Spring Reflections
BY john ellis
As we wander around western Loudoun , what is it that we like the most ? This is of course a personal question for which each one of us has different answers . Our farmers , equestrians , fitness nuts , hunters , wine connoisseurs , restaurateurs , artists , and parents of small children , for example , each have their own particular interests and priorities . And the beauty of it is that our rural areas can accommodate all of them — at least for now .
Speaking for myself , three things leap to mind : the connection to our country ’ s history , the natural environment , and okay , I admit it , the beer .
Here in western Loudoun , we can connect with the full sweep of our country ’ s history . My fascination with history in general , and with the experiences of my own ancestors in particular , is one of the interests that drew me to this place .
Just fifteen miles north of where I live today , my immigrant ancestor Matthias Spangler and his family settled on a farm in the 1760s . Every morning , his rooster woke him up to the same beautiful scenery that our rooster insists that I enjoy . Every evening , both Matthias and I have had the pleasure of watching the sun set over the Blue Ridge . As I struggle to dig our gardens in the rocky soil , I can imagine him standing beside me wiping the sweat from his brow .
The destructive tide of the Civil War ebbed and flowed across Loudoun ’ s prosperous farms and villages . At Mount Defiance , near Middleburg , Confederate cavalry fought to screen Robert E . Lee ’ s advance toward Gettysburg . Irregular local militias pillaged and terrorized their neighbors . The only Virginia unit in the Union army was raised in Loudoun , but General
Phillip Sheridan ’ s army still burned barns , mills and crops in an effort to starve the rebellion .
And then there ’ s the beautiful and fascinating natural environment around us . One of the first things my wife Anne and I did here was to take the “ Virginia Master Naturalist ” course . Over the course
4 wander I spring • Summer 2021