How I spent Mother’s Day

On Mother’s Day, it’s lovely that I have the liberty to do anything I please without any guilt or constraints. Household responsibilities are forgotten for a day. Phone calls, cards, gifts from children pour in and it’s fun to just bask in the glory of motherhood.

My first choice of activities was to play in the gardens of this rental house. For half the day, I did what I do best. I weeded, I trimmed, I pruned dead branches, I edged, transplanted and divided and I planted.

For the second half of the day, I spent time improving the bird habitat in the yard. I had seen bluebirds and heard bluebirds for weeks. The 3 bluebird houses that were in this yard were uninhabitable and installed too close together. Squirrels had enlarged the openings in the dilapidated old houses and added more of holes on sides and backs. So for Mother’s Day, Mister gardener bought a pole and new bird box and installed it for me along an old lichen-covered picket fence.

What happened next is surprising. Mister gardener picked up the tools, we headed inside. I proceeded upstairs to clean up after my day in the garden. A quick glance out the upstairs window at the new bird box made me do a double take. Less than 10 minutes had passed since we left the birdhouse and there was an interested male singing loudly. I took a few fuzzy telephoto photos through a window screen.

After seconds had passed, a female and future mother joined her mate to investigate the box inside and out.

She approved and they are actively building a nest today and defending the box against interested sparrows, swallows and other bluebirds. What a lovely gift for Mother’s Day!

Days ago, I added a hummingbird feeder to the garden. Shortly thereafter we saw our first visitor at the feeder, a male ruby-throated hummingbird.

Yesterday, a tiny female arrived at the feeder. I thought it was appropriate that another female bird is joining her mate in this yard on Mother’s Day. I was delighted.

Later that afternoon we ended our Mother’s Day celebration at the home of a daughter and husband who treated us to a spectacular repast under the stars. This was the best Mother’s Day adventure of the day as this daughter is enjoying her first Mother’s Day with their expected little arrival later in the summer. How divine!

Swan Song

I visited an area today along the Oyster River that seems a cross between a park and a nature preserve. A small grassy area borders a busy street and a series of ponds are bordered by the Oyster River on the other side. It’s home to Mr. and Mrs. Swan. We can walk to the edge of the water and Mister Swan seems comfortable to swim and feed close by.

I think the photo above is Mr. Swan and the photo below must be Mrs. Swan, who is taking care of domestic duties on the nest far from shore. I could have their rolls reversed. They looked identical to me.

Both birds looked snug and content in their dwelling. They were totally at home…. which leads me to the next subject.

Home… The search goes on for a permanent domicile for us. In the meantime, I am doing a little gardening, planting perennials, mulching, and pulling weeds but no landscaping at all in a home that is only temporary. Since time is spent searching for something permanent for living, there is less time for other things… like blogging. This really isn’t a swan song but I’ll call it an intermission. I will jump back into the blog when something inspires me… a lovely garden, nature, birds but not so often.

Wish us luck that the house search goes well.

Cherry Blossom Time!

The yellows are slowly fading in this early spring landscape and the pinks are beginning to appear. A specimen tree in the middle of this lawn revealed its identity when its showy pink blossoms emerged last week. Blooming alongside its handsome copper colored leaves, the Kwanzan Cherry (Prunus ‘Kwanzan’) is considered by many the most beautiful flowering cherry. Up close, the double-pink blossoms are delicate and dainty, like the subjects of a fine watercolor painting. From a distance, the 20′ tree, boughs exploding with pink blooms, dances and bends in our powerful New England spring winds. But this Kwanzan Cherry has not surrendered for 20+ years which tells me that this is a tough zone 5 specimen that will continue to add punch to this landscape.

‘Wordy’ Wednesday

Only one common grackle comes to the feeder this spring. Better known as ground feeders, this fella somehow missed that memo. He makes himself light by flapping his wings and dines well at our squirrel-proof feeder every morning. I’ve become rather fond of him and his handsome iridescent feathers.

