Archive for the ‘Photography’ Category
This third installment of Fair day will be my last lame attempt to take you there. I wish I had some sort of smell-a-vision to really help tell the whole story but since I don’t, I’ll do the best I can with pictures.
We’ve visited the animal barns in the last installment but there was so much more to see than just that. I was extremely interested in the foods being offered since I’ve spent the last year on a rather strict eating regime. This was a day for me to misbehave a little and the choices were numerous. Here’s a brief collection of those possibilities.
Here are two of my sins for the day . . . .
“Deep fried veggies.’
‘Funnel Cake’
I was also dragged kicking and screaming by my better-half to an endless number of exhibits of things that held no interest for me. Just being a cooperative partner can be trying at times. There was no end of the shopping possibilities and she wasn’t about to miss any. Thank God we only have one grandson to buy for. If I hear or see anything with Mickey Mouse on it any time soon I may run screaming into the night.
“This was the only place that convinced me to spend my money.’
Now here’s a montage of photo’s of a host of other things that piqued my interest as we roamed around.
This one last photo will further explain just how I felt after ten hours of walking, sweating, and rubbing elbows with those huge crowds of other hot, sweaty and smelly human beings. I was totally exhausted and was just about done with Fair Day for this year.
‘Suicide by hippo.’
But there’s always next year to do it all over again . . . . . .
In this installment we’ll continue our journey through the huge crowds of people and make our way to visit the huge crowds of animals. I couldn’t possibly post all of the animal photos I took. The number and variety was amazing and the better-half made sure we saw each and every one of them. Here’s a montage:
‘Shave and a haircut.’
‘Llamas, I’m not a big fan.’
‘Clean as a whistle.’
‘Huge !!!’
If the Fair were held a little closer to our home I suspect we’d spend multiple days just roaming around the animal barns. Attending the many events where animals are displayed for judging would easily take an entire day. We were a little pickier this year in what we attended but as always because of my better-half’s love of pigs we took these pictures.
‘One happy pig.’
‘Many happy piglets.’
It’s now approaching the noon hour and we made our way to a small grandstand to watch the skillet throwing contest. I’m a big fan because the contest is a tongue-in-cheek throwback to the good old days of farm shows. I’ve captured a number of entrants as they tossed their skillets into the air but the last one was the big winner of the day. She was also the returning champion from last year’s Fair and to be as kind as possible she was more than a little scary.
‘Going . . . .’
‘Going . . . .’
‘ Gone !!!!, The winner and still champion.’
I took a quick picture of this guy who was either bored to death or just plain exhausted. He was sitting on his four wheeler with hundreds of people walking by and was dead asleep.
I knew exactly how he felt because it was the same malady that struck me as I sat listening to this Country and Western group while my better-half wandered around on her own shopping for more Fair junk.
My final installment from the Fair will be posted in two days and will include a variety of random shots taken throughout the day. Lots of food stops shopping kiosks, and hours of people watching. Come back to visit.
My body is talking to me this morning and it isn’t all that happy. Fryeburg Fair Day has come and gone for another year leaving us walking wounded behind. I’m going to post our Fair Day over the next few days because I have a lot of photos I’d like to share which should help give you a real feel for the place. The ride to Fryeburg was uneventful but the closer we got to the fairgrounds the more the traffic increased as you can see.
Being the simple person that I am I thought I’d start our day at the main entrance to the fairgrounds. This is one of the few events where I don’t mind paying a $10.00 entry fee. It’s worth every penny of that $.80 an hour it’s costing me. That’s a good deal anytime.
Yesterday was a day of smells. Twelve hours of smelly crowds, really smelly animals, and the aroma of deep fried everything. If you ever wanted to deep-fry a particular item, you could find a booth selling it here at the Fair. There’s nothing like the smell of old and hot cooking grease at 8:30 in the morning.
‘You don’t see signs like this too much anymore.’
If you like crowds this is the place to be. I’ve been coming to this event for seven years and my better-half for almost fifteen. In our opinion the crowd today is the largest either of us have ever seen. The fact that it’s Woodsmen Day is probably part of the explanation. It’s the day for axe throwing, log rolling, tree climbing, and an assortment of other events for the wannabe lumberjack. If you like beards and flannel shirts this is where you need to be.
I’m not sure exactly sure just how large the fairground is but with all of the campgrounds surrounding the place it must cover at least 100 acres or so. That’s an uneducated guess so those of you from Fryeburg who may be reading this shouldn’t get your panties in a knot if it’s a little inaccurate. To put it simply, the place is huge !!!!!
We normally start our visit with the area set aside for the little kids. Pony rides and small merry-go-rounds right next door to Old McDonald’s petting zoo. The little ones seem to love getting in there for a little "hands on" with the baby animals.
