February 14, 2007
Oh, The Weather Outside
is Frightful... and predicted to get far worse before it gets much better! Today is most definitely a chowder day. And best of all, we have this dual-fuel stove with gas burners on top and an electric oven. If the power goes out - and it probably will - we've got it covered! I've always made traditional New England chowders, milk- or cream-based, potatoes and onions, fish or clams, and maybe some tried-out salt pork. Those are the recipes I included in The Frugal Family Kitchen Book, good, faithful standbys.
But last fall on a visit to my friend Nancy's, I had a fish chowder that was just excellent. Nancy, who is a super cook, shared the recipe with me and I've made it many times since. First, I'll give you the shared recipe, then I'll tell you how I usually modify it...you didn't think I could really follow a recipe more than once, now did you!?
Fish Chowder
1 1/2 lbs. fish, cut in small pieces
2 TBSP butter
1 or 2 leeks, thinly sliced, rinsed
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 # yellow potatoes, peeled, diced (about 3 medium)
2 carrots, diced
4 c fish stock*** or chicken broth
2 ears fresh corn kernels
1 1/2 c heavy cream
1 TBSP chives
Melt butter, cook leeks about 8 minutes. Add garlic, cook another 1/2 minute. Stir in potatoes, carrots and stock. Bring to a boil, simmer 5 minutes. Add corn, cook five more minutes. Stir in cream, add fish and simmer. Chives on top.
*** FISH STOCK Nancy also introduced me to an invaluable product I'd never seen before: Knorr's Fish Bouillon. In cubes just like chicken, beef, or vegetable bouillon, it adds great depth of flavor. Not easy to find in the stores, but worth the hunt.
Now, I seldom have leeks in the house when the chowder mood hits, so I used lots of chopped onions, then more garlic and whatever kind of potatoes I have on hand. Instead of the fresh corn, I use a generous cupful frozen from our garden last summer. Ahhhh, then there's the cream. I just can't do it! I may use a can of evaporated milk, or any leftover half-and-half. This chowder is very filling, and (without the heavy cream) it offers low-calorie, high nutrition comfort food. It's doubly delicious with homemade English muffins... see the recipe in The Frugal Family Kitchen Book.
Having enjoyed this fish chowder many times now, I'm ready to experiment a little further, making it with clams on this snowy, blowy winter day. I think I have just enough spinach and a few mushrooms, maybe a sprinkling of pecans, for a little salad too. Let it snow, let it snow...
Mary
February 11, 2007
What Exactly IS Romantic??
Ahhh, that heart-shaped holiday is coming! Candy, cards, flowers, dinner out...what's your definition of romantic? I'm sure it changes for each of us over a lifetime, that candy conversation heart slipped to you in fourth grade replaced by the single red rose (from "one who knows a love that grows") in high school to perhaps an engagement ring sometime later. Perhaps your most valued valentine is one a small child created for you with far more love than artistry.
I have to admit right off that I'm not a big fan of Valentine's Day - or for that matter, Mother's Day - in their current commericial incarnations. But this year Bert has truly won my heart all over again. We went smelting!
The rivers have finally frozen enough to allow the shacks to be dragged out onto the ice. We had a two-man house about 8' x 8', pretty rustic, one fishing canal called the race hole, lots of jigs and lots of bloodworms. A tiny woodstove battled the wind howling down the river and the huge gaps around the door, keeping us...well okay, parts of us warm at any given moment. I am not in the least bit squeamish about digging and baiting worms for regular fishing season, but there's something about the bloodworms that I really do NOT like. But part of fishing is baiting so after Bert does the first round, I'm on my own with the little bits of bait.
Along the side of the shack over the race hole is a pole the lenght of the shack and from that eight lines hang with lead weights and one or two hooks each. After baiting, you unwind the lines until the weight hits bottom then you re-wind to the depth-off-bottom where the fish are hopefully biting. We were fishing on an incoming tide so as the water rose, we dropped our lines a bit with each re-baiting. It wasn't the best - or the worst - fishing we've ever had, enough bites to keep it interesting with a couple of dozen smelts to take home.
