Pick the statement about Bundoran Farm that is Not True!

1: Lake Inferior is a good fishing hole.

2: Cacti grow wild in the forests of Bundoran Farm.

3: Snakehead fish have been caught in Lake Scogo.

4: A Lockheed C-130 Hercules Transport Aircraft has landed on the farm.

To locate these areas on at Bundoran Farm, visit the interactive masterplan.

In addition having the roads “lay lightly” on the land within the boundaries of Bundoran Farm, we took care to minimize any impacts to properties adjacent to or downstream from us.  Roads and related storm water drainage systems have been designed so the post-development storm water runoff is equal to or less than pre-development runoff.  For individual homesites, in accordance with the Virginia Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act, additional storm water management measures are required if the impervious surface area within a Development Zone exceeds 7,000 square feet.

Given the modest size of the homes built to date at Bundoran Farm, impervious surface areas have been kept to a minimum.  Any Low Impact Development (“LID”) measures implemented by Bundoran Farm Owners/Stewards have been done by choice and because they are right thing to do for the environment and their personal lifestyle.

Recently we had the pleasure of seeing the two rain gardens the Tompkins installed on their recently completed home off of Hightop Drive.   The Tompkins’ goal was to affordably, effectively and attractively handle the rainwater coming off the roof of their home without relying on gutters.

Dorothy Tompkins sums it up this way:

“The one that is finished was actually pretty easy.  The one in back was fairly easy also, but has a longer drainage ditch leading to it. One reason they were easy is that our soil right around the house is quite sandy and drains beautifully.  You want all the collected water after a rain to drain within 72 hours, preferably sooner, to prevent mosquito breeding.  It seems to drain out in less than 12 hours so far, because of the sandy soil around it.  I dug a small pit more like a hole, and put coarse (concrete) sand in the bottom then added some native soil, peat moss and compost.  There are some native plants that do well, certain ferns, Clethera, Cardinal Flower, Ilex verticillata (Winterberry) in rain gardens.“

For those looking for Charlottesville VA real estate where they can live sustainably,  we have In order to create a resource for LID measures and other sustainability design and construction concepts, we created the Bundoran Farm Green Book – A Property Owner’s Guide to Sustainable Design & Development.  This companion document to the Bundoran Farm Pattern Book contains a well of information to assist designers, owners and builders in making sound decisions to achieve their personal sustainability goals.

The only thing that has come close to this quality of eggs are the one-half dozen eggs we received each week when we belonged to a local CSA – Community Support Agriculture.  The color and taste can’t be beat.  How I would love to have some chickens in my own yard for both the quality of the fresh eggs and to provide my sons with some of the experiences I enjoyed as a kid.

If you are in the same mind frame I’m in, have no fear.  I recently ran across this website/blog , Chicken Coops Plans.  It contains almost everything you would want to know about building a chicken coop and raising chickens for personal use and enjoyment.

Several residents and owners at Bundoran Farm have expressed an interest in having a few chickens around their house.  I can’t wait to see this happen.  It would be a great addition to this Charlottesville Va real estate.  Not only is it 100% compatible with the overall vision for Bundoran Farm, I look forward to swinging by in the morning, helping them gather their eggs and perhaps even enjoying and nice sunny-side up egg breakfast.

During his recent vacation, Leif participated in the 25^th Annual James River Batteau Festival.  The festival included 25 flat bottom, wooden vessels that are replicas of the boats used Colonial times into the 19^th century to move cargo along the James River and is a tradition for many boating fans.  Some even dress in period colonial outfits.  Leif helped crew the Rosalee on the 120 mile trip down the James River from Lynchburg to Maiden’s Landing.

As highlighted in the May 26, 2010 issue of the Washington Post, these “boats were vital to Virginia’s early commerce, when much of the state could only be traveled by horseback.  The cargo typically included tobacco and other crops, along with some passengers, and were navigated by batteaumen who used long poles to push the huge boats around rocks and through shallow water.  The first remains of the ancient boats were found in 1983 at a construction site in downtown Richmond.  From that discovery, the first reproduction was built.

Here’s a link to a great narrated photo essay about the trip.  James River Batteau Festival

Dorothy Tompkins — Master Naturalist and Bundoran Farm Steward

In addition to providing an overview of the project vision and a brief history of the property, Hay goes on to describe how the vision is being fully realized as development activity proceeds.

“When you enter Bundoran Farm, you will see cattle grazing peacefully on acres of pasture and cattails swaying gently around the ponds. Gravel farm roads cross gurgling streams on well-constructed bridges with timber railings, and meander off into the woodlands. Tasteful wooden road signs mark the routes at each fork in the road. It is difficult to believe that you are actually in a residential development – a preservation development – and at the same time, on working farm.