Hello World…

Happy Day to you, Earth! There will be the annual party for you today on the National Mall where citizens will rally for your protection to the music of numerous bands and the words of many speakers. And worldwide, over a billion people will bond with voices and commitments on this 2012 Earth Day and call upon everyone to do their part for a sustainable future. In this household as in many others, we celebrate Earth Day daily but it is important to come together once a year to recognize your gifts to all who depend on you for life.

In a small way, I’ve celebrated this time of year by giving and planting trees to schools, clubs or communities, first for Arbor Day, then after 1970, for Earth Day. In 2004, those trees were gifted to mark another occasion… Andy’s Earth Day in Williamsburg, Virginia. On Greensprings Trail in 2004, over 100 friends and family members gathered that year to recognize and honor the life of my nephew, an Eagle Scout, Colonial Williamsburg Fife and Drum Corps graduate and Biology major at Christopher Newport University, who tragically lost his life in a canoe accident the previous year. We gathered to clean the trails, rake, pick up debris, and plant native trees and flowers on the trail where Andrew helped make the signage and gave nature tours to youngsters, for he loved nothing better than to pass on knowledge, the appreciation of nature and environmental awareness. At the end of the day, family and a few friends migrated to Geddy Park in Williamsburg, the site of Andrew’s Eagle Scout project, to clean and plant in that park setting.

Since that time, the annual Andy’s Earth Day has continued. A spur trail from the Greensprings Trail now spills into a clearing near Jamestown Settlement onto an archaeological site of the historic Church on the Main, a site excavated by Andrew’s father, archaeologist Alain Outlaw. The site, protected by Williamsburg Land Conservancy, is where the annual Andy’s Earth Day takes place. Boy Scout Troop 103 spends the weekend cleaning and maintaining, adding paths, planting trees, and earning merit badges…. rain or shine! There is no better way to build a deeper awareness and convert ideas into habits than starting with the young.

I’m in New England now but I still feel the energy from Andrew and Andy’s Earth Day as I kneel to plant new life in these New Hampshire gardens. Let’s hope the many who stand together today can channel that energy into action, perhaps joining with a Billion Acts of Green… or in a more personal way… today and the other 364 days of the year.

Strawbery Banke…. forever

Once upon a time, the community of Portsmouth was known by other names. First known as Piscataqua, then Strawbery Banke for the wild strawberries along the riverbanks, and finally Portsmouth in 1653 in honor of the colony founder, John Mason, who was once the captain of Portsmouth, England in the county of Hampshire. Many original buildings survive in Portsmouth and much of the charm of the community is due to the wonderful and quaint New England architecture.

Within walking distance of the town is historic Strawbery Banke Museum, New Hampshire’s oldest settlement with restored Colonial, Georgian and Federal style buildings. On a chilly but sunny morning recently, we took a stroll around the grounds.

We visited before the museum was open for the season. Buildings were closed. But projects were happening. We saw mounds of topsoil being moved into place; we saw excavations and foundation work on the buildings; we watched earthmovers disappearing around corners; we spotted flats of flowers for planting and we even saw a few volunteers among the many workers, kneeling before gardens, digging and planting.This weekend, museum volunteers will arrive in mass to celebrate Earth Day by cleaning, raking, and planting all the gardens.

Most buildings looked completely restored but a few were waiting their turn.

This one had a new roof and foundation work was in progress.

This entire area was slated for demolition in the late 1950′s. It was city librarian Dorothy Vaughn who spurred on the local Rotary Club to save the homes. Local citizens were soon inspired as a community to rescue this historic riverfront area. When museum doors are unlocked on May 1 and the flowers are planted and all the soil is neatly spread where it belongs, we will again visit this 9.5 acre outdoor museum and be transported back almost 400 years through the 1950′s.

Wordless Wednesday

From UNH greenhouse!

Home from California!

