OVPR Rendezvous is 25 Years Old !

One October 25 years ago a group of muzzleloading shooters decided to make a 1 day shoot into a longer affair with period overnight camping. Thus began the Olde Virginia Primitive Riflemen Rendezvous. Somewhere along the line they decided a spring 'Vous would be a nice compliment to their fall 'Vous. On a warm March evening around 11 years ago I finally found the OVPR encampment (not as easy to spot as a CW reenactment) & I've been going ever since. Made 15 of the 'Vous since then, which isn't bad at all given uncooperative employers & having the Urchin away at school for 6 of those years. Its my favorite time travel event. So here's some pictures of just whats what in a rendezvous camp.

This is Lew, one of the founders of The Olde Virginia Primitive Riflemen
He is also the inventor of the Lew Light, a folding candle lantern for those oh so necessary trips to the necessary at oh so very dark night hours.

A very nicely turned out British midshipman (younger son of a gentleman of some standing but without the purse to buy a better posting) with his back country lady from the Carolinas.

Mistress McGill, wife of the local Squire, enjoys the latest novel brought over from England.

No rendezvous would be truly complete without an roguish musician or two.

Of course back country folks set up their lodges to trade various goods. Their table and tentege seem rather grand for hard scrabble farmers, waterman and longhunters. Some say these folks are smugglers, so perhaps the constable should keep a weather eye on them Assuming of course that the constable himself is not party to their trade.

Of course not everyone at the "Vous has been coming for 25 years. I tried to buy the Letters of Indenture on these fine fellows but did not have an adequate letter of credit to do so.

Blanket trading is an important activity at 'Vous. Folks sell gear they have made, used period things they no longer need and the craft materials needed to make our apparel and accouterments.

Now rendezvous lodges come in many sizes and types. These fur trappers are displaying their skins for sale in front of a miners tent, otherwise known as a range teepee in modern western cattle country. They have a western fur trade era encampment.

These frontier women prefer a wedge tent, also known as an A tent, with a dining fly in front to provide shade and some protection from any rain.

This is a military wedge tent, the painted stripes are in the uniform facing color of the regimental uniform coat. The painting was done alone the seam lines and improved the weather proofness of the tent. The tent poles are also painted the same color. The European armies of the 18th century housed those civilians who were "belonging to the army" in the same tents as the regiment itself used. Teamsters, artificers, soldiers wives to cook and tend the sick - all these "belonged to the army" but were not soldiers in the army.

When next I visit D&D, I'll see about Don taking some photos of me in my "Vous attire.

September Surprize

One of the joys of living in Mr.Jefferson's Country is that Moments in History tend to come & visit from time to time. In mid-September the Active As held a rally over at Mr. Monroe's place in Orange county. (Mr. Jefferson had such nice gentleman friends.) So for about 4 days there were Ford Model A cars from all over the eastern US all over Greene, Albemarle & Orange counties. Of course there were sensible family sedans.

And racier 2 seat coupes. Both could be has it hard or soft top varieties.

I even saw a Model A truck, unfortunately I wasn't able to get a picture of the classic moonshine delivery vehicle.

The dash was the same no matter what type of Model A you owned. No iPod connector or cell phone brackets in sight. (I did see several clever ways of mounting both.)

And of course some owners came prepared for boon docking it.

Quite a few of these folks were campers & about 2 dozen or so stayed at Pleasant Hills here in Greene County. Unfortunately I had the work the day they were all on display at Montpelier, but I got to see about 40 Model As while I was at my local music store. The weather was excellent while they were here, which is a good thing because these aren't all that rain proof.

Its Cold - Its Raining - I Want a Fireplace !