‘They love milking the plastic cow.’
Before doing anything else we stopped for our traditional Fair Day breakfast meal. A large order of greasy French Fries, vinegar, and ketchup will certainly get the old heart started on these cool Fall mornings. Another hour or so of wandering around is next on our agenda before we head for the animal barns. My better-half waits all year to return here to visit all of her animal friends. I swear she must have been born a farmer in a previous life. My next posting will offer up an assortment of animal pictures and a few other interesting events like the skillet toss.
That’s it for today, installment two will post in 2 days and if you have an interest in farm animals, stop back to visit.
With most of the gardening chores completed things have slowed down around here a bit. Who am I kidding? We’re just killing time until the day the “Fair” opens. That would be the Fair held every year in Fryeburg, Maine. It’s by far the largest event in the state and it’s a week long party for the many thousands of attendees from all over the country. We’ll be attending next week and it will be twelve hours of farm animals, large crowds, crazy good food, and hundreds and hundreds of photographs. So like I said we’re just killing time until the Fair.
Today I’ve been completing a number of small projects which required very little effort on my part. As I was walking through the house I remembered one thing that I absolutely had to do sooner rather than later. It was time for the Concord grape wine to be bottled. It’s been almost three months in the making and the fermentation has finally stopped.
The final product is a beautiful dry ruby red wine with an unbelievable bouquet. So it’s a half hour of washing bottles and making my usual mess. I tend to be a bit clumsy and if I don’t spill at least one bottle of wine in the process I just don’t feel like I’ve accomplished anything.
There’s nothing like siphoning wine through a little plastic tube, spilling it on the floor, down your leg, and onto nearby books, papers, and house pets. Curiosity may have killed the cat but in this house a good squirt of wine onto a persistently nosy cat is as good as it gets.
After filling and corking nineteen bottles it was then time to put on the fancy gold PVC covers. This requires a large pot of boiling water into which the bottle tops are quickly dipped causing the cover to shrink and seal the corks. It’s imperative that the bottle not remain in the hot water for more than a few seconds or there will be trouble. That truth became immediately evident when my first cool glass bottle was held into the boiling water for more than four or five seconds and the top exploded. Now I’m down to eighteen bottles but with a much better understanding of things I shouldn’t do.
I finished the remainder of the job but held back another bottle for the better-half and I to have with dinner. I poured myself a large glassful and waited for her arrival from work. I found out in the middle of the second glass that there was definitely a sufficient amount of alcohol in the wine. I had a wonderful glow on which translated to my canceling dinner. There was no way I could safely cook without possibly burning down the house.
When the better-half arrived home she drank a couple of mouthfuls of the wine, declared it delicious, and then immediately opened a beer (she isn’t much of a wine lover). She made her own meal and I ended up having an off-the-cuff snack consisting of Wheat Thins, a dab of Smart Balance and peanut butter with a dash of triple berry jam.
This batch of wine has passed my final acid test. Any wine that can make me eat this slop for dinner contains more than enough alcohol. I tested it with my vinometer and it contain just a hair more than 9 percent. That makes for an excellent batch of 18 proof red wine, more than enough to make almost any food edible.
I’m not entirely sure how to handle all this beautiful weather. I suppose this is what used to be called an “Indian Summer”. I don’t know why it’s so damn nice but I certainly intend to enjoy it.
The better-half and I decided to make a day of it after her early morning doctors appointment. She received loads of good news about her health which put us both in a great mood. As we were leaving the doctors office I had a brainstorm that was totally not something I would ever do. I spontaneously headed north from Portland to take her shopping in Freeport, Maine, known for it’s endless supply of outlet stores and L.L.Bean.
Freeport is a place I’ve always tried to avoid but I figured what the hell. I gave her control of our day and followed along like the good little boy that I am. We visited a thrift shop and a number of ridiculous tourist traps looking at all things Moose. Not only are the gifts a little lame the prices are ridiculous. I remember a time when visiting outlets meant cheaper than normal prices and it’s too bad that tradition has slowly faded away.
‘One of My Favorites’
We made the obligatory stop at L.L. Bean’s to look around a bit. It’s quite the place to visit but if you intend to shop there bring lots of credit cards. It’ll be a cold day in hell when I spend $90.00 for a pair of jeans or $350.00 for a plain brown leather bomber jacket. Insanity from the front door all the way through the huge building. I decided not to spend any money there and just cruised around the buildings and grounds snapping a few pictures.
As lunch time rolled around I was starving. We stopped at a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant that specializes in seafood and chowder. The better-half settled for clam chowder while I dug into a plate of fish & chips. It was incredibly good and that lunch stop became the best part of our day. We left feeling good and ready for a quick walk through town and then a long and leisurely ride home.
