTUME! Come by and see us!

Percherons

From Stacie H., horse handler & interpreter:

Chip and Mike are Percheron Draft Horse, they are 7 years. They are going to be an addition to the museum to help make deliveries to the different farms. The Percheron breed originated from France. They were originally bred for war use. The average weight of the breed is 1,900 to 2,600 pounds, and the average height of this breed 16.2 and 17.3 hands tall (one hand is four inches).  Make sure you come say hi!

Above is Chip and Mike checking out their new feeders.

 Look at the size compared to the barn!

 Catching up on my sun bathing...

We'll post some photos this year of them in action. There are many fields to plow!

This little piggy...

From Julie H., historical interpreter:

Wow. We were just nearly ready to post all about the new Percheron horses, when we discovered these little fellows today! Now, counting baby piglets is almost like counting chickens before they hatch, so keep your fingers crossed that these guys will all survive! They move quickly, so it was hard to get a clear shot.

These are Ossabaw Island Razorback pigs. They were brought over by the Spanish in the 1500s to the coast of Georgia, and became the English settlers' hog of choice in early Virginia.

Readers, you should definitely come visit and see all the new baby animals, and the horses too. But if you plan to come Wednesday or even Thursday this week (March 6-7), call before you come! We're in the center of this mega snow storm, and we may be closed.