The Good
Glen Burnie is part of 16,000 acres of protected land in the Green Springs National Landmark Historic District. The property is stunning – pastoral views give way to vistas of the Southwest Mountains with magnificent sunsets. The pond is beautifully serene and we have some amazing trees, some of which are over 150 yrs old. The cows add a surprisingly homey touch to the pastures. The house has history, presence and potential.
We count ourselves fortunate to be caretakers of this wonderful place, although frequently a little out of our element. We are rapidly becoming familiar with farming courtesy of Google. The first calf prompted a rapid search to determine which part of the calf comes out first 😂. Turns out legs are okay. Bushhogging, haying, raking all have become part of our vocabulary. Turns out learning new things and acquiring new skills keeps you young and occasionally panic stricken.
The Bad
The process of restoring a 200 yr old house is like peeling layers off an onion – slow, painstaking and likely to produce tears. Glen Burnie has yielded its share of surprises but nothing so horrific that we regretted our decision to bring her back. The hvac, plumbing and electrical have for the most part been completely replaced. We have a sneaking suspicion that when something went awry with the plumbing in one bathroom the previous owners just moved on to the next one. One pretty horrific discovery was that the main sewage line leaving the house had been repaired using duct tape and corrugated garden drainage pipe 🤢. Our first experience with the absolutely hideous kitchen was that there was so much grease in vent hood filters that it dripped constantly onto the cooktop. I have not cooked or showered at the house since we bought it. Thank goodness that our lake house is only 15 miles away.
The Ugly
There are several inexplicable design choices which previous owners made at Glen Burnie. The master bathroom is missing a bathtub or shower effectively reducing it to a half bath. We met our bathtub at the neighbor’s house around the corner. It is a lovely antique cast iron claw foot tub. In its place the last owners built a bench . While the view from the bathroom window is lovely, I cannot fathom having the desire to spend a great deal of time hanging out in the bathroom looking out the window UNLESS you have a bad case of stomach flu and are just too damn tired to crawl back to bed. Last but not least are the alligators residing in tacky splendor atop the brick pillars at the entrance to the farm. Someone even took the time to paint their teeth white! I asked the president of the local preservation group if she knew the story behind them and she confessed ignorance. I have taken to dressing them up for holidays – santa hats at Christmas which prompted my husband to contribute elves for their mouths. Easter brought bunny ears and bows for their necks. The 4th of July is patriotic ribbon and flags. I shudder to think how I am going to make them into carnivorous Pilgrims for Thanksgiving.
Stay tuned for a look at the original builder and the families who have been privileged to call Glen Burnie home.
The Persnickety Pilgrim 