Is it cold out there on the frozen river? Of course! Mostly though just your feet get really cold when you're in the shack. But getting out to the shacks can be downright... nippy! Then after you've stoked the woodstove, you shed a few layers of warmth, settle in with a thermos of coffee and some snacks, and you're ready for fishing. The shacks are close together so you hear how the fish are running for others on either side of you. It's great fun when there's a family next door because the kids always seem to have such a good time. Friday we went for the afternoon, but we've gone most often at night, the winter night sky sparkling clear, the stars twinkling just brilliantly as the tide begins to turn and we begin to make our way back to shore.
Some tides are slow - whether incoming or outgoing - but on some tides you just can't pull the smelts in fast enough. Buckets and buckets full. Then comes the next challenge, for me at least...giving those smelts away to those who appreciate them. I don't. (Remember that I am usually only a catch-and-release person!) Bert always fries up "a fine mess" dipped in cornmeal, and luckily, we do know folks who are always eager for any fresh smelts we have to share.
Ahhhh, a frozen river, bloodworms, the howling wind... now THAT'S romantic!
Mary
January 26, 2007
The Comfort of an Old Cat
Very unusually, we have been down to just one cat for over a year and a half now, and I really miss having kittens - or more than one cat - in the house. But I have also discovered the comfort of an old cat, one who now gets and gives undivided attention.
Sam will be 14 in March although to look at him you'd think him much younger. He's black and white ( a cow cat!), sleek, muscular, and has the most gorgeous fat tail. Sam came to live with us in late spring 1993 after my brother John's cat had kittens. We couldn't decide which one we wanted and so ended up bringing all three home! Smudge was killed a few years later; Woofie died just last summer.
If I just must take a nap in the afternoon - and some days it IS a must - Sam is right there draped over my shoulder. If I'm reading, he'll occasionally pat my cheek, otherwise he just snuggles. When I sit on the couch to watch the evening news and knit, he is on the pillow behind me with his paw resting on my shoulder, once in a while nuzzling the back of my head. He's in the kitchen with me when I cook, on my desk when I work at the computer, and always in my heart.
Sam is an outdoor cat and even on days like today - it hasn't gotten up to zero yet - he wants out. When the gardening season starts, he'll be right there, catching moles, voles and other little critters AND just visiting.
Right now, Sam is sitting in the morning sun, looking blissfully peaceful. Not only is he a constant comfort, but there's a lot to be learned from an old cat!
Mary
Very unusually, we have been down to just one cat for over a year and a half now, and I really miss having kittens - or more than one cat - in the house. But I have also discovered the comfort of an old cat, one who now gets and gives undivided attention.
Sam will be 14 in March although to look at him you'd think him much younger. He's black and white ( a cow cat!), sleek, muscular, and has the most gorgeous fat tail. Sam came to live with us in late spring 1993 after my brother John's cat had kittens. We couldn't decide which one we wanted and so ended up bringing all three home! Smudge was killed a few years later; Woofie died just last summer.
If I just must take a nap in the afternoon - and some days it IS a must - Sam is right there draped over my shoulder. If I'm reading, he'll occasionally pat my cheek, otherwise he just snuggles. When I sit on the couch to watch the evening news and knit, he is on the pillow behind me with his paw resting on my shoulder, once in a while nuzzling the back of my head. He's in the kitchen with me when I cook, on my desk when I work at the computer, and always in my heart.
Sam is an outdoor cat and even on days like today - it hasn't gotten up to zero yet - he wants out. When the gardening season starts, he'll be right there, catching moles, voles and other little critters AND just visiting.
Right now, Sam is sitting in the morning sun, looking blissfully peaceful. Not only is he a constant comfort, but there's a lot to be learned from an old cat!
Mary
November 7, 2006
Tuesday, November 7, 2006
Of Birthdays and Bird Feeders
I've always thought that birthdays are for the birds, so I've spent the first part of this birthday morning cleaning and sterilizing all our many bird feeders to be put out for the coming winter. As soon as they finish drying, I'll fill them, set them out, and see how long it takes for the chipmunks and chickens to discover them.
There are two big feeders, one general-seed and one sunflower seeds, that go on poles in a garden out back of the house. Now these poles are set just close enough to the rock wall to allow many non-avian snackers, which is really okay as long as the squirrels don't get too greedy.
Two more feeders go out on the front porch, a few on windows, many more on a line strung 30' between two trees out back. This is where the suet, thistle, and other special treats go.
