coal stove sink | Apothecary Shed

Moon Hooch in da House

December 20, 2014

gem dance, music beer cheese, bright box, coal stove sink, drum, live music, moon hooch, saxophone, solstice fire Leave a comment

Moon Hooch at the Bright Box

Moon Hooch is a supremely talented band built around two saxophones and a drum kit. Phenomenal talent and energy. The band kicked off its new tour with a show in Winchester, Va at the Bright Box. The show was great.

Such tight polyrhythm. Mike Wilbur and Wenzl McGowen both play a mean sax.

Moon Hooch sax overload

The drummer, James Muschler, is incredibly talented and a joy to dance to.

Moon Hooch 12.19.14

James Muschler drummer for Moon Hooch

Encore! We hope to see you again in Virginia.

After the show, it turned out that the band needed a place to crash. So we offered up Coal Stove Sink, some beer cheese, breakfast, some fiddle, and delicious cocktails (not necessarily in that order). The guys were delightful.

Beer cheese is good!

Quiet moment by the bar

Breakfast was peaceful and delicious.

Wenzl McGowen centers by the fire

Hi Y’all! Moon Hooch in the house

Too bad they couldn’t stick around for the solstice fire! Back on the road.

Go see Moon Hooch if you can.

As long as you’ve got a choice, we have a chance: Forrest writes a book

May 29, 2013

gem farm, film, nature, photography bitter liberals, book, coal stove sink, farming, forrest pritchard, gaining ground, organic farming, photography, sustainable agriculture, sustainable farming 3 Comments

We recently hosted a bevy of Clarke County friends and neighbors at Coal Stove Sink for an interview and book signing with local sustainable agriculture farmer and author Forrest Pritchard. Forrest and I spent a few minutes chatting about aspects of the book Gaining Ground, his life farming, and the big picture—making a living while farming in America.

Special thanks to Jack McGraw for filming, editing, and making this piece coherent. And thanks to all of our friends and neighbors who created a warm and welcoming community for Forrest’s debut as an author. Forrest, we’re proud of what you do and what you’re doing.

Forrest Pritchard and Gary McGraw chat about Gaining Ground

Our esteemed cinematographer Jack McGraw.

Friends and neighbors from Clarke County.

Forrest Pritchard answers questions about Gaining Ground in Clarke County.

Thanks to Amy Barley for the photographs. Music Laura Lou by the Bitter Liberals.

Buy Gaining Ground on Amazon today.

Parking at CSS

January 19, 2013

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Here’s how to park behind the house at Coal Stove Sink. When you drive across the bridge over Wheat Spring Branch, go left at the fork in the driveway. Then turn off into the yard as shown. Go right past the baby sycamore tree, up the hill, and follow the gravel to the barn. Park there.

How to park by Coal Stove Sink by the barn.

How to park by the barn at Coal Stove Sink.

—-[canned directions]—-

Our place is on the Shenandoah river at 754 Castleman Road, Berryville, VA 22611 around 60 miles from Washington (NOTE that some GPS systems have the house in the wrong location.)

Directions: From DC, get on the Dulles Toll Road (267 West). Then Take the Dulles Greenway Toll road (267) to Leesburg. Get on Route 7 West bypass and go past Leesburg, past Purcellville, and over the Blue Ridge mountain (20 miles). Just after you cross the Shenandoah river on the big bridge, take the first right on route 603 (castleman road).

Castleman winds down by the river. When the road veers back away from the river to the left, our house is the first on the right.