Using the Tillman House built by Maple Ridge Group as an example, Hay also goes in great detail how the homes are designed and built in an environmentally friendly manner. All house built at Bundoran Farm are required to meet EarthCraft standards, the green building standard for residential construction in Virginia.

“Homeowners are encouraged to build homes with a scale and style that complement the landscape of the region. An example is the Tillman House. It is designed by Russell Versaci, one of the several architects and design professional in the Bundoran Farm Guild.

The site plan for the Tillman house was designed to protect and nurture the land. Non-permeable surfaces such as asphalt driveways were avoided to prevent runoff. Instead, permeable surfaces create a rain garden, keeping the rainfall on the property.

During construction, Maple Ridge implemented a recycling program for all the debris created in the process. Steve Nicholson, Maple Ridge’s managing partner, added that their company-preferred building practice exceeds the demand of the EarthCraft standards.”

Hay concludes the article by speaking with Fred Scott whose family stewarded the Bundoran Farm land since the 1940’s. “Scott feels that he has place his family homestead in good hand and insured its future.”

Virginia Sportsman Magazine – June – July 2010

Dorothy Tompkins – Master Naturalist and Bundoran Farm Steward

Situated on a knoll over looking Plank Road and the  surrounding protected pastures and forested ridges of this Albemarle Virginia rural real estate, the Heimgartner’s homesite is perhaps one of the most visible in all of Bundoran Farm.   We felt extremely blessed when the Heimgartner’s purchased this homesite and began to explain their vision of what they intended to build and shared with us images of houses they want to use for models and precedents for their home.  Talk about exceeding expectations.

Working with Keith Scott of Rosney Architects, the Heimgartner’s have designed a home that is ideally situated for this Charlottesville property.  It pays tribute to and builds off the rich legacy of the vernacular architectural traditions of the Central Virginia landscape.  Building the house will be T.L. Goode Homes of Charlottesville.

With the recent groundbreaking, we look forward to seeing Heimgartner’s home rise from the ground and be a wonderful addition to the Bundoran Farm landscape. We are excited we had the chance to play a small part in the Ken and Ida getting their dream house.

Ken and Ida Heimgartner review their house design with Keith Scott, Toby Goode, and Leif Riddervold

Heimgartner Residence Groundbreaking - Toby Goode, Keith Scott, Ida & Ken Heimgartner and Joe Barnes

This Thursday evening, April 22nd, they are having another Big Ol’ Country Store Cookout. Kyle will be grilling up half-pound burgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, and sausages.  Sharing the menu with Kyle’s “pieces de can’t resist ‘em” will be French fries, onion rings, mac & cheese, and a whole mess of other sides.  We’ll also be serving from the full deli menu.

Word has it that there’ll be a couple of kegs hanging around the store, looking to be useful, and as always, the store’s sommelier, Cid Scallet,  has chosen suitable wines for the occasion.

And the sounds from the Corner Lounge?  Those will be provided by one of their fave new local groups, Batesville Produce, who yielded a lot of buzz in their store debut a month ago.  Spend an hour with Produce and you’ll hear a peck of Delta blues, a bushel of Western Swing, a barrel of old-time country, and about ten kilos of great music!

The fun begins at 6:30 p.m. and lasts till 9:00 p.m.

The week started out with a cover story in C-Ville Abode, C-Ville Magazine’s publication focusing on all the essentials of homes, gardening and neighborhoods in the Charlottesville/Albemarle County region.  The article entitle “Little Houses in the Big Woods” features some of the houses at Bundoran Farm that exemplify several of the planning, design and environmental principles being applied throughout the property.  It’s always nice to see the efforts of those involved building and living in a sensible (the homeowners, their builders and their architects) recognized.

A complete version of the article can be found at C-Ville Abode.

Later in the week Bundoran Farm on was featured on a segment of PBS’s Charlottesville-Inside Out

The episode, which aired on April 8 2010, includes a tour of the farm and interviews with Bundoran Farm team members Leif Riddervold, David Hamilton and Joe Barnes.

This is segment on Bundoran Farm is part of the third season of WHTJ PBS’s Telly Award winning show “Charlottesville Inside-Out,” hosted by Terri Allard. “Charlottesville Inside-Out” is a fun and unique interview program in which Terri Allard, a local performing artist and native daughter of the region, introduces viewers to the people and places that define the Charlottesville area.

You can air the segment by going to Charlottesville-Inside Out.

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