The only thing I haven't been able to decide is whether or not to use the heated birdbath this winter. It is expensive to run.
I hope you've got your feeders cleaned and ready for the coming cold weather. I also hope you vote today!
Mary
Of Birthdays and Bird Feeders
I've always thought that birthdays are for the birds, so I've spent the first part of this birthday morning cleaning and sterilizing all our many bird feeders to be put out for the coming winter. As soon as they finish drying, I'll fill them, set them out, and see how long it takes for the chipmunks and chickens to discover them.
There are two big feeders, one general-seed and one sunflower seeds, that go on poles in a garden out back of the house. Now these poles are set just close enough to the rock wall to allow many non-avian snackers, which is really okay as long as the squirrels don't get too greedy.
Two more feeders go out on the front porch, a few on windows, many more on a line strung 30' between two trees out back. This is where the suet, thistle, and other special treats go.
The only thing I haven't been able to decide is whether or not to use the heated birdbath this winter. It is expensive to run.
I hope you've got your feeders cleaned and ready for the coming cold weather. I also hope you vote today!
Mary
October 6, 2006
Friday, October 6, 2006
Wrapping Up the Garden...
Plus, a Recipe for Black 'n' Blue Dip/Sauce
No frost yet so the garden continues to blossom and bloom. I'm not sure I ever remember our first frost being this late, and while the fall weather is so gorgeous, I am just about ready to be done. The last tomatoes to pick, more potatoes to dig, tons of broccoli to cut, and an unprecedented third crop of corn all need attention.
Both the red and yellow onions did well this year and with the last few green peppers, I'm going to take the tomatoes and make salsa for the freezer. All I do is cut up the green peppers, onions and tomatoes into small pieces, add some garlic, parsley and cilantro, plus a good dash of olive oil. That's it.
Although we have canned salsa, we discovered last year that it froze beautifully, thawing to taste fresh-made. One of our favorite things to do with this salsa is to put it in a small fry pan, lay fish fillets on top and simmer until the fish flakes. Then we serve it in bowls with a thick slice of a French or Italian bread in the bottom. Quick, colorful, nutrition and filling.
Most of the broccoli and corn will go in the freezer and the potatoes will join the first crop in the bins in the root cellar. The glads are all out and stored while the dahlias are still blooming like crazy. I've been trying to clean up the garden a bit at a time, as I have a lot of new plant material coming and a lot of older stuff to move. Of course keeping the garden under perpetual mulch really makes things easier.
Now, on to that recipe I promised you. BUT, before I forget... Although I haven't yet figured out how to put pictures into this blog, Suzanne Almy Brown, webmaster par excellence at www.websitedesignonline.com has put two photos from my time on Mt. Washington on www.FrugalFamilyKitchen.com website and they look great. I hope you'll check out both sites.
Black 'n' Blue Dip/Sauce
This is one of those incredibly versatile recipes, a to-taste one that you can easily make your very own!
2 cups sour cream, yoghurt, or cream cheese, or better yet, some combination thereof
1 can black olives, drained (you can use any size olives)
8 oz bleu/blue cheese
2-3 tsp garlic (or to taste)
2-3 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
I munch up the olives by hand, crumble the bleu/blue cheese the same way then mix all ingredients together. This is excellent with veggies, chips, crackers, on salad or baked potatoes, or best of all, it's absolutely delicious on pasta.
Have a wonderful holiday weekend! Mary
Wrapping Up the Garden...
Plus, a Recipe for Black 'n' Blue Dip/Sauce
No frost yet so the garden continues to blossom and bloom. I'm not sure I ever remember our first frost being this late, and while the fall weather is so gorgeous, I am just about ready to be done. The last tomatoes to pick, more potatoes to dig, tons of broccoli to cut, and an unprecedented third crop of corn all need attention.
Both the red and yellow onions did well this year and with the last few green peppers, I'm going to take the tomatoes and make salsa for the freezer. All I do is cut up the green peppers, onions and tomatoes into small pieces, add some garlic, parsley and cilantro, plus a good dash of olive oil. That's it.
