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How We Rid the House of Snakes

(or: The Part Where There Was No Turning Back) Let’s just say this: We did everything short of burning the place down. Literally. Once we accepted that the farmhouse had become prime reptile real estate, we realized there was only one way forward— take it apart. All of it. We had originally hoped to save the pine paneling that lined much of the house. It had character. History. That warm, old farmhouse feel. But with hidden creatures in the walls and ceilings, there was no “g

The Snakes (or: When We Realized This Was Going to Be a Project)

As part of our 10-year anniversary of owning Lookout Lavender Farm, it feels only right to dedicate an entire chapter to one of the earliest—and most memorable—chapters of farm life: The snakes. When we bought the property, the farmhouse had been abandoned for several years . And as anyone who’s ever owned land knows, when people move out, nature moves in. Enthusiastically. With confidence. And apparently without asking permission. We assume the rats were the first to take u

The Family Who Loved This Land Before Us

Before we jump into our “diamond in the rough” farmhouse chapter (and the furry—and not so furry—creatures we found living there 😄), it feels important to pause and honor the family who owned this land for nearly a century. John and Fennie McGuffey settled here in 1923 , and according to the late Ken Pennington—our beloved local historian—they built a small cabin on the property. We have a wonderful photo of John and Fennie from the 1920s standing proudly in front of their h

I accidentally bought a farm at 3:00 a.m.

It all started with one of my typical bouts of insomnia. Wide awake at 3:00 a.m., I grabbed my iPad and started scrolling real estate listings—something I often did to lull myself back to sleep. As I scrolled, I came across a listing for a modest farmhouse with acreage on Lookout Mountain, and something about it made me pause. Bill and I had been scouting properties for years, looking for our “Golden Pond” retirement/weekend getaway. We’d camped at Cloudland Canyon State Park