The remainder of the day was kind of blah. The weather was sunny but the day was what could be called "in between". The trees have started to change color but aren’t quite there yet for those vivid colors everyone loves. While it’s sunny it’s also very chilly verging on uncomfortable. We’ll have to try this trip again in a few weeks when the foliage is worth photographing. Her are a few blah photos from that ride home.
Just another day here in paradise. Hanging around waiting for the leaves to change and the snow to fly.
Well to continue the story as I promised in the last post, we (my better-half and I) were in dire need of pumpkins. Why, I honestly don’t know but we can’t live without them apparently. We especially need to find those ever so illusive white pumpkins which are just ghostly enough to make Halloween worth celebrating. After checking prices at Walmart and Lowes the decision was made to go elsewhere so as not to feel any more extorted than normal.
These days the prices continue to climb on just about everything. The love of the almighty dollar leaves little regard for us customers and with the advent of the big box retailers the days of lower prices at roadside stands are slowly disappearing. The farmers no longer try to beat the prices of the larger stores but are certainly happy to match them. That translates to an end of bargain prices for all of us.
Fortunately if you want to spend the time and effort there are still a few farmers who’ll sell their wares at a decent price, collect their profits, and retain their customer base. It’s one of those places that we headed to after our drive to Kennebunkport and the southern coast.
As we arrive at the farm there are piles and piles of pumpkins and squash of all sizes and kinds. These folks cultivate just over a hundred acres every year and they always seem to have excellent results. They actually sell a large portion of their products to local school districts for the kids lunches. I’ve always been a firm believer about "buying local" and supporting the farmers in our area and it’s folks like these that make that happen. They also give me an excellent place to take incredible Fall pictures. Here are a few.
My better-half made her purchases of an assortment of orange and white pumpkins with a promise to return and pick up a few cornstalks and a bale of hay or two. She feels the need to reassure me that we’re almost ready for Halloween and the Fall season. I’m so relieved.
I’ve been sleeping much better lately now that the weather is turning colder. Heat and humidity seem to be my worst nightmare these days. I’ve always favored cooler weather and it seems that will never change.
Today’s forecast was for clear and sunny skies and a temperature in the low fifties. It was dig out a medium weight jacket and jeans because it appears shorts are out until next Spring. The better-half and I had errands to run on her day-off but I was able to convince her to take a ride along the southern coast for a few hours. Traffic was heavier than anticipated and I’m not sure exactly why. I guess everyone was trying desperately to enjoy the sunshine and extend their summer for as long as possible just like we were.
We started our little journey to Kennebunkport by cutting cross country through an area filled with horse farms. We can always find great photo opportunities there.
We made a short visit to the small coastal town of Cape Porpoise, Maine. It was such a clear day I knew I could get a decent picture or two of the Goat Island lighthouse located just offshore at the entrance to the harbor.
These lobsterman pictured below were in port with barrels of freshly caught lobsters. As you can see they’re loading them into trucks for transport to some of your favorite restaurants.
This area is filled with an endless supply of beautiful costal pictures as always. This small harbor was full of lobster boats and many of the visitors were sitting along the shore enjoying the view and basking in the sunshine.
We traveled north along the coast back towards Goose Rocks and Biddeford. There were many terrific photo-ops and we took advantage of them all. There were so many possibilities we actually were forced to pass a few by and we hate doing that. Here are a couple of samples.
It made for a great trip to roam around and enjoy one of our last remaining sunny and warm days. The second half of this trip will be posted in a day or so as we traveled towards farm country looking for pumpkins. We planned on visiting a few farms in our ongoing effort to find pumpkins that weren’t priced sky high as those at Walmart. It seems we can’t really enjoy the Fall season around here without stacking a few pumpkins and cornstalks in front of the house.
C’mon Winter!
I really do like the Fall of the year. It ends a rather busy season that I also enjoy but at times it’s a relief to see it end. The better-half and I finally decided to call it a day with the garden. We began the process of pulling up the plants and removing the fabric from the frames. Then delivering those plants to the compost pile for use as fertilizer two years from now.
The last cherry tomatoes were collected, the remaining cucumbers were picked and should keep us in salads for another week or so. I’ll miss them as I always do once the snow fly’s and because I’m not all that crazy about veggies shipped into the county from south of the border somewhere. Thanks for nothing Walmart.
The remaining jalapeño peppers have been left whole, cleaned and canned for use in the future. They should still retain some crispness since they were only cooked long enough to kill the bacteria on their skins.
Some of the cayenne peppers made their way to the dehydrator and will be dried and ground into a fine powder. A number were also strung on thin copper wires for displaying in the kitchen. They make for an attractive curiosity once they start turning into that bright beautiful red color.