Although we have canned salsa, we discovered last year that it froze beautifully, thawing to taste fresh-made. One of our favorite things to do with this salsa is to put it in a small fry pan, lay fish fillets on top and simmer until the fish flakes. Then we serve it in bowls with a thick slice of a French or Italian bread in the bottom. Quick, colorful, nutrition and filling.
Most of the broccoli and corn will go in the freezer and the potatoes will join the first crop in the bins in the root cellar. The glads are all out and stored while the dahlias are still blooming like crazy. I've been trying to clean up the garden a bit at a time, as I have a lot of new plant material coming and a lot of older stuff to move. Of course keeping the garden under perpetual mulch really makes things easier.
Now, on to that recipe I promised you. BUT, before I forget... Although I haven't yet figured out how to put pictures into this blog, Suzanne Almy Brown, webmaster par excellence at www.websitedesignonline.com has put two photos from my time on Mt. Washington on www.FrugalFamilyKitchen.com website and they look great. I hope you'll check out both sites.
Black 'n' Blue Dip/Sauce
This is one of those incredibly versatile recipes, a to-taste one that you can easily make your very own!
2 cups sour cream, yoghurt, or cream cheese, or better yet, some combination thereof
1 can black olives, drained (you can use any size olives)
8 oz bleu/blue cheese
2-3 tsp garlic (or to taste)
2-3 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
I munch up the olives by hand, crumble the bleu/blue cheese the same way then mix all ingredients together. This is excellent with veggies, chips, crackers, on salad or baked potatoes, or best of all, it's absolutely delicious on pasta.
Have a wonderful holiday weekend! Mary
October 1, 2006
Sunday, October 1, 2006
Back Down to Earth...
With a few nights' deep sleep, life has settled into its normal rhythm after my one-week sojourn on top of Mt. Washington as the volunteer cook at the Mt. Washington Observatory. I've been asked LOTS of questions about the experience. Let me share them - and the answers - in case you too, wondered...
How did you get to do this? Everyone seems to think I must have...well, friends in high places! Not so. All YOU have to do to be eligible for this kind of adventure is become a member of the Mt. Washington Observatory and sign up as a volunteer. There is of course no guarantee that you'll get to cook in the clouds - the volunteer coordinator happened to call with a last-minute opening and it happened to be a week I had free - but there are so many ways you could help the Observatory with its education and research missions.
Did you take all your food up with you? I took nothing, just decided to "go with the flow." I'd never seen the facility, had no idea what the kitchen looked like, or who I'd be feeding,
but the info sent to me indicated a well-stocked pantry, and it WAS! If I go up again, there are some things I'd like to take with me... one of our own chickens for roasting, for example.
Was it hard to feed folks I didn't know? Absolutely not! Everyone was so very appreciative of everything served. Even if it was something they wouldn't normally eat or weren't crazy about, they were wicked good about trying things. AND, I kept telling them they'd better be honest if they didn't like something because otherwise I'd cook that same dish every time I ever go back up there!
Will you share the recipes you cooked? Most are in The Frugal Family Kitchen Book, but one that wasn't, the Black and Blue Dip/Sauce, I'll share in the next blog posting.
Would I do it again? Without hesitation! I'd even go up in the winter and believe me, that's no small commitment! If I do this again, I'll take my knitting, I'll invite Bert up for an overnight (he has NO interest in going longer than that), and I think I'll most definitely do some hiking, especially over to the Lake of the Clouds.
If you have any interest in the Mt. Washington Observatory or weather in general, please visit the Weather Discovery Center on Main Street in North Conway. Operated by the Observatory, the Center offers a wonderful array of information, activities, and outreach programs (their education staff makes classroom visits). AND, if you go to the Conway area for leaf-peeping or holiday shopping, be sure to visit the Center for terrific - and unusual - gift ideas. From weather stations for beginning weather observors to some pretty sophisticated instruments for the more seasoned weather buff, posters, maps, and charts , books for all ages from guide and activity books to memoirs, clothing... and much more!
And now it's back to earth... time to wrap up the garden for the year, put the perennials to bed, and put all the beds under mulch for their long winter's nap.
Mary
Back Down to Earth...
With a few nights' deep sleep, life has settled into its normal rhythm after my one-week sojourn on top of Mt. Washington as the volunteer cook at the Mt. Washington Observatory. I've been asked LOTS of questions about the experience. Let me share them - and the answers - in case you too, wondered...