A parade of spring yellows greeted me on returning from California… not the Keukenhof river of blooms I had envisioned but lovely daffodils, all varieties in shades of yellow, have burst into bloom in borders and clumps throughout the lawn.

Our yellow forsythia blooms are now just past prime with tiny green leaves unfolding everywhere.

Pots of yellow pansies that I planted earlier have thrived in the sunny days and cool New England evenings.

Throughout the grass, the dainty four-petaled white Bluets (Houstonia caerulea) with their yellow centers, dot the yard. This is one tiny wildflower that I don’t mind seeing in the lawn. If I could find a way to mow around them all, I would. They bloom profusely until July.

The only yellow I was not thrilled to see was the dandelion….. not one but dozens of them spread out like blankets over the lawn. There was not a hint of a weed in this yard a month ago. Now I know this lawn is besieged with hundreds of dandelions. My sleeves are rolled up. My work is cut out. I must eliminate them all before they go to seed.

Balboa Park

Just a stone’s throw from downtown San Diego is Balboa Park, a 1,200-acre public complex of over 15 museums, numerous theaters, performing art groups and the amazing 100-acre San Diego Zoo. Set aside by San Diego founders for development in 1868, “City Park” struggled through early lean years of development. But by 1910, “City Park” was renamed Balboa Park in honor of Spanish-born explorer Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, and it was on a fast track preparing for the Panama-California Exposition of 1915-16. With the ornate buildings, boulevards, sidewalks, and roads, it was reminiscent of an old Hollywood movie set as we passed museum after museum on our way to gardens.

This remarkable urban treasure compares favorably with parks like New York’s Central Park where trees and ponds and lakes dominate the landscape. Locals and tourists flock in great numbers daily to stroll the sidewalks and pathways that curve around and over these gentle California hills. I was a little disappointed not to find labels on the trees in the park as many trees were unfamiliar to me. I suspect there was a plant guide or a self-guided tour that we somehow missed. However, I did enjoy seeing lovely agave, date palms, citrus, pomegranates, and large camphor trees (Cinnamomum camphora). We saw Torrey pines (Pinus torreyana) and interesting cork oaks (Quercus suber), Monterey cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa), the parent of our Tidewater VA hybrid leyland cypress, and I enjoyed seeing the beloved ginkgo and mulberry trees.

One breathtaking tree and the tallest specimen in North America, a Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla), well over a hundred years old dominated an area. Once known to youngsters as “The Climbing Tree,” it is now roped off to protect the soil beneath. Several other specimens of this species are planted in the park, along with 32 other kinds of fig trees.

Moreton Bay Fig, Balboa Park

The Botanical Building, one of the largest lath structures in the world, built for the 1915-16 Exposition along with the beautiful “La Laguna” lily pond, is one of the most photographed scenes in the park. Yes, I did follow suit. Inside, palms, cycads, ferns, orchids and vines cool and moisturize folks against the dry desert air outside.

The Botanical Building, Balboa Park

Laths on the Botanical Building

Angel's Trumpet (brugmansia alba) caught much attention from shutterbugs

Botanical Building

Orchids inside the Botanical Building

With its huge leaves, the Chilean rhubarb (Gunnera tinctoria), both an ornamental and edible plant, is classified as an invasive pest in many parts of the world. It was contained in a pot inside the Botanical Building.

Pots of plants throughout the park reminded us that we were in a desert.

We wouldn’t be in a park if there wasn’t a spot or two for children to play with abandon.

Other gardens we stopped by for a visit was the Parker Memorial Rose Garden and the Japanese Friendship Garden.

The Japanese Friendship Garden

California Farmer’s Market

Easter morning was spent browsing the wide variety and kaleidoscopic colors of fruits and vegetables at a neighborhood Farmer’s Market. Just wandering from booth to booth was a visual circus for the senses. A photo sampling of our adventure is much more desirable than words. We hope to see some of these wonderful vegetables in our own New Hampshire gardens before too long!

