Montpelier - Over the Shoulder

Our latest trip to Montpelier - the third in twelve months - the place seemed familiar but still new. With each visit, the progress with restoration of the mansion's interiors is noticeable - the wall

Map of grounds at Montpelier

coverings are almost complete, more and more original pieces of Madison furniture have been acquired, so the historic narrative continues to expand. I didn't see it, but there is also the Grills Gallery that contains various artifacts of the Madison era on the estate. Jan and her sister Nancy came across it while Jim and I were wandering the grounds after the tour of the mansion. I guess this means there will have to be a fourth trip soon so I can see the displays. Also, with having a little familiarity with the layout of the estate, I have begun to know what I want to visit again, and am beginning to look for specific scenes and settings - both looking ahead, and over my shoulder.

Madison Temple view

The Temple is tucked away behind trees to the northwest of the Mansion. The Temple has lofty history as a place for meditation about the way to structure our government, but beneath it was the utilitarian purpose as an ice house beneath.
 

The library windown

Once having walked out across the lawn towards the Temple, looking back framed by the trees is a view of the house - the lighted northwest corner window being the library where Madison drafted our constitution: the Constitution of the United States.

Reminder of our relative smallness

Walking out the back of the house before passing through the garden gate, a quick look back at the mansion that is not as cleanly presented as the from the front. The life-size statue (1) of the Madison's is dwarfed by the house and landscape.

Lazy lion guard

One of a pair of lions that guard the steps leading from the upper garden near the entrance along the formal brick path lined by boxwood hedges down into the heart of the grounds that are encircled by a large brick wall and the surrounding woods. Northern Mockingbirds fly their swooping flight paths with the white patches on the tops of their wings displayed like the insignias on Spitfire fighter planes. Various hardscape are placed throughout, with many beds that are maintained and which catch your eyes' attention.

A look back at the garden exit

What seem like great walls from inside the garden - on the outside are dwarfed by the woods that are grounded in the hills founded on the earth. Two worlds: one formal, the other natural. The path leading away becomes less consequential the further we walk.

Woods on the hill

As we walked further from the garden on the path, the surrounding grounds seemed even more tranquil late in the day - we hadn't arrive until after 3:00 PM Sunday afternoon, but that added to the scale of the place in the Virginia countryside.

Timeless landscape

Montpelier is a wonderful place to visit, more than once - the setting untouched by time. Maybe that is what those who chose this site meant to do when they looked at the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west - without looking back over their shoulders.

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James and Dolley Madison

(1)  The statue of the Madison's behind their mansion. Regardless of their size in perspective to the Virginia landscape around them, both were giants as Statesman/President and First Lady of our country. I was struck by their great contribution during the first visit to Montpelier last year. The tree beside them, the garden gate in the distance behind - this photograph was taken last spring, the second trip to Montpelier in the last twelve months.