How did you get to do this? Everyone seems to think I must have...well, friends in high places! Not so. All YOU have to do to be eligible for this kind of adventure is become a member of the Mt. Washington Observatory and sign up as a volunteer. There is of course no guarantee that you'll get to cook in the clouds - the volunteer coordinator happened to call with a last-minute opening and it happened to be a week I had free - but there are so many ways you could help the Observatory with its education and research missions.
Did you take all your food up with you? I took nothing, just decided to "go with the flow." I'd never seen the facility, had no idea what the kitchen looked like, or who I'd be feeding,
but the info sent to me indicated a well-stocked pantry, and it WAS! If I go up again, there are some things I'd like to take with me... one of our own chickens for roasting, for example.
Was it hard to feed folks I didn't know? Absolutely not! Everyone was so very appreciative of everything served. Even if it was something they wouldn't normally eat or weren't crazy about, they were wicked good about trying things. AND, I kept telling them they'd better be honest if they didn't like something because otherwise I'd cook that same dish every time I ever go back up there!
Will you share the recipes you cooked? Most are in The Frugal Family Kitchen Book, but one that wasn't, the Black and Blue Dip/Sauce, I'll share in the next blog posting.
Would I do it again? Without hesitation! I'd even go up in the winter and believe me, that's no small commitment! If I do this again, I'll take my knitting, I'll invite Bert up for an overnight (he has NO interest in going longer than that), and I think I'll most definitely do some hiking, especially over to the Lake of the Clouds.
If you have any interest in the Mt. Washington Observatory or weather in general, please visit the Weather Discovery Center on Main Street in North Conway. Operated by the Observatory, the Center offers a wonderful array of information, activities, and outreach programs (their education staff makes classroom visits). AND, if you go to the Conway area for leaf-peeping or holiday shopping, be sure to visit the Center for terrific - and unusual - gift ideas. From weather stations for beginning weather observors to some pretty sophisticated instruments for the more seasoned weather buff, posters, maps, and charts , books for all ages from guide and activity books to memoirs, clothing... and much more!
And now it's back to earth... time to wrap up the garden for the year, put the perennials to bed, and put all the beds under mulch for their long winter's nap.
Mary
September 27, 2006
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
I Have Been to the Mountain...
and it was a fabulous experience! I learned more broadly and more deeply about weather, photography, human nature and the critical value and balance in any environment of independence and interdependence .
What did I miss most while I was on Mount Washington for a week? Of course I missed the garden, the cat, the dog, the chickens... but the two things I really felt bereft of were turning the radio on to NPR first thing in the morning, and... Bert, especially the mid-morning coffee break we usually take together at the bagel shop. It's going to take some time to catch up on sleep, to read the mail and newspapers from the past week, to touch base with friends, to get back into the rhythm of everydayness.
And I'll miss much about being "on the top" ...watching the cog railway train huff and puff up the mountainside like something straight out of a children's book, the scudding cloud shadows over the hills and valleys, the glitter of ice feathers and mica flecks, the rime ice forming and then the crinkle and crunch of it falling, flying...
I have been to the mountain and found there great beauty and deep peace. I have come home to the same!
Mary
I Have Been to the Mountain...
and it was a fabulous experience! I learned more broadly and more deeply about weather, photography, human nature and the critical value and balance in any environment of independence and interdependence .
What did I miss most while I was on Mount Washington for a week? Of course I missed the garden, the cat, the dog, the chickens... but the two things I really felt bereft of were turning the radio on to NPR first thing in the morning, and... Bert, especially the mid-morning coffee break we usually take together at the bagel shop. It's going to take some time to catch up on sleep, to read the mail and newspapers from the past week, to touch base with friends, to get back into the rhythm of everydayness.
And I'll miss much about being "on the top" ...watching the cog railway train huff and puff up the mountainside like something straight out of a children's book, the scudding cloud shadows over the hills and valleys, the glitter of ice feathers and mica flecks, the rime ice forming and then the crinkle and crunch of it falling, flying...
I have been to the mountain and found there great beauty and deep peace. I have come home to the same!
Mary
September 26, 2006
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
The Milky Way from the Mountain...
