Ryan won the pie eating contest in his age group at Hancock Old Home Day!
We think being a good team player at tug-of-war helped to work up an appetite!
Great news!!
Ed has been offerred the Sous Chef position at New England College in Henniker this fall! He’ll be paid well, have a much shorter commute, and…
He’s also been offered the General Manager position with Sodexo at RDC next summer!
YAAAAAYY!!!
Ryan got to take a ride in Mamie and Pappy’s convertible a few weekends ago! The next day they went to visit Pappy’s family in Massachusetts, where Ryan got to play with his cousin Charlie.
Upon his return, we met up with a friend of mine from high school - Bruce Dimond, his wife Jamie, and their three adorable children. 
It was amazingly cool. Bruce, I don’t ever want to see that $5 bill, you hear? ;~)
Ryan is at Grapevine summer camp this week. So far they’ve played in their own version of the Olympic games, engineered containers for eggs to survive being thrown, picked blueberries, swam at the beach, and made houses for little people out of recycled containers. I’m jealous!
August is such a funny month. This is always when I look back in panic at how fast the summer has flown by - even though the days are longer - and try desperately to absorb as many of the sounds (crickets, cicadas, peepers, splashing), tastes (blueberries, raspberries, tomatoes, nasturtiums), and feels (grass on feet, sun on face, dirt under fingernails, breezes at night) as I possibly can and store them away in my mind before it all withers in the fall. At the same time, the anticipation of glorious, crisp autumn weather, falling leaves, apple picking, jeans and sweaters makes me sooo nostalgic… and the back-to-school flyers make me absolutely giddy for new notebooks, pencils, calendars, paints…
This photo of the bee and flower was taken at the Tailltean Games last weekend in Canaan. Our wise friend and fairy godmother Lyrion saw in it what I did. Can you see the living pentacle, with a representative of the goddess smack dab in the middle?
The Tailltean Games, for those of you still wondering, are a revival of the ancient Celtic tradition held every year. There’s fire, feasting, workshops, and of course field games - the foot race, stone throw, and caber toss. I’ve put up a Flickr page for events at A Sacred Place here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/9616900@N08/ (You’ll see some nature photos on the main page first; these are the ones I submitted to the Nature Conservancy’s annual photo contest. Look for the three sets of photos on the right.)
You folks must come with us next year. A Sacred Place is a nondenominational, Earth-honoring retreat center, with a labyrinth, gardens, huge fire pit, campsites, and fairy forest. They’re currently looking for volunteers, so get in touch if you’re interested. No, that’s not Santa Claus on the right, that’s Stone Riley, Druid of New England. He’s even more magical, generous, wise… and he’s real! ; )
Last bit for now - again, an invitation:
The Grapevine Presents
Canning & Planning
The First in a New Series of Eating Locally Workshops
Monday, September 8th, 5 to 8 pm
In the kitchen of the First Presbyterian Church, Antrim
- Experienced canners will guide participants in the art of canning tomatoes
- The group will plan workshops for October and November
- Ideas include learning to bake bread, making and canning apple sauce, eating locally on a budget
Bring what you can… tomatoes, jars/lids, pressure cooker Got expertise, a family recipe… Bring those too. Expecting a surplus of tomatoes? Donate them to the workshop.Please call The Grapevine to sign up
588-2620
Take the NH Farmers’ Market Survey.