Its been ugly damp & cold here. After getting all sorts of Mighty Mouse work done at the house in the last 6 weeks I just sorta ran out of Ufda. So I washed & sorted my blouses, setting about half of them aside for the Thrift Shop. If it didn't fit well, it got culled. I sewed the side seams & hem on a red & white stripe heavy cotton 1750's petticoat for rendezvous (that's a skirt in the 21st century) plus did general cleaning at the house. Nick & Katherine gave me 2 solar lights for the driveway, I charged both batteries in the in-house charger to get them going & they're back in the lights outside working just fine. The old dead fridge has gone to the metal salvage yard in C'ville. Got my teeth cleaned at the dentist, which was nice, & found out I'll need 2 more crowns, which was most definitely not nice. I seem to have left my polarfleece jacket at church which is annoying but I've no one to blame but myself. Life proceeds as it proceeds. Oh well, next weekend is the OVPR Rendezvous - the light at the end of the tunnel isn't always an oncoming train.

Da New-to-Me Fridge

OK, two and a half years ago my fridge died. Smoke, sparks, it was quite exciting. Since then I have been using a dorm fridge. A big-ish dorm fridge with a separate freezer compartment but a dorm fridge. Recently my parish decided to upgrade the fridge in the parish hall kitchen. So I asked about the old fridge and it was given to me. So Sunday after liturgy two of the fellows in the parish loaded the fridge into my pickup and Monday morning Kat and I unloaded the fridge into my kitchen. Then we moved the old dead fridge onto my front porch so I can haul it to salvage after I remove the compressor. Kat and I also just had a great time hanging out, watching some The Avengers episodes, eating at the local Chinese buffet and playing with the pets here.


Fall has arrived in Ruckersville, kinda just moved in quiet like. The trees are turning and loosing their leaves, the woods behind the house are beginning to open up. Mushrooms are everywhere, at last count I had 8 kinds in my yard. There hasn't been a frost yet so the trees haven't turned en masse as yet. I've mowed the yard for the last time this year and need to trim the forsythia back for the winter. The OVPR rendezvous is coming up this month. That's my last real activity of the season. Then it'll be time to do the quiet at home projects of winter. Maybe that's part of why fall is my favorite season - it leads into the quietness of winter.

It has come to my attention that I have lived here, in this house in Ruckersville, for 17 years. That's 6 years longer than I lived in my childhood home and 3 times as long as I lived in my teenage home. Its the only place I've lived as an adult for more than 3 years. It's also the place my daughter has lived in the longest. It has been a good home for us both. Deo Gratias.

Farewell to Another Old Friend

Kat & my dog Bridget, our tried and true beagle-walker has died. She was her usual self when I fed her Monday evening. Tuesday morning she was laying right where she usually sleeps in the morning sun but she was dead. No illness, no suffering - she just seems to have gone to sleep and not awoken up. She was 12 years and 7 months old, she had lived with Kat & I since she was 5 months old. Mostly I remember our walks in the woods, still see her in my minds eye playing with Sophia. My friend Jane was here and helped me bury Bridget under the trees near the woods line in the back of my yard. She was a most excellent dog.

OK, since the 7th of September I've been working on house projects. I've gotten the driveway area cleaned up, 2 small retaining walls built & stone placed behind one of the walls. I've cleaned the bathroom, washed the walls and door frames in the hall, cleaned the kitchen and put all kinds of flatsom away. The front yard is mowed, the front gutters cleaned out & the front garden areas as neat as the yellow jacket nest near my front porch will allow. One third of my back bedroom is cleaned up & all my history gear is put away in that room (except for the canvas tent & the dining fly). The gun cabinets & shooting gear is also now all organized & in the back bedroom. The large front bedroom is 3/4 cleaned up with Kat's stuff & some of my books packed into boxes. Routine cleaning of my bedroom has been accomplished. The dishes & kitchen stuff storage area has been sorted out. I even straightened up the laundry area. Please be suitably impressed. The assessor arrived today at 11:05AM and did the assessment thing. I'm exhausted. Anyone who wants to see how nice things are is welcome to come & visit. I would like the company. Sorry, no pictures to post.