Tag Archives: photos

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Let’s go to the fair.. part two.

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When we visit a fair, my husband is always drawn to the museums of old tools. Partly because they’re interesting, but mostly because he’s old enough to remember using some of them.

He loves checking out the antique tractors but this particular brand was new even to him.

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Cockshutt?

A more colorful name than John Deere that’s for sure.

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No matter how many times I tell him or how many warning signs he reads… he’s always touching things when he’s not supposed to. If he did this with women instead of old farm implements.. we’d have a problem.

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I always wonder where they find these fabulous wagons and carriages. Some of them are in amazingly good shape.

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Ouch!

😫

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Clearly this museum has a sense of humor.

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A library and one room schoolhouse from the early 1800’s.

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The rig in the front of this picture is an early snow press. There were no plows to clear the roads back in the day, they just tried to flatten it as best they could.

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My husband’s father used one of these on their farm. Any guesses what it is?

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Let’s go to the fair! Part one…

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Maine has a lot of agricultural fairs every autumn and over the years we’ve visited quite a few. Farmington was one we’d never hit so last week we drove west.

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This county’s fair is relatively small and focuses heavily on community involvement. Prize winning pumpkins and homemade jams were in the forefront.

As were school children’s projects.

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You have to admit this one made a valid point.

There was an entire upper floor devoted to quilt, knitting, photography and art contests. There was also a large sign stating fair volunteers did not judge or pick the winners. I though that was odd until I saw some of the winners…

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I wouldn’t want to be blamed for that either.

As we stepped out of the expo building, food.

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I was disappointed not to order a fresh lemonade from the giant lemon concession stand, but alas it was closed.

I did score my favorite go to the fair treat though.

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Fried dough with cinnamon and powdered sugar. You only eat these things at the fair and you really can’t explain why… but damn. It was good.

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Inexplicably there were multiple fried pickle stands, all boasting to be the biggest and most famous. Bypassing those we wandered around until we found something that wasn’t battered and deep fried and settled on a picnic table with our wraps to enjoy the show.

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Not being twang loving blue grass fans, we ate our lunch and left our seats to those more in tune with the genre.

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😉

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Tumbledown brewery trip.

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We headed west the other day to visit a couple of breweries I’d been wanting to try. On the road, we saw this…

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Crowd sourcing your honeymoon. That’s a new one.

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Western Maine can be lovely.

Mountains, rolling hills and valleys with lots of family farms. And now, numerous solar panels.

Unfortunately the brewery I really wanted to visit was closed due to the unexpected death of their owner… so we headed for my second choice.

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Tumbledown Brewing,… small batch and named for a mountain.

Unfortunately their tasting room was small as well and housed at the end of a strip mall. Not what I was expecting.

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Eight beers were on tap and we tried 4.

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Sitting at one of the two tables which was an upended barrel.

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No.

We did not wear goggles.

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As luck would have it the guy behind the counter was military so you know we (and by we I mean the husband) had to stay and talk.

One flight and a four pack to go lightened our wallet by almost $40 which proves small batch does not equal small pricing.

Review – Beer wasn’t bad. Tasting room was. Not in a hurry to return.

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The where I’m from challenge.

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I read a blog this morning that touched my soul for numerous reasons.

http://agracefull-life.com/2023/09/18/where-im-from/

The author wrote a poem from a template and after reading hers I knew I had to do the same. To honor my parents. To relive my idyllic childhood. To reflect on the varied ancestors who had come before.

It was a bittersweet journey of remembrance and I’d love for you to do the same.

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Where I’m from.

I am from the well worn but oh so comfortable reading chair in the library.

From Stewarts Root Beer floats and Fralingers salt water taffy.

I am from brick walls and polished slate floors. The solid, firm foundation that wrapped me in a warm embrace.

I am from the central rose garden. Fragrantly scenting the air… delicate, yet able to survive the storms.

I’m from magical Christmas Eves in NYC. From never losing your temper and treating everyone with respect.

From Lovey and Lottie Mae.

I’m from a stiff upper lip and a dry sense of humor.

From don’t take any wooden nickels to follow your dreams.

I’m from quiet personal faith, the kind that doesn’t need a church to know right from wrong.

I’m from a serene English garden transplanted to the middle of suburbia, from bangers and mash to boeuf bourguignon.

From painful separation on Ellis Island. From family betrayal and loss of legacy. From the sacrifice required to hold a family together. From the triumph of perseverance, hard work and above all… love.

I’m from the wall of framed pictures that line our hall… and from that beautifully bound and gold monogrammed navy leather photo album, brittle with age but continuing to hold us together.

The faces and places. The history of a lineage whose many parts came together to form…. me.

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Here’s a link to the template if you’d like to try your hand at poetry.

https://www.wsuu.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/I_Am_From_Poem(2).pdf

I found it to be oddly cathartic. Maybe you will as well.

If so… please share yours and add a link in the comments.

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❤️

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The calm before the storm.

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As I sit here typing this post, a hurricane is blowing its way past us outside. Thankfully the worst of it will be felt to our north… and though we already have tree branches down and will probably lose power later this afternoon, I’m not too worried. Maine rarely sees hurricanes so people were panicking and buying every battery and bottle of water they could find, but we lived in coastal North Carolina for 17 years. That was the time to worry.

Last evening after putting away the porch and deck furniture, bringing bird feeders and hanging flower baskets inside and tying down the grill cover … we did what one does on the eve of a hurricane.

We went for ice cream.

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Cones in hand, we enjoyed the glorious show Mother Nature was putting on in the sky.

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These are untouched photos from my phone. It really was that fabulous.

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It was one of those sunsets you hate to see end.

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His Lordship is not pleased.

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Cats are creatures of habit and do not like change.

They pick their sleeping spots in our houses and expect they will always be there when needed.

So if a section of the living room is cleared to make room for a contractor to work and a couch that used to be in front of a prime bird watching window is moved…

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Lord Dudley Mountcatten makes his displeasure known.

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Whining, crying, mewling.

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This includes the what the hell is going on here? look. We’re getting it 24/7.

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On a side note, there’s nothing like moving furniture and a rug that have been in the same spot for 20 years to make you realize new flooring is the next project on the list.

🥴

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Tails down please.

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We have stinky visitors every night.

(Pardon the picture quality, I was shooting through a window in the dark)

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Thankfully they rarely spray each other and reserve their perfume for the raccoons or fox who get too close.

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But when I flip the deck light on and see four of the little striped darlings jostling each other for access to food?

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I want to holler tails down please!

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And enjoy a scent free evening.

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Chasing reflections.

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We were driving alongside Cobbosseecontee Lake last night on the way home from dinner.

The sun was setting and casting a fiery reflection on the water …

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But I could never manage to get a decent photo of it from the road.

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And as much as I wanted to pull into someone’s private driveway, get out of the car, climb up on their porch and take pictures… the husband wouldn’t let me.

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Eventually we crossed a little bridge and caught a clear view of the sun…

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But by then it was too far down to be truly magical.

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Oh well, I tried.

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