Perhaps it's the great prevalence of misty, moisty mornings here on top of Mt. Washington, but the breaks of sun are truly treasured when they come, and for however long they last. We've had several glimpses of sun today, and although the temperature has stayed right around freezing and the winds have varied greatly with gusts to 80 mph, it's been a nice day.
Breakfast was corned beef hash, applesauce and fresh-baked Danish pastry. It was hovering right around freezing all night with just enough icing on the auto road to make the arrival of Michelle's seminar group of teachers questionable. They did make it up by mid-morning and the day settled in somewhat. Tomorrow is shift-change day with everyone's gearing up to go down. Ken, Jim and Mike are leaving for their seven days off, Sunshine went home this afternoon and of course I'll go down tomorrow with the crew. I'm looking forward to being home...
Supper was American chop suey, coleslaw, cornbread and for dessert, peaches 'n' pudding, butterscotch this time. I've mostly cooked out of The Frugal Family Kitchen Book this past week and that's worked out well. This didn't seem like the time or the place to "experiment," and I suspect that the crew has been grateful for that, even if they have no idea just what fate they've been saved from!
Quiet here tonight, only four of us here at the Observatory. Mike came over from the State Park living area and shared a downright scary video of the vicious winds and mammoth storms that batter the Cape Breton area of Canada. After this week, I want to know much, much more about world-wide weather, not just the massively destructive typhoons and sunamis that get so much press, but the daily variations that shape an area's, a village's, a family's, a person's everyday existence. And it's weather not climate that seems especially interesting.
To wrap up an incredible experience, I headed up to the outside observation deck for my before-bed walk-about...and behold! the glorious night sky. I didn't have my sleeping bag with me, but I lay down on the concrete and...just... breathed. To see the Milky Way so close, so clear...
9:30 pm... temp 30F, wind 26.8, windchill 16F, visibility 80 miles.
And so to bed, and tomorrow... down the mountain.
Mary
The Milky Way from the Mountain...
Perhaps it's the great prevalence of misty, moisty mornings here on top of Mt. Washington, but the breaks of sun are truly treasured when they come, and for however long they last. We've had several glimpses of sun today, and although the temperature has stayed right around freezing and the winds have varied greatly with gusts to 80 mph, it's been a nice day.
Breakfast was corned beef hash, applesauce and fresh-baked Danish pastry. It was hovering right around freezing all night with just enough icing on the auto road to make the arrival of Michelle's seminar group of teachers questionable. They did make it up by mid-morning and the day settled in somewhat. Tomorrow is shift-change day with everyone's gearing up to go down. Ken, Jim and Mike are leaving for their seven days off, Sunshine went home this afternoon and of course I'll go down tomorrow with the crew. I'm looking forward to being home...
Supper was American chop suey, coleslaw, cornbread and for dessert, peaches 'n' pudding, butterscotch this time. I've mostly cooked out of The Frugal Family Kitchen Book this past week and that's worked out well. This didn't seem like the time or the place to "experiment," and I suspect that the crew has been grateful for that, even if they have no idea just what fate they've been saved from!
Quiet here tonight, only four of us here at the Observatory. Mike came over from the State Park living area and shared a downright scary video of the vicious winds and mammoth storms that batter the Cape Breton area of Canada. After this week, I want to know much, much more about world-wide weather, not just the massively destructive typhoons and sunamis that get so much press, but the daily variations that shape an area's, a village's, a family's, a person's everyday existence. And it's weather not climate that seems especially interesting.
To wrap up an incredible experience, I headed up to the outside observation deck for my before-bed walk-about...and behold! the glorious night sky. I didn't have my sleeping bag with me, but I lay down on the concrete and...just... breathed. To see the Milky Way so close, so clear...
9:30 pm... temp 30F, wind 26.8, windchill 16F, visibility 80 miles.
And so to bed, and tomorrow... down the mountain.
Mary
September 25, 2006
Monday, September 25, 2006
A Glorious Sunset, But No Night Sky...
A Glorious Sunset, But No Night Sky...
As I start my last few days atop Mt. Washington, I think back on what I had hoped to see while here... a sunrise, the night sky, birds, snow, horizontal rain... except for the night sky, I've seen everything on my list and far, far more!
9:30 am - I had a hard time getting to sleep last night as the wind just roared for hours. This morning is much calmer with no audible wind....temp 31, wind 27.4, wind chill 17. I've just come in from taking some pictures, and it certainly felt like 17 out there.
