Our mission was to find a piece of property for our dream lavender farm. This mission took us throughout Washington County , where we are from, to every bordering county and beyond. Fairly quickly we decided that Eureka Springs was the place for our dream. After much research and scoping out the real estate in the area , we found a few places to check out. Most of them were not worth the drive because we had specific criteria for the lavender. They were either too rocky, too hilly, had too many trees and not enough sun, or were too far from town.
But,this one particular day three years ago turned out to be promising. It was a January day with the temps in the single digits. As we drove down into the valley that we’d eventually call home, the trees were glistening with a thick layer of frost illuminated by the cool yellow sun. We pulled into the dirt drive and got out of the car. The mounded grass crunched beneath my boots as I ducked through the gate and entered the pasture.
In the clearing of the pasture was an old barn – one that had been used well and recently. As I swung open the barn door, I was surprised. Although it was clearly a dirty old barn with a manger and hay in the lofts and on the floor, it was in good condition. There was a lot going on in that barn! It was apparently storage for junk that had been long forgotten. And later, we were told that there was a squatter who was there for a little while. Not to mention the raccoons or skunks that were most likely residing under the floorboards. Still, there was something about that little barn. Maybe it was the white light that poured in through vertical slats and refused to let the dark overtake its insides despite the weathered wide oak planks. Maybe it was because there was no sound, as there was no wind that day. But we heard it speak to our hearts in those first meeting moments.
As we explored the rest of the property I felt anticipation welling up. With each towering tree I passed , and the charming little pond tucked in the edge of the woods , and following the path that led to a crystal clear creek, I was elated!
After our trek we headed up out of that river valley and to town where we had a hot drink and talked about our adventure. It would be months before we were finally ready to make an offer on that 20 acre plot with the little barn, but when we finally did the name for the farm had already been chosen.
The Barn – quite simply- La Grange in French.