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Farmers’ Summer Feast |
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Our Menu Features, From Local Farms and Gardens: Fresh Bread, Churro Sheep Sausage, with Peppers & Onions, Freshly Picked Squash, Corn on the Cob, Heirloom Tomatoes, Salads of Tantalizing Varieties, Handpicked-for-You Blueberry Delicacies, Fresh Baked Cookies, Fresh Whipped Cream, Refreshing Iced Tea - All ingredients from local sources!Limited Seating, Reserve NOW! $12 per person; Children under 6 Free; BYOB. Call Aasta at 603-547-2301 and send checks to: Slow Food Monadnock, 121 East Road, Greenfield, NH 03047.All proceeds will be used to sponsor our Terra Madre Delegate, Lisa Beaudoin of Herban Living. All remaining proceeds will be donated to our local food pantries. Location: Herban Living Farm , 242 General Miller Highway, Temple, NH; www.herbanlivingbandb.com
Slow Food Raffle: Tickets on sale now - 1 for $5 & 5 for $20
Grand Prize: 2009 Herban Living CSA Share a $500 value Grand Prize will be drawn August 17th All other prizes will be drawn Sunday September 14th * Garden Tour with Roger Swain *Dinner for 8 by Aasta & Nell *Slow Food Membership for 1 year *Ben Watson’s Guide to Cider *Slow Food Cookbooks *Gift Certificates to local Establishments and much, much more… |
Friday, August 8
6:00 to 8:00
Gregg Lake
Antrim
Please feel free to pass this invitation along!
There’s more about NH “Eat Local Week” at www.NHEatLocalWeek.org. Bring something from your own garden, or picked up from a farmers’ market, farm stand, pick-your-own farm, etc. If your neighbor has more zucchini than she knows what to do with, maybe you could barter for something! So far we’ve got Diane bringing a dish of squash and/or greens, Joy bringing something with blueberries, and the Baribault family doing an egg, tomato and basil fritatta…
Last thing… It would be really great if everyone could bring their own plates, bowls, and silverware!!!
Pray for good weather… and see you there! : )
P.S. Here are a some places for local food:
Chauncey Farm - on Route 202, north of the center of Antrim, 588-2857 Tenney Farm - on Route 202, south of the center of Antrim, 588-2020 Daloz Farm and CSA in Hancock http://www.dalozcsa.org NH Farm Stand Directory: http://www.nh.gov/agric/publications/documents/2008FarmStandWeb.pdf NH Organic Producers Directory: http://www.nh.gov/agric/divisions/markets/documents/2008NHCertifiedOrganicWebDirectory.pdf NH Harvest-Your-Own Guide: http://www.nh.gov/agric/publications/documents/2008HarvestYourOwnWeb.pdf NH Virtual Farmers’ Market: http://www.nhfarms.com NH Made Products: http://www.nhmade.comTake a Child Outside Week, September 24-30, 2008
Check out http://www.takeachildoutside.org.
Think about what it means that there actually has to be a week designated for this.
Had a wonderful time at Tuttle Library’s Summer Reading party on Saturday; our friend Ult came with his didgeridoos (didgeridi?) and we even got to play a bit! Thanks so much, Ult!
I found out yesterday that chickens eat toads… Which I suppose I knew, but didn’t really want to admit, being a toad lover… Not that my children are toads… You know what I mean. I respect the chickens’ need for protein, and am even happy to find grubs for them, but I insist they leave the toads alone.
Anyway. Here’s the August leg of our family tour, if you’d care to join us… I’m serious, people, come join us! There are now fewer than 30 evening campfire opportunities left!!
August 2-3: Visit to RDC
August 4, 6, and 7: Ryan’s swimming lessons, 12:30 at Gregg Lake
August 4 and 18: Ryan’s 4H meetings
August 5, 12, 19, and 26: Chess Club, 4:00 at the Grapevine
August 6 and 13: Antrim in the Evening concerts, 6:00 at Memorial Park
August 7: Composting workshop in Westmoreland (yes, with kids!)
August 8: Ryan’s swim test (10:00); Wildlife Encounter, 3:00 at Fuller Library in Hillsborough
August 9-10: Tailltean Games and camping at A Sacred Place in Canaan (ask me for details)
August 11-15: Ryan’s summer camp week at The Grapevine
August 16: Tuttle Library’s 100 Year Celebration, 10:00; library book sales in Hancock and Nelson; Full Moon Women’s Gathering in Wilton, 5:00 (watch the kids, anyone?)