Visibility is as usual, very limited, maybe 100' at the utmost. I borrowed an old moose skull from one of the state park people (thanks, Mike!) and was out and about doing my Georgia O'Keefe imitation. I'll be very curious to see how any of the pix I've taken up here come out. I KNOW my next big photo purchase will be a tripod, as Jim is convinced and persuasive that using one will improve my/anyone's photo taking exponentially.
Breakfast was cereals, etc. while I have pizza dough rising now for lunchtime. Supper tonight is baked stuffed chicken breasts with honey-glazed, oven-roasted veggies and cranberry sauce. Raspberry pie for dessert.
Company arrived late afternoon as Michelle Cruz, who does Observatory educational programs for teachers/kids/classrooms, will be leading a seminar for a group of elementary teachers here tomorrow morning. Among other things, Michelle goes into classrooms all over New England doing any one of a dozen observatory programs, not all focused on weather either. It was fun to have her at the supper table...
As I was cooking supper, Ken came into the kitchen... "Turn off that burner and and come upstairs." I moved! The beauty of the sunset... you just can't describe these things... at one point the clouds were underlit and glowing, another minute the sun gilded the cog railway track weaving a golden ribbon up the mountainside, and as I stood nose pressed to the window, a raven swooped by inches away. So very special...
A little later Jim called and I went back up to find a crystal clear twilight, the most totally fog-free I've seen it here. Black and burnt orange defined the horizon, the muted curves of the Presidentials, a distant layer of dark-shadowed clouds, a slim crescent moon, and Venus twinkling brilliantly. So very beautiful...
Supper over and the kitchen picked up, I dragged my sleeping bag up to the outside observation deck planning to spread out in the lee of the small building up there and just drink in the night sky. The fog had rolled back in. RATS!
And so, at 10 pm, it's that time again... temp is 32, wind 49.7, wind chill 14, visibility zero.
Last day tomorrow...how quickly this has come to feel like home, these folks like family... Mary
September 24, 2006
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Listen! The Wind...
I have always loved Anne Morrow Lindberg's book Listen! The Wind, and it especially comes to mind today. Although it's been strangely warm up here, at 9 pm the wind is rising, the temperature is dropping and rain's due overnight. The temp is 35, wind sustained at 80 (with gusts to 96...so far), and wind chill 17. The howl, whistle and whine of the wind never cease, and I am comforted by knowing that the walls of the Observatory are two feet thick reinforced concrete.
Visibility continues to be near nothing, but still... there was a lovely wedding up here this morning (inside), with all the attendant finery and pomp. I'm not sure how the bridal party and guests came up, perhaps the stage, but this setting will certainly make a most memorable day even more so!
Breakfast this am - since I am up here to cook - was bacon, eggs, hash browns and hot-out-of-the-oven cinnamon buns. It was wonderful to have Mike's mom Leah stay over last night, and everyone enjoyed her company. She was able to get headed down in one of the Stages just before noon. Lunch became a forage-among-the-leftovers, while supper was pasta with hot Thai peanut sauce, mixed veggies, and gingerbread with whipped cream. Eating is a major recreation up here, and all my good ideas of using this time to semi-fast are now downright... laughable!
Yesterday the summit was very busy with full trains, the auto road open and the stages running even with the limited visibility. Many people dropped in for a tour of the Observatory facility, and listening to tour guide Ken, I, too, learned a lot. The mountain will essentially close down for winter by the middle of October, the summit mostly accessible after that only by the Sno Cat.
The crew from the State Park, who live next door to our quarters, will leave and the person who mans the Observatory Museum and gift shop will work her last shift. The crew here will lay in $30,000 - $40,000 of winter food and supplies, and just storing those goods will tighten an already somewhat cramped space.
(I measured our living area this morning so that I can do a good drawing on the computer when I get down. As I've mentioned before, the kitchen and pantry areas here have no windows, are at the back of this space and are actually built into the side of the summit. The bunk rooms are each 7' by 12' with two stacked bunks, and the big bunk room housing six is just as narrow only of course much longer. This facility can bunk 15, but I can't imagine that many people here in very close winter conditions.)