San Diego Dreams

Traveling from winter in New Hampshire where daffodils are just beginning to bloom to the city of San Diego, where colorful flowers blanket the community makes me feel like I’m visiting Never Never Land. Six brothers and sisters, husbands, nieces are converging on my one sister, a potter and artist who has the greenest thumb of all of us. Morning coffee is always spent discovering the beauty of her garden combined with her newest artistic creations. This year the bougainvillea was the first plant that caught my eye. Grown like a vine over a fence, the prolific blooms shade a garden bench like a pink umbrella.

On closer inspection in the dense branches, I discovered adorable new whimsical art hidden deep beneath the canopy. These magic wands were all alive with little faces and personalities. Perhaps we were in Never Never Land and these little wands once belonged to Tinkerbell. Siblings were invited to select a wand that spoke to us and take it home. We didn’t waste any time. Maybe they are magic and all our dreams will come true.

Wordless Wednesday

Squirrel Cafe – One squirrel-proof feeder emptied in record time!

A Touch of Eden

Just about a mile from where we live, there are several large greenhouses on the UNH campus that are used in the agriculture, horticulture, and science departments for classrooms, research projects, breeding, Integrated Pest Management, organic gardening, sustainability studies and more. When I read they were opening the greenhouses to the community last week, we jumped at the opportunity to tour them, learn from professors and master gardeners, plus get a little break from the late winter bleakness.

Yes, there were crowds. We wandered and squeezed around people through the several greenhouses that were all connected to one building where educators, students, master gardeners were set up to answer questions or tell a little about the plants, the greenhouses and how they were managed. There were greenhouses devoted to annuals, some perennials, to crops, to herbs, to exotics and some where only students and staff were allowed entrance.

Hallways were arranged with attractive display gardens… pots, wall hangings, vertical gardens, tulip landscapes and horticulture students like Zack (below), tired from a late night getting ready for the open house, but ready to answer questions.

Zach yawned a bit but he was ready to chat...

We realized that some greenhouse had lots of healthy tomato plants and herbs for sale… CHEAP… and folks were buying and buying.

Other greenhouses held succulents, gorgeous exotics, and all those carnivorous pitcher plants, and orchids, some labeled, others not. There were ferns, a small pond, bananas, oranges… Pinch myself.  Is this Eden?

Flamboyant pitcher traps (Sarracenia levocphylla)

Another pitcher plant (Nepenthes x ventrata) from the Philippines

Orchids galore! (Paphiopedilum insigne)

Pitcher Plant with little bugs inside

Flamingo Flower or Boy Flower (Anthurium scherzerian)

Venus Fly Trap (Dionaea muscipula)

The melon greenhouse was filled with a variety of plants, all grown vertically. Fruits were supported in little hammocks. What a great idea!

And yes, like many others, we did succumb to the lure of healthy, large herb plants.  So we left after an hour and a half with a Tiny Tim tomato plant and some dill…. all for a good cause to raise funds for a trip for the students, we were told.

Now to keep them healthy until May 20 when the last frost is over in these parts…..

Forsythia in bloom…

Plenty of people I know look down their noses at forsythia. I admit that I once dug up and discarded a lovely forsythia shrub because I was influenced by negative opinion from a more experienced gardener. But I’m more confident now and I plant what makes me smile and forsythia really makes me smile. It brings back memories of my childhood, the full, naturally arching boughs that invited playtime beneath the branches.  It’s just beginning to bloom in this yard and although someone has pruned it into a sad light bulb shape, those tiny yellow blooms still capture the magic of spring.

Wild about Stonewall Kitchen…

When my daughter led me on a shopping/sightseeing tour of Portsmouth in January, little did she know that one tiny store would have a major gastronomic impact my life. Stonewall Kitchen.  I had never purchased their products but with numerous samples in the store, I couldn’t get enough of everything they provided. Each morsel was an epicurean explosion of taste. And then I couldn’t stop buying….

