Here in Virginia, we finally saw blue sky and sun once more and we were overdue! We were trying to remember the last time we had a sunny day and think it might have been two weeks ago. You can’t take sunshine away from Floridians for an extended period and expect them to function normally. Today is our only day in the Charlottesville area and we decided we wanted to spend it at Monticello, the historic home of Thomas Jefferson.
Monticello – Jefferson’s home
- Monticello reflected in the pond from the gardens
We all remember Mr. Jefferson was the author of the Declaration of Independence and third President of the United States, but Jim and I learned so much more as we spent the major part of the day on the estate. While he was living, the estate was 6,000 acres and the historic grounds now consist of over 3,000 acres including a restoration of the gardens, orchards, and house and furnishings. Surprisingly, the foundation was able to recover many of the original artifacts from the house.
Thomas Jefferson was a genius teaching himself architecture, and five languages in addition his native english. He often read five books simultaneously and invented a lazy susan type book holder to allow him to read them easily. That was one of the surprises for me. He took ideas he had seen in his travels, modified them and incorporated them into his home for his own convenience. One amazing illustration is seen before you even enter the front door. The weather vane on the roof translates the wind direction to a directional gadget on the ceiling on the porch that can be read from inside the house. There is also a clock above the front door on the outside and the same mechanism runs a clock on the inside as well. Sorry no pictures allowed inside the house.
Outside was impressive, balancing utility with beauty. The picture above from the fish pond showing the reflection of the house is a perfect illustration. The pond is obviously beautiful with a rock place perfectly to reflect the house when sitting there, but it is also where they stored fish caught in streams and rivers until they were ready to be cooked and eaten.
Vegetable Gardens at Monticello
- View from Gardens of Monticello
To try to tell you all the things we saw and heard today would take more words than you probably want to read so I will leave it with a suggestion to come see for yourself if you come in this direction . Actually, make it point to come in this direction and see Monticello (Italian for small mountain). If you want to see more now visit their website http://www.monticello.org
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