Archive for the ‘festivals’ Tag
Is it just me or has June zoomed by in a flash. I’ve always considered the Fourth of July as the summer’s half-way point but I can’t believe that half of the summer is already gone. That is supremely depressing. A few days ago I mentioned in a post that my better-half and I had visited the Brunswick, Maine Strawberry Festival. I sort of glossed over that visit for some reason but after rethinking things I decided to throw a few pictures your way. Check these out.
The town of Brunswick is rather quaint and the park located in the downtown area is just beautiful. The perfect place to take your kids on a sunny day, to quietly read a book or to walk your dog.
It’s called the Strawberry Festival but it’s much more than that as you can see. Farmers from all over the area come to town loaded with fresh vegetables of all types. It’s a giant farmers market and they offer some really delicious foods as well.
I’m a former cheese addict who has been forced over the years to reduce the amount of dairy I eat. It still won’t stop me from sampling a few tidbits of excellent goat cheese when I happen upon it.
Many of the farms also sell canned pickles, jams, and jellies. They are a bit pricy but you’ll never find any fresher or as flavorful in a supermarket.
I was more than a little surprised at all of the available vegetables this early in the summer. We look forward to visiting many more of these festivals in the coming months. There seems to be one scheduled every weekend somewhere in Maine until Labor Day.
A GREAT START TO OUR SUMMER
With Spring underway in Maine the plants can’t wait to get out of the ground. With such a short growing season no time is wasted by either Mother Nature or the people who live here. As I posted a few weeks ago people were on the beach already wearing bikinis. That’s even early for native Mainer’s but it didn’t stop them.
The tourist season in Maine is huge and it’s important to keep the visitors entertained and happy. That’s why during Spring and Summer months there’s a steady stream of festivals, farmer’s markets, fairs, and individual town celebrations.
Last weekend my better-half returned from her week long trip and we were able to get out and enjoy the sunny weather on Saturday. We were making our way through the city of Sanford to visit a nursery further south in North Berwick. We happened upon our first town gathering of the year. It was some type of farmer’s market where booths were set up by neighboring farms selling their homemade products and plants. We immediately parked and began to mingle.
It’s always fun to visit with the farmers and to purchase a few products while also snapping a few pictures. Everyone was enjoying the beautiful day and the excellent company. It was one of my first visits back to the city where I lived for eight years and I was glad to see things hadn’t changed at all. People were as friendly as I remembered and welcoming of any and all visitors.
‘It was a great start to what will be a great Summer.’
Now that my better-half has returned home from her trip our lives have slowly normalized somewhat. She has returned to work after much whining and complaining and is back to her old self. I’ve returned to my projects again after pretty much ignoring them for a week. Don’t forget her vacation was also my vacation.
The garden is growing wild and today I finally spent three hours on my hands and knees pulling weeds. Don’t misunderstand me, I pulled thousands of weeds, enough to fill the trailer pulled by my lawn tractor. It was extremely hot and in just a few minutes I sweat through my clothing. I have to admit it felt pretty good to be digging in the dirt because it’s one of those times that allows my body to do it’s routine work and all the while my mind is elsewhere. It takes a good hour of this kind of work to calm me down and allow me to really relax. It’s unfortunate that I didn’t discover this outlet a few decades earlier than I actually did. Once again my father was right but I wasn’t listening as usual.
As you can see the frames are slowing filling with beautiful green plants of all kinds. I’ll probably begin picking, blanching, and freezing kale this week. After it’s washed and blanched I can cut it into strips and freeze it. It’ll make for some really flavorful soups this coming winter.
I was forced out of necessity to take the pruning shears to the mint patches. They grow so damn fast and if not properly controlled will take over the entire garden. It makes working out here really pleasant when all you can smell is the aroma of peppermint and spearmint. From the looks of things it’s going to be an unbelievable year for the herbs. I replanted a number of oregano plants after losing a few last winter and the way these things are growing I’ll eventually have enough dried and stored to last me for two winters.
After all of the weeding was completed I returned to the houses to take a quick shower, make a close check for any of Mother Nature’s little friends (ticks), and to rehydrate. The next thing on the agenda was to rack off the dandelion wine once again. It’s clearing nicely and the color is spectacular. Now, if it only ends up tasting as good as it looks. I’ve been disappointed a few times in the past when a gorgeous batch of wine has ended up tasting like battery acid. I’m crossing my fingers again and hoping for the best.
We’re expecting a beautiful weekend and I’m sure we’ll be visiting the beach and hitting a few yard sales and flea markets. The better-half has the weekend off for a change and we can have a little quality time together. Sunday is approaching and we’re looking forward to babysitting the grandson for a few hours to give his parents a little breather and some alone time together. It’s something all of us need. We just have to search out those things that’ll give our minds a little peace and quiet. I consider my self fortunate to have a number of outlets like that to clear my mind and keep me mentally calm and fresh.
In just a few short weeks the festivals will begin in earnest. Almost every weekend from now until mid- October has a festival of some sort scheduled somewhere in Maine. Every small town and community has one and it’s a great way to support the local farmers and artisans. Good food, beautiful summer weather, and communities who love to celebrate and share their community spirit with visitors. It doesn’t get much better than that.
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