High atop a grassy knoll in Henrico County, Virginia stands the Meadow Farm living history museum. Here costumed guides tell stories of everyday life during the mid-nineteenth century, when Dr. and Mrs. John Mosby Sheppard raised their nine children at Meadow Farm.

The days follow one another much as they did on any middle-class Virginia farm during the 1800's. You can almost see the Sheppard family caught up in their annual cycle of everyday chores, farm labor and festive celebrations.

Watch the seasons change. Whenever you visit the Sheppards' family home, you'll notice their house looks as it would during that season of the year. In summer, the heavy drapes are removed to let in more light and air. In December, nineteenth-century decorations herald the coming of Christmas.