August 17: day visit to Concord, including 10:00 service at the Concord UU Church (the topic is sustainability)
August 23-24: LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO WATCH KIDDOS SO ED AND I CAN CELEBRATE OUR ANNIVERSARY AT RDC…
August 25: Hawk Watch workshop, 6:00 at Sheiling Forest
August 27: FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!
Some of the chickens have figured out they can now fly up to the top rail of the run and over it. A couple have even perched in the maple tree just outside the run, which is way funnier in person than in pictures, so you’ll just have to come see them sometime. On a related note, if anyone out there has a hundred square feet or so of chicken wire (or another suitable material) for a ceiling on the chicken run… we could really use it!
Ginseng is history. The little twerp was biting and abusing the hens, and even took a poke at Maggie, so he had to go. The hens are happier without him, and of course Parsley is quite satisfied to have the harem to himself. There are eggs! We started getting one a day last week, and now we’re up to about four a day. Start expecting a dozen eggs to end up in your hands when you 
visit or on your doorstep from now on. They’re delicious!
The camping trip at Greenfield State Park with our SpiralScouts Circle two weekends ago was fantastic. I put up some pictures at http://silverlingcircle.wordpress.com. We learned how to tie knots, prepare and store food outdoors, camp and hike safely and without harming Nature, and lots of other skills.
We’ve been going on field trips and walks with folks from The Grapevine (Hi, Beth!) and just having a blast. There are blueberries to pick at McCabe Forest, ducks to feed at Memorial Park, and railroad spikes to pluck on the rail trail in Bennington. I’ve been reading Bill McKibben’s Deep Economy and realizing just how lucky we are to live in a place of such natural beauty and strong community ties… and feeling very committed to keeping those things alive. The last book I read, Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, ought to be required reading for all teachers and community leaders. I figured the NH Summer Reading 
Program was a good excuse to cross some books off my list. Ryan’s favorite author this summer has been Leo Lionni (Fish is Fish, Swimmy, etc.) and Willow and Maggie love having him read to them.
Chess club has been a really great thing for Ryan, though we would both love to see more kids coming regularly. This is the last week we will meet on Thursday; after that, meetings will switch to Tuesdays, 4:00 at The Grapevine.
Planning for this year’s Celebrate Samhain is in full swing. I am looking for volunteers, but mostly need help in spreading the word… So pass it on! www.CelebrateSamhain.com
Ed’s birthday is Thursday, everone! He’s 29 again!!
There’s a photo from our hike through Lovern Mill Preserve yesterday, on the Town of Antrim website! It’s a wonderful hike - a 3-mile loop through cedar swamp, along the river, past wetlands, glacial erratics, and through dark forest. The dragonflies and bird calls were spectacular! Here are some more photos:
The plant in the second picture, we learned, is cinnamon fern…
…and yes, that’s moose scat above. The boardwalk through the swamp was really cool.
Have a happy 4th of July, everyone!
A few pictures today, and an invitation…
Summer Family Fun- Roller Skating at Antrim Town Gym.
Join Antrim Recreation Department and the Antrim Friends of Recreation for indoor roller skating at the Town Gym. Summer Dates are Saturday July 19 and Saturday August 16, the rec center will be open from 6 to 9pm. Roller Skating sessions are scheduled for families from 6:30-7:30, and for teens and adults from 7:30-8:30. The Recreation Center is open from 6-9 pm, with crafts, face painting, Dance Dance Revolution, music for dancing and concessions. The cost is $7.00 per person, and this includes skate rentals and a single one hour skate session. Please do not bring skates from home, as the rental skates are approved for indoor only use, and that is a critical component in protecting the gymnasium floor. Children should be accompanied by adults, kids ages 12 and older are permitted for the 2nd skate session. For more information, call Celeste at 588-3121 or email antrimrecreation@tds.net.