I have purchased goods for me, for guests, and have had them shipped to friends. The dessert sauces over ice cream are wicked. I’ve bought more than I care to admit and declare the Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Sauce tough to beat. It is bold and sweet with a hint of salt. How many of those jars have we emptied?

Ahhhhh… the jams. I want to eventually sample them all. The sour cherry and the Strawberry Peach are an explosion of flavor on toast (or on ANYTHING, for that matter!)

Since that fateful day, I have discovered the Home Office, Cafe, Cooking School and fabulous Country Store just across the Maine border in York. I’ve visited twice and brought home a trunk full of garden supplies, salad dressings, mustards, a cookbook, candy, more jams and sauces to sample. They have so many I’ll never taste them all. But being the inquisitive person I am, I am most assuredly going to try.

I’ve driven over to the cafe twice for a delicious breakfast cooked from scratch. It’s wonderful to order your meal, then be able to roam and explore every nook and cranny of the well-stocked shop, sampling new tastes and wander until you are called. Best of all, there’s a cooking school to boot. If I can interest mister gardener, we will certainly take advantage of that when the weather warms a bit.

Wordless Wednesday

I was fooled by early mild weather but it was "Hare today, Gone tomorrow"

First daffodil today…

Today our first daffodil bloomed. What a breath of pure springtime it was, but this one won’t last. Tomorrow it will be gone.

New bloom!

Last week we experienced several delightful warm days culminating in a pretty steamy 80°. Everyone I saw was in shorts and tees, driving convertibles, walking dogs, lunching at cafe tables outside of restaurants.

Me? I was having dirty thoughts… that is, thoughts of getting my hands in the dirt. It was impossible to think of anything but planting so I spent the three days scouring the surrounding area for nurseries that had ANY flowers, herbs, shrubs. And I did come home bearing herbs… lots of herbs and some pansies, a hose, more mulch, and compost.

For two days, I designed, then raked, dug, composted, edged and mulched a precious new kitchen garden. I planted succulent little herbs around a small birdbath. I whistled while I worked. Neighbors who strolled by commented how nice things looked, but I noticed no one else was gardening. Everyone seemed to be outside but not one person was raking, edging, dragging mulch or hose here or there like I was.

Now I know why. I know why the sales lady told me not to plant the herbs. I know why the nurseries were bare. I know why the neighbors walked instead of gardened. Tonight we are having a hard freeze. Already the water in the birdbath has turned to solid ice. I wonder what my neighbors were really thinking when they saw me toiling in the soil. I wonder what they thought today as they saw me dragging out towels to cover the plants. “Silly girl… Doesn’t she know this is Zone 5?”

 

 

Wordless (almost) Wednesday

Hey! A new bird species? What’s going on here?

The American Goldfinch may look a little patchy at the feeder this spring, but this male is only going through his spring molt. He’ll lose all feathers but those on the wing and tail. When he’s finished, he’ll be the familiar breeding lemon yellow and black. Read more about these finches and their unique twice-a-year molt HERE.

A Monocromatic World

I’m hearing from friends in Virginia who are waxing poetic about the glories of springtime in the Commonwealth. I don’t blame them. It’s easy to gush over Virginia’s blooming bulbs, flowers, flowering trees, and woody shrubs that come alive with color, but hearing about all this makes me a little homesick. Having a lifetime of Virginia springtime memories, I believe there’s no lovelier place for the season of rebirth. This weekend in Gloucester, citizens will celebrate the daffodil at The 26th Annual Daffodil Festival and visit with Brent and Becky Heath of Brent and Becky’s Bulbs, and discover why Gloucester is thought of as the daffodil hub in America.

Brent and Becky's Bulbs

Alas, while they are basking in color, I’m still living in a monochromatic world in New England. The grass is shades of brown, the trees are bare, the horizon often blends with the overcast sky. For a quick color fix, my daughter and I visited a well-known local nursery to see what we could see and see what there was to buy.

Ahhhh…. yellow! Plenty of yellow and green.

