100-Year-Old Hungarian Farm

From April 25-May 18, 2012, we stayed in this lovely farmhouse just outside of Hegyesd, Hungary, a village area of about 70 homes. The beauty of the setting and the old buildings inspired me, and I thought it might inspire you as well. 

I would love to have an old stone building in my back yard, but that won't happen. But I wonder if there's something of this beauty I can recreate when we return home. Any ideas? Even if I can't recreate it, I was inspired by the beauty and mystery of God's creation and man's history during our month stay.

I won't describe each photo...they are in no special order.

I wonder what tragedies and joys these stone walls have seen. Hungarians have had a hard history: they lost more than half of their land after WWI, were occupied by the Nazis in WWII and were "liberated" by the Russians (read oppressed) for 40 of the last 100 years.

Why were we living at the farmhouse for a month? We were filling in for our missionary friends while they were on furlough in Canada. They minister in Hegyesd and in the nearby city of Tapolca, offering English Clubs, Bible studies and summer camp ministry; and they rent this lovely piece of history for their home.

I love the simple beauty of the twisted branches in this fence that ran the entire circumference of the property like a giant wreath. And I'm thinking I need a grapevine wreath for my home when we return to the States...a reminder of this beautifully weathered fence. Something simple, rugged, with a simple touch of color added like the green grass.

And the weeds were lovely...something I never say about weeds in our yard in the States.

When I saw this old watering can sitting in one of the sheds, I thought it needed to be added to some of the scenery.

And I love the way this old roll press was abandoned against the wall of one of the buildings.

I found this headboard leaning against the wall in one of the buildings and thought the wood and stone made a beautiful contrast of colors and textures.

A door to stop sleep-walking, I would think : )

They were doing repairs and improvements on the farmhouse while we were there, and they had to get rid of the wooden door you see in the photo below (which I took last year when we visited).

I'm always taking pictures of doors, windows and shutters. Not sure why I enjoy them so much. But I enjoyed this photo because of the contrast between the door and the child's ball which just happened to be in the yard that day: old, useful, aged to perfection vs. new, colorful, just for fun.

A shepherd lives directly across the road from the farmhouse. Sheep and shepherds have so many analogies in Scripture...I enjoyed watching them.

This stork was not actually on the farm but in a nearby village on a telephone pole. In the spring, storks in the Hungarian countryside make their large nests on top of chimneys and telephone poles. They are such an unusual site for Americans, so I thought you'd like to see this one...no baby in tow though : )  It's interesting how many baby shower items these stately birds inspire.

There were easily "1000 Gifts" in the scenery we enjoyed on the farm...fresh smells and fresh air, scenes that looked similar to how they looked 100 years ago (minus the telephone poles), wild flowers dancing across the yard, stone buildings that have stood despite the storms of history...showing us we also can stand in our storms with the Stone the Builders Rejected.

Well, it was fun having you visit us on the farm. I hope it inspired you creatively in some way...gave you an idea for your garden or home. I created some give-away images of it and other Hungarian scenes HERE.

While you're here, I invite you to visit my home decor pages as well. And I invite you to visit my home page where I seek to inspire others through one-minute devotions about the Lord--a place where I share my struggles and victories, sorrows and joys. So come on in and sit a spell and leave me a comment if you've something to say. Thanks!