The Carrot Harvest

Yesterday was carrot harvesting day! Max and I pulled up a wheelbarrow full of them!

I planted Scarlet Nantes (those are the orange ones) and Cosmic Purple (the red-purple ones). Cosmic Purple because Max saw the seeds at the co-op market and insisted that we plant them this year. He loves carrots!

Carrots basking in the late-afternoon sunshine, after their intial washing outdoors.



The curious shape of carrot mutants is always amusing. We had two that looked like identical pairs of legs (and yet a third set that looked like one leg and a peg leg). But my favorite was this one, that I called some sort of frog creature with tail plummage.

We processed the carrots assembly-line style. I was in charge of thorough washing, peeling (of the orange carrots only, as peeling the Cosmic Purple ones peels off all their purple), root and odd appendage removal. Max then cut them into rounds with the crinkle cutter. Colette was in charge of taking all the rounds and cutting them into similarly shaped pieces. Then I was in charge of blanching and freezing. Clearly we needed a fourth person in the process.

Cosmic Purple carrots look like candy corn when cut!



Harbor Tour

For my dad’s birthday this year, I gave him a harbor tour (for two) when he came to visit. So while my parents were with us, Dad got his gift, and Max and I went too. We boarded The Heritage at Portsmouth Harbor.



Behind us we could see the bridge that spans the Piscataqua River. When you cross this bridge, you cross from New Hampshire into Maine (or vice versa, depending on your direction).



The captain piloted the craft and narrated for the hour+ long cruise.



I love this large park that sits on the harbor, and the white steeple towering over the town.

We enjoyed looking at the beautiful homes along the harbor.

Along the northern part of the harbor, there was a massive, abandoned building that looked like a castle. We were quite surprised to learn that it is an abandoned naval prison. Prisoners sent here were serving life sentences, and the prison was notorious for its terrible conditions. The captain said that the cells were 7′ x 10′ and three men lived in a cell. The guards were U.S. Marines, and there was never an escape. The penalty for the guard who let a prisoner escape was that he had to serve the prisoner’s sentence.



To our great delight, a seal, who was eating a fish, swam by our boat. The captain said, “This is like something out of National Geographic! You don’t get to see this very often, folks!”



My dad, enjoying New England clam chowder on a boat in the Atlantic! A true New England experience!



The Wentworth by the Sea, a grand hotel built in 1874 and still open for guests today.

This lighthouse sits in the harbor. The captain said waves have been known to crash to the top of that lighthouse in very fierce nor’easters. He said that the last time that happened was during the storm that the movie “The Perfect Storm” was made about. He said that the lighthouse has stood strong because its walls are constructed from 5-ft. thick dovetailed granite blocks.

I think they were enjoying themselves!



Visit

My parents are here for a visit, so blogging is sporadic right now. The agenda for their visit looks something like this:

-hold new great-grandbaby
-make pilgrimage to L.L. Bean Outlet
-visit the farmers' markets
-spot wildlife
-hold new great-grandbaby
-eat good food
-hold new grandbaby

You get the idea.

The rain finally left today, and we were able to go to the farmers' market.





More sunshine and more days together ahead.

My Magnum Opus

I've been doting over a giant Boston Marrow squash all summer.  I grew it from a seed.  It's a beauty!  What a thrill to watch it grow!

It is 16" long, 39 1/2" around its girth, and weighs in at 18 lbs.!

Dining on the Deck

Max sanded and sanded the old patio table.  Then Technohubby put layer after layer of finish on it.  Now it’s done and it moved from the basement to the deck this week. Last night we had our first dinner on the deck! I’m so grateful for all their hard work, because dining on the deck is really very lovely.



Well-Dressed Ladies at the Reenactment

This is my last posting from the Revolutionary Reenactment at Old Sturbridge Village. The real reason I went was to do research on 18th century costuming. Here are my favorite gowns/ensembles of the day, with a little commentary.

This was the first reenactor I saw that day. I just loved her gown! I loved the classic beauty of the color combination and the print on her dress.

The back of her gown was pulled up on each side with ribbons, in what is called a “polonaise style”.

A very pretty sleeve on a fancy gown.



I like the clothing of the busy goodwife just as much as that of the fine lady. These were my favorites of the day.



This lovely lady was standing beneath an apple tree and watching the goings-on. Such a pretty picture!



The fabric of this gown reminded me of the red transferware I collect.

I loved the complete coordination of this ensemble…even her hair color harmonizes with the print on the fabric.



This lady’s demure beauty seemed so true to the time period.

A group of reenactors met outside the meetinghouse as they prepared to do a demonstration of “clothing of the working class”. (Although some attired here are not dressed in “working” clothes.) I love the look of this group. Just like stepping back in time.



My favorite gown of the day! (And don’t they make such a handsome couple too?) I loved her gown, not so much because of the print or the color, but because of how it moved. I wished I had a video of it to share with you. Her gown billowed in the most captivating manner…like it was being blown here and there by little puffs of wind solely meant for the purpose of making her look so very fetching. A pretty picture indeed!



Music at the Reenactment

Must confess that the sound of fife and drum just thrills me!  It's music to draw one in, following the sound to find its source.  I followed it all around the day of the reenactment at Old Sturbridge Village.  It delighted me at every turn.



Blackberrying

“Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail, who were good little bunnies, went down the lane to gather blackberries.” - The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Yesterday, Max and I went down the lane to gather blackberries. The vines were positively heavy with berries!

Most weren’t ripe yet.



Some were half-way there.

And some were ripe for the picking!

We picked ten pints!

Today, I put my new Sauce Master to work. You feed the blackberries in at the top, turn the crank, and it separates out all the seeds for you.



I got about eight cups of pulpy blackberry goodness, which yielded thirteen jars of jam!  Seedless blackberry jam makes Technohubby very happy!