There were plenty of yellow daffodils, some tulips, a bit of crocus, some dahlia and pansies, and indoor plants, but the greenhouse was totally empty and the outdoor shrubs area was vacant. “It’s too early for planting,” they told us. Shoppers were moseying about, buying seeds, pansies, compost so clearly gardeners are gearing up for the season.

Our little outing was the perfect remedy for me, a color starved gardener just waiting for spring. It was just the ticket for this other gardener I met.  She was enthralled with the potted Iron Cross Shamrock (Oxalis deppei) and she bought it and thought maybe I should have a shamrock, too. Looking closer at her bonnet, I spied a few more shamrocks as adornment. Definitely Irish…. and still celebrating a bit of St. Paddy’s. How fabulous!

I Don’t Miss the WEEDS!

Today feels like summer outside. It’s 62° and the sun is shinning. It’s time to venture outside to survey gardens and start the spring cleanup.

Two daughters, one in Kentucky, one in New Hampshire, have sent emails that they’re working in their yards today. The New Hampshire daughter has a huge job of raking and bagging leaves in her fenced-in backyard in Portsmouth. They do keep enough leaves for their compost but we’re talking about tons of leaves, folks. She has shrubs but no ornamental gardens… yet. Give her time. She’s only been living there 8 months.

Alas, the Kentucky daughter has a different garden mess to contend with in USDA Hardiness Zone 6b. An avid gardener, she has ornamental, vegetable and water gardens. Warming trends have brought her many more weed varieties that she did not have in her gardens 5 years ago. The problem is literally taking her to her knees… to pull weeds.

She asked me to identify some of her worst offenders. Her emails pictured the same weeds that were the bane of my existence in Virginia. She has henbit and purple dead nettle with their deceivingly lovely purple flowers, covered with bees in early spring.

purple dead nettle

Henbit

I warned her about getting too close to the dangerous hairy bittercress that she described with its spring-loaded seeds that can almost blind a gardener. Hope she eradicates this because a large one can spew up to a thousand seeds. Since she’s organic, she must dig and pull, bag and discard, mulch and mulch and mulch.

Bittercress

As for me, I’m walking around this New Hampshire yard (knock on wood) and I see no weeds… not a one…yet. It may be too early for weeds to show themselves around here, but I am hopeful and optimistic that the weeds of my wonderful Virginia in zone 7b will not find me in zone 5b.

This just in….

The party’s over for my fine feathered friends. I didn’t expect news like this in our new habitat. I’m not taking any chances. Sorry fellas….

News from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department

EXPECT BEARS TO EMERGE FROM DENS EARLIER THIS SPRING
RECOMMENDATION: TAKE BIRD FEEDERS DOWN BY MARCH 15
Mother Nature has not fooled the bears either, and they are ready to emerge from dens in search of spring foods.This knowledge should be a call to action for homeowners, who need to be proactive and take action now to reduce the chance of attracting a bear to their home. We generally use April 1 as the recommended time when bird feeders should be removed, says New Hampshire Fish and Game Bear Project Leader Andrew Timmins, however, this year we are suggesting that feeders be pulled by March 15. Homeowners should take action to reduce the chances of a bear visiting their home.
Avoid encounters with bears by taking a few simple precautions:

* Because of the mild winter, stop all bird feeding by March 15 or put away feeders as soon as you can.
* Clean up any spilled birdseed and dispose of it in the trash.
* Secure all garbage in airtight containers inside a garage or adequate storage area, and put garbage out on the morning of pickup, not the night before.
* Avoid putting meat or other food scraps in your compost pile.
* Don’t leave pet food dishes outside overnight.
* Clean and store outdoor grills after each use.
* Finally, never intentionally feed bears!need to be proactive and take action now to reduce the chance of attracting a bear to their home. We generally use April 1 as the recommended time when bird feeders should be removed, says New Hampshire Fish and Game Bear Project Leader Andrew Timmins, however, this year we are suggesting that feeders be pulled by March 15.

