One of my poachers is finally in jail!

[strollingbones]

mini you and the neighbor should keep your dogs up for a while....that is what kinda mal they will do

 

[strollingbones]

the funny thing is all they have to do is ask..that is how the kids got permission....came over and ask....we set some rules and that was that

 

[Mini 14]

mini you and the neighbor should keep your dogs up for a while....that is what kinda mal they will do

Yeah, he has a couple, but they are very old and smart, and he is actually cut off pretty well from these guys. His dogs never leave his side, really.

I live about 10 miles away, but my hands live there and do have dogs. They've been aware of these guys since the day they moved in, and the swamp protects them pretty well.

The real target is the home. It is an old plantation house built in 1855, all original and in excellent shape. If they were to light that up, it cannot be replaced. But they would have to move out of the State. The home is very sentimental to the town, and there is a constant flow of people to it to reminisce and just sit in the yard and relax, so they'd have trouble getting to it, and hiding that they did it. (It is on "this side" of the swamp). If they were to light it up, I wouldn't have to lift a finger. The town would hang them from one of the old trees for me. It would literally be a race between the Sheriff and the mob as to who got them first.

I worry about the house a little (we are almost finished with a major restoration that should leave it standing for another 150 years), but not too much. We have protected it well, and you can't just "accidentally" wind up there. It is about a 2 mile drive, down a dirt driveway, and through several locked gates, several game cameras and motion detectors, and a set of tire shredders that will get you if you don't know where they are.

But believe it or not, I think these guys wouldn't touch the house. It is Civil War history (the original builder was a local Civil War legend, the son of a Revolutionary War legend), and that is one of the few things they respect. If they were shunned by the SCV, they would have no lives at all. It is a shrine to them. I worry more about damage to the house by people who aren't from here, who don't know the history (not just the origin, but what the house means to the town since it's construction). The house has served as a kindergarten, and half the town was married there. We still do about 15 weddings a year, and we don't promote that at all, don't do anything to make it easier. Its just beautiful, so everyone wants to get married out there.

My G-G Grandfather bought the tract, including the house, when he returned from the Civil War in 1870. We have owned it since. Mine is the first generation that was not actually born IN the house since we've owned it.

It is the most peaceful place on Earth, and I relish every second I get to spend out there.

 

[Mini 14]

Here is a picture taken from a historical preservation campaign a couple of years ago (This Place Matters). This is the front of the house. The smokehouse, barn, outhouse are all intact, but not shown here.

There are also 37 homesites from the old slave houses scattered around the property, most within a mile of the house and main field. All but one have fallen in or rotted away completely, and we are restoring it as well as reconstructing a couple of others as part of this last restoration.

The main beams of the house are 18x18 square cedar. They are 24 feet long, and single pieces of wood. Simply amazing how they built them back then, and how much "quality" they put into every detail. The smoke house has never been restored, because it hasn't needed anything other than a fresh coat of paint.

 

[xotoxi]

YUM!

 

[strollingbones]

omg i just got your sign line...that is terrible

 

[editec]

I was a poacher briefly, back when I was a kid.

Now, I don't even hunt in season.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

I have always lived in the city or outlying urban area my whole life. Don't really have to worry about this. I'd go stir crazy living in the country.

 

[xotoxi]

omg i just got your sign line...that is terrible

It's really sad. I wanted to raise awareness of the horrors of eating eggs and how it tears apart families..