About Iron Acres

Once upon a time a big city Texas girl moved to the coal country of western PA with her Dear Professor, ALL his books, & their three children (Son 1 The Preacher, Principessa, and Son 2 The Dreamer).

Her romantic delusions about a bucolic life were tested by the harsh realities of strip mining, high acid/iron water, septic tanks & an endless array of critters--honeybees, horses, barn cats, guineas, chickens, ducks, geese, goats, llamas, & the ever faithful freecycle dog Misty.

The children grew & ventured out into the world, leaving the big city Texas girl, her Dear Professor, & ALL his books to ponder life . . . where red water & green grass yielded a life colorful & complex.

iron acres then

And then. . . 20 years later, in the summer of 2011, her Dear Professor retired.  The house in the coal country was put up for sale, ALMOST all of the books were packed (3,000+ volumes were left behind!), and the big city Texas girl and her Dear Professor moved back to their home state of Texas and into a tiny home in the wilds of Washington County.

the bar j now

Although the geography has changed, the experiences remain the same.  Snow has been traded for drought dust, blue Spruce for Live Oak and Cedar, but the "quiet" country life is still a reality. 

Or is it?