Wordless Wednesday

Nothing like a fire to warm your toes on a cold New England eve...

Spring has Sprung…

..and so it begins for gardeners in the north.

Mother Nature fooled me!

Holy Cow! Yesterday, I posted that winter was finally behind us. This is the scene that greeted me off the deck this morning… 4″ of fresh snow.  Apparently Mother Nature is not quite done with winter.

Spring Tease

Temperatures hit 70° yesterday. Like magic, gone was the heavy snow that blanketed the ground just 4 days ago. Folks shed down jackets and scarves in favor of t-shirts and shorts. Tennis shoes replaced boots. There was a fever in the air…. a spring fever.  And I caught it, too.

I took a walk to look for evidence of spring in nature. I spotted the first eagle, the first flock of robins, red-winged blackbirds, two song sparrows, and two bluebirds fluttering around a fencepost. I stopped to examine a tight tangle of shrubs that, like most deciduous plants, did not have leaves yet. It had both male and female catkins and buds that were plumping along the stems.

Although there were no leaves, the pollen-bearing drooping male catkins and the cone-like female catkins revealed clues to the identity. I’m going to guess that this dense thicket is alder shrubs. They were about 6′ tall,  growing along a low, marshy area next to the road. The bark of the shrubs was dark with white spots and covered with lichen.

Although these shrubs are undesirable for the home landscape, they are beneficial for wildlife. The seeds are a favorite of the common redpoll, a bird I’m patiently waiting to spot up here in New Hampshire, as well as dozens of other birds.

On the walk back home I spotted a genuine harbinger of spring…. the pussy willow, with its fuzzy catkins! Yes, I took a branch home for the windowsill. Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah… I think spring is here.

Eat Local and Eat Well…

Folks around here take eating local sustainably produced food seriously and we’re learning more about this daily. Last weekend we took part in a Seafood Dinner hosted by three groups that joined forces to benefit Granite State Fish and Seacoast Local.

Together, the University of New Hampshire Hospitality Management School, Granite State Fish, and Seacoast Local produced a gourmet dinner with a menu straight from the sea. Proceeds benefited Granite State Fish, a group that seeks to bring fishermen, the community, and consumers of seafood together, while encouraging sustainability and ecological responsibility. Proceeds also benefited Seacoast Local, an organization that educates local residents about the benefits of buying local and increasing community involvement in our area. The university’s Hospitality Management students organized the dinner, traveled to the docks to select fresh shrimp, oysters and fish, and helped cook and serve the dinner.

From oysters on the half, to vodka cured cod, winter squash soup with poached lobster, and the creative centerpiece on each table filled with edible pickled vegetables, we enjoyed every course down to the rich French press coffee that followed the gourmet meal. How divine.

Sprinkled throughout the room were invited area celebrity chefs, local fishermen, and UNH fishery researchers. At our table was Erik Chapman, Fisheries Program Coordinator at the University of New Hampshire. Erik engaged us by explaining the problems the local fishermen face, challenges in protecting the marine ecosystem, and hopes for developing local markets for local seafood harvest. We felt a bit of a kinship with Erik as he earned his Ph.D. in oceanography from Old Dominion University, almost in our Virginia backyard. (He said one indelible memory of Virginia is the glorious crape myrtle tree that blooms for over 3 months!)

Area restaurants take seriously Seacoast Local‘s urging to buy local. Signs like this are commonly seen on tables, menus, easels, or windows, listing the area farms where their sustainably produced foods are purchased. Organizations like Seacoast Local, Granite State Fish, Seacoast Eat Local, and others have done a good job in getting the message out there.

I’m getting used to seeing signs showing the area farms where restaurants purchase their foods, but occasionally we see window signs that make us do a double take.  I don’t think you’d never see something like this in Virginia restaurant window but this one made me smile, then go in for a meal of pancakes with Maine blueberries and local maple syrup!

