february 21, 1811 (thur.)

This business trip to Poplar Forest keeps dragging on. Nothing is resolved. Mr. Jefferson's wheat is still at the mill, still unground. The mill dam has broken a second time, and then, as a result, Mr. Calloway, the miller, went bankrupt. Now someone else owns the mill, but he still has to fix it. Mr. Jefferson, usually a cheerful man, is beginning to feel rather glum. Because of the unexpected nature of the situation, and the fact that it's in the worst time of year for traveling, he's here alone. (Except for the enslaved servants, who are, of course, ever present, but don't provide true companionship.)

He thinks of his grandson, Francis, staying at Monticello, because his papa, a U.S. Representative from Virginia, thinks that the family should wait until after the winter to travel to Washington, D.C. What a shame to be stuck here, wasting precious time he could be with the boy.

He thinks of his granddaughter, Anne. She and her husband are thinking of moving to land they have here in Bedford County. It would be nice to have them nearby. Mr. Jefferson would like to plant some asparagus, gooseberries, and raspberries for her, but with temperatures dipping down below freezing at night, this hasn't been possible. It was below freezing during the day a couple of days ago, too, and even when it's not that cold, it's been hovering at that wet, chilly temperature that gets into the bones and feels miserable. Repeated snows, and melted snow, and half-melted slush have made the roads impassible.

Add to the isolation the fact that the post from Lynchburg to Milton, near Monticello, goes out only once a week. He'll write Martha again when it does, in a few days. No sense in writing any letters now. He shifts in his chair so that the waning firelight falls on the open pages of his book.

february 9, 1811 (sat.)

Mr. Jefferson is back at Poplar Forest. He had to return unexpectedly last week because of some business there. He had left his wheat to be ground at Mr. Calloway's mill, but the mill's dam has broken. It was supposed to have been fixed yesterday, but now it looks like the mill won't be able to start up again until the day after tomorrow. In the meantime, Mr. Jefferson's wheat, and that of several neighbors, languishes in limbo.

december 25, 1810 (tue.)

Mr. Jefferson is spending Christmas this year at Poplar Forest. It's just a short stay. He's been there only about a week and will be back at Monticello before the new year.

march 30, 1810 (fri.)

Mr. Jefferson arrives at Poplar Forest.

The house is red brick with white trim like Monticello, but smaller and shaped like an octagon. Even the necessaries are octagonal.

It's a refuge from the crowds at Monticello, a quiet place to read and study and relax. Well, relatively quiet and relaxing. Even though building began four years ago, it's still under construction, with the sounds of hammering and sawing nonstop in the background. But this is pretty much par for the course with Mr. Jefferson. After all, Monticello took forty-one years to "finish." The walls are still unplastered, there is only the bare minimum of plain furniture, and the roof often leaks, especially around the skylight in the dining room.

Still, the view is gorgeous, and Mr. Jefferson has brought plenty of books. What more could a man want?

march 27, 1810 (tue.)

Mr. Jefferson started off to visit Poplar Forest, his farm in Bedford County, today. On the way, he'll stay at Warren, home of his friend, Wilson Cary Nicholas, then down the road at Flood's (sometimes spelled "Fludd's") Tavern, leaving early and taking his last breakfast on the road at Hunter's Tavern.

The ninety-three-mile trip takes about three days or so. Two hundred years later, it will take about an hour and three-quarters (a bit longer if you get confused in Lynchburg).