French Class Reunion

Much as I like to refer to my Brooklyn apartment as my "country estate," I have to admit that some might not consider the setting to be precisely the sine qua non of bucolic farmland.

Certainly, little patches of green loom large from an urban perspective, and we are all grateful for Central Park, Prospect Park, and even the astroturf of the Elevated Acre. So when one of my classmates graciously invited three of us to her country home, we happily drove up to check it out.

Her home is on the site of a former farm, and many of the buildings retain much of their former character both in the facade and in the architectural details that have been preserved even as the buildings have been re-purposed.

The overarching esthetic was simplicity, purity and elegance. There was lovely outdoor dining under the trellis:

Our hostess prepared a vegetarian feast for lunch, featuring fresh local produce - including herbs and vegetables from their neighbor's garden. (They have an arrangement whereby the neighbors do the gardening, and our hostess does the cooking and preservation.) She is a very good cook, and each dish was bursting with flavor. I loved the metal dishes with ladybugs on them. Not pictured here are the tabouleh and fresh bread.

Deer sculptures grace the front entrance, although we also saw a real live deer on the drive home:

Our host and hostess have opened up the rooms of each building to provide ample space and light, and they have many works of art on display:

Quite a few of the works are by artists who are as yet undiscovered by most of the self-styled experts of the art world, including these two fine city-scapes:

(We met one of the artists, but he did not escort us on the tour so we did not have the opportunity to quiz him on his influences and inspirations.)

The upper floor of the former cow barn is now a gymnasium with professional quality equipment acquired from a health club that went out of business. Even here, we find a few small works to liven the scene:

We went for a walk around the property:

They have their own solar panels, installed about 4 years ago. It feeds the main power grid, and they get credit for it against their own electricity bills. They expect to fully recoup their investment in another 3 years or so.

The walk continued through a forest and then through a field of flowers:

We walked over to their neighbor's land and said hello.

Their neighbors are big-hearted people:

The shared garden included corn, squash, and other items:

Finally we finished the loop and came around again to the pond near the house, with a little rowboat:

The main house was lovely as well. Many judiciously selected paintings and sculptures, including some that were created by the host's sister. Many old maps, especially Dutch. From this bedroom, I liked the juxtaposition of the twisted tree outside with the fabric tree inside:

We learned that for good luck, one should obtain a new goldfish on the first day of spring each year. Their current goldfish is named 1388, after the year in which they obtained it.

We stayed for dinner, which was also delicious. Half the group had fish (halibut, not goldfish), but there was ample vegetarian food as well. It was wonderful to meet our hostess's family and spend time together in the countryside. I can see why they spend so much time there - it is so refreshing.