Wordless Wednesday

Squirrel-proof birdfeeder is no match for this quick learner

The Challenge

This post challenge comes from Les at A Tidewater Garden.  “Winter Walk-Off: On your own two feet, leave the house and share what can be seen within walking (or biking) distance of your home.  Your post does not have to be about gardening or a travelogue, unless you want it to be.  Maybe instead you will find some unusual patterns, interesting shadows, signs of spring, a favorite restaurant or shop, questionable landscaping or local eyesores.  Whatever, just keep your eyes and mind open, be creative and have fun, but don’t show anything from your own garden.“

It sounds simple. Les can find beauty and interest in shadows and shapes, textures and tales, as well as in his garden. But his challenge is a tricky one for me. Last year I passed up this assignment because all I saw on my walks was a mile and a half of sand and loblollies. Ho-hum. This year I live in the burbs, too far from anything of great photographic interest. But, I tried. Two days ago, I walked around the neighborhood, armed with camera, shooting photographs of boulders, Christmas wreaths that still hang on doors and mailboxes, trees, road signs…. Yawn, Ho-hum.

After our big snow yesterday, I saw a another opportunity to give the assignment a go. I was drawn to the large fields and tidal salt marsh covered in deep snow. With help from my daughter, I strapped on gaiters and snowshoes for the very first time and stepped out into the ‘Wilds’ behind the house… accompanied by my daughter, her Rhodesian ridgeback and our old gal, Mattie.

After only one face-plant, I got the hang of snowshoeing and I was on my journey through the fields, past trees with branches that were beautifully adored with glistening snow, the air shrouded in a winter-blue mist. I felt as if I had stepped through a wardrobe into a mystical land called Narnia.

Although we didn’t encounter Peter, Susan, Edmund or Lucy, we saw signs of creatures that make this land their home. Deer tracks, squirrel tracks, birds calling beyond the treeline, a red-tailed hawk circling, seagulls, a turkey vulture, and the noisy Canada geese overhead.

Together the 4 of us made our way down to the river breaking a trail in the fresh snow, then we turned and followed our trail back across the fields and marsh.

My one amazing but true story to tell about this stretch of land involves the late Aristotle Onassis.

In 1973, shipping and oil magnate Aristotle Onassis had an option to purchase thousands of acres of land and planned to build the world’s largest oil refinery just a stone’s throw from this very spot. Stretching all the way from Lake Winnipesaukee for needed fresh water supply, the pipeline would snake through several towns, ending at an oil dock for super tankers 10 miles offshore on the Isles of Shoals. Outraged local residents were organized under the leadership of 3 strong women and exercised “home rule” where local citizens have the right to determine what happens in their community. They were able to thwart this dastardly plan by legislative vote in 1974 and, thankfully, the land and waterways remain pristine to this day.

Sorry Aristotle. This land is Our Land.

Click on any photo for a more detailed look at a little slice of Durham NH

You’ve Got Snow!

We awoke early to sounds of trucks plowing driveways… forward, reverse, forward reverse… piling mountains of snow in ditches and yards.

The weather forecast seemed to change hourly yesterday. First we heard “All Snow with totals of 3 – 5″,” then “Snow/Rain Mix,” then “Snow turning to Rain,” then it was “Brace yourself. Snow and lots of it.”  And the last forecast was dead right. When it was all said and done tonight, we measured 12″ of snow at this home.

We ventured out for a walk after lunch to see what havoc the heavy snow was causing. It was heartbreaking to see several major limbs torn from the midsection of a number of large white pines. Small birch trees were bent dangerously low in the swirling snowstorm. mister gardener shook the snow from the boughs of the right birch but it seemed frozen in position.

We cleared off a bit of the snow from the feeder for our fine feathered friends.

We lost power for part of the day. Then it was restored. We then lost our cable internet connection. After darkness fell and snow was lighter, a truck found its way to our driveway. Forward, reverse, forward, reverse.  Lickety-split, we had a snow-free driveway.

Tomorrow, with temperatures reaching 40°, the slow melt will begin.

Wordless Wednesday