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This old Virginia Farmhouse by young artisan and craftsman Ben Murch is loosely based on an abandoned old house just up the road from Covenant Farm. It is the former home of Charlie Foster, a farmer in his late 80s that still runs his 1200-acre beef farm with his wife, but commutes in from Lynchburg every day, the house having fallen into disrepair, and too expensive to fix.

This style is typical of Southern farmhouses, especially in Virginia in the 1700s and 1800s, although the date of the Foster Farm is unknown. This three-nest birdhouse has all our standard features that we incorporate into each one:

 

  • 3/4" solid pine construction recommended for insulation from both heat and cold.
  • Thick bird openings and no perches outside of bird holes, which protects small songbirds from larger predators.
  • Ventilation along eaves to keep birds from suffocating heat.
  • Removable roof for easy clean-out in between bird families.
The siding, window and door frames are all made of red oak. Ben's younger brother Jesse hand carved the foundation and chimneys from Southern yellow pine, and transformed it to the look of natural stone with intricate hand-painting (it's a family affair). The base dimensions are 20" x 22" and the house is 18" high.

Ben achieved the weathered look with sanding on the house itself, and burning the roof paint with a propane torch with different colors to give the appearance of old paint showing through underneath the top layer of peeling paint. The plants on the porch are in real clay pots and are actually real moss.There is also a miniature birdhouse right outside the picture window of the living room.

This house also features a back screen porch with dirt from the spring rainy season creeping up the foundation, along with a healthy crop of ivy that overtook Charlie Foster's place years ago.

The back of the house shows the typical addition to farmhouses that has been going on since the early days, as families grow and outgrow their home.

In the back you will also notice the maple woodpile. The axe is handmade with a real hickory handle, and oiled.The old-fashioned hand-operated well pump rounds out the 19th century characteristics of this old farmhouse.

Thanks for looking at another piece of folk art from Covenant Farm Woodworks!