The only things remaining in the garden are the herbs. In a week or so just before the first frost I intend to further harvest a quantity of oregano, sage, parsley, rosemary, basil, and tarragon. Once dried they’ll be used to replace older herbs we have in storage. I’ve discovered that if they’re stored in air tight containers they remain useable for up to two years. Once they’ve lost their fragrance and flavor they need to be discarded and replaced.
I feel a little guilty wanting to see the garden end after all of the time and effort we’ve put into it but at the same time I can’t wait for it to be over so I can kick back and relax for a while. I see Winter as the time I require to rest, recharge my batteries and begin the process of planning an even better garden next year. I’m already considering building a small greenhouse, a larger cold frame, and even some sort of in-ground irrigation system. For me half the fun of having a garden is the process of improving it each year and experimenting with new plants we’ve never grown before.
Our Winters here in Maine can seem endless if your not occupying yourself sufficiently. Snow shoveling and snow blowing will only get you so far.
Today will be a general update on a few of the useless things I’ve been doing or trying to do. I’m happy to report that the highchair restoration has been completed. It was a relatively simple project that took only a week to accomplish. The last posting on the chair had me sanding my heart out to remove the old layers of paint, stain, and shellac. Once that was completed I then pulled out my handy-dandy Dremel tool and wire brushed all of the hinges and other hardware. Fortunately I was able to remove almost all of the corrosion.
I discovered quite by accident that this highchair was made from an assortment of woods glued together and painted. This made my staining job a bit more difficult but I persevered. The results were satisfactory but not as good as I’d hoped. Once the stain was on then came three coats of a good polyurethane and a few days to let it dry.
I installed the new modified safety straps which put me one step away from completion. The toughest part of the project was finding the proper decals for the chair. The original had some sort of cutesy puppy on it which I immediately sanded away. A little too lame for me or any kid who might eventually be using it. After visiting a few dozen websites and a few actual retail stores I found two stickers that I felt were acceptable. I installed them yesterday and officially declared this project complete.
Now to the garden which is slowly coming to an end. I harvested the remainder of the kale yesterday. I picked the plants, cut and cleaned the leaves which left me with a large bag full. The process included washing the leaves twice, blanching them all in boiling water, dropping them into an ice bath to stop the cooking process, and finally a last thorough washing. A spin dry in the good old Salad Spinner and it’s into the vacuum bags and then the freezer. The process took a little longer than I liked but it’s important to keep the food as clean as possible at all times.
‘In the Garden’
‘In the Wash’
‘Into the Freezer’
Another week and I’ll start the final cleanup of the garden to get it ready for winter. That includes removing all of the fabric from the frames and composting the entire garden with three or four inches of prime compost. Once that has been rototilled in I can concern myself with the remaining yard cleanup and storage of all lawn furniture and equipment for the winter.
Just another slowly fading Summer week here in Maine.
What’s your morning routine? For most of my life I’ve had a routine and I stuck to it regardless of the day, the month, or the year. It also was flexible enough to change when necessary to fit my always changing lifestyle. I have to say that my routine these days is by far the best it’s ever been.
I’m sitting in a nice warm bed and into my second cup of coffee while watching and listening to one of my favorite chick flicks, Return to Me. My better-half has left for work, the cat has been fed, and I just finished off a bowl of crunchy cereal covered with berries and almond milk. Now it’s time to write this posting before I finally roll out of bed and officially start my day.
With Fall now rushing upon us and Labor Day behind us, we decided to make our farewell visit to the nearby tourist trap, Old Orchard Beach. We expected much smaller crowds because many places close up for the season just after the Labor Day weekend. It was warm and sunny and the crowds were even smaller than we anticipated.
We were both surprised to see that the vast majority of shops and restaurants had already closed their doors for the year. I’d intended to do some shopping at a certain store but because it was on the grounds of the amusement park it was fenced off and locked up. That’s what I get for delaying my visit to avoid the crowds. Another casualty of my claustrophobic need to avoid large groups of insane people.
The beach was almost as empty as everything else. Just a few die-hard beach people refusing to accept the fact that Winter is fast approaching.
We made our way to The Pier and the local Irish Pub. They were open for business and apparently trying to rake in as much money as they could from any straggling tourists. The prices were too high but the food was almost as good as the cold beer or so says my live-in beer expert. I had the vodka tonic which wasn’t all that bad either.
We ended the evening with our mandatory visit to the Arcade for my better-half’s minor obsession with Skee Ball. Don’t ask me why she has it, I just don’t know. We walked around for twenty minutes or so and decided to call it a night. The Summer is over, Fall is beginning, and we’ll be shoveling the white stuff all too soon.
Just so you know the little guy on the right is me. A little bit taller and always keeping an eye out for trouble. And in my humble opinion a whole lot cuter too.
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