The EduTrips account for most of these over-night visitors, especially in winter. If you aren't already familiar with exactly what the Mount Washington Observatory does, and how it runs, you've got to check out their website which also explains the EduTrips. These fully-led trips covering a variety of subjects (meteorology, geology, folklore of the area as well as flora, fauna, photography, and more) are a way to sample this extraordinary facility in its utterly unique and challenging environment. What a GREAT Christmas present!
Back to today... Very exciting! Early afternoon, I had just walked back across the outside observation deck under overcast skies, mild temps and a 40+/- mph wind. There was a high school group visiting and the half dozen teens were out on the tower observation deck, way above me, having the time of their lives. I had just started making the gingerbread
when Mike called down from the weather room. I hurried up...in the 3-5 minutes since I'd left the observation deck, and the kids had come in from the tower, a fierce thunderstorm had swept in. I got to see lightning, up close and personal...very spectacular and very scary!!
This was actually a double red-letter day... Later, while looking east from the inside observation deck at the clearing sky and sun-and-shadow landscape, I saw a rainbow. Short and thick with wide, distinct color bands, it was sort of wedged between two mountains, not arched up high at all. Wisps of clouds drifted past then closed in. What a gift to catch that first to seven minute window!
And so another day ends. There are not words big enough to even begin to share this experience... the place, the people, the ever-changing, always-glorious panoramas.
And now, Nin is feeling very snuggly and I, very sleepy. A quick trip up to the weather room - no outside stroll for me - and lights out. G'night!
Listen! The Wind...
I have always loved Anne Morrow Lindberg's book Listen! The Wind, and it especially comes to mind today. Although it's been strangely warm up here, at 9 pm the wind is rising, the temperature is dropping and rain's due overnight. The temp is 35, wind sustained at 80 (with gusts to 96...so far), and wind chill 17. The howl, whistle and whine of the wind never cease, and I am comforted by knowing that the walls of the Observatory are two feet thick reinforced concrete.
Visibility continues to be near nothing, but still... there was a lovely wedding up here this morning (inside), with all the attendant finery and pomp. I'm not sure how the bridal party and guests came up, perhaps the stage, but this setting will certainly make a most memorable day even more so!
Breakfast this am - since I am up here to cook - was bacon, eggs, hash browns and hot-out-of-the-oven cinnamon buns. It was wonderful to have Mike's mom Leah stay over last night, and everyone enjoyed her company. She was able to get headed down in one of the Stages just before noon. Lunch became a forage-among-the-leftovers, while supper was pasta with hot Thai peanut sauce, mixed veggies, and gingerbread with whipped cream. Eating is a major recreation up here, and all my good ideas of using this time to semi-fast are now downright... laughable!
Yesterday the summit was very busy with full trains, the auto road open and the stages running even with the limited visibility. Many people dropped in for a tour of the Observatory facility, and listening to tour guide Ken, I, too, learned a lot. The mountain will essentially close down for winter by the middle of October, the summit mostly accessible after that only by the Sno Cat.
The crew from the State Park, who live next door to our quarters, will leave and the person who mans the Observatory Museum and gift shop will work her last shift. The crew here will lay in $30,000 - $40,000 of winter food and supplies, and just storing those goods will tighten an already somewhat cramped space.
(I measured our living area this morning so that I can do a good drawing on the computer when I get down. As I've mentioned before, the kitchen and pantry areas here have no windows, are at the back of this space and are actually built into the side of the summit. The bunk rooms are each 7' by 12' with two stacked bunks, and the big bunk room housing six is just as narrow only of course much longer. This facility can bunk 15, but I can't imagine that many people here in very close winter conditions.)
The EduTrips account for most of these over-night visitors, especially in winter. If you aren't already familiar with exactly what the Mount Washington Observatory does, and how it runs, you've got to check out their website which also explains the EduTrips. These fully-led trips covering a variety of subjects (meteorology, geology, folklore of the area as well as flora, fauna, photography, and more) are a way to sample this extraordinary facility in its utterly unique and challenging environment. What a GREAT Christmas present!
Back to today... Very exciting! Early afternoon, I had just walked back across the outside observation deck under overcast skies, mild temps and a 40+/- mph wind. There was a high school group visiting and the half dozen teens were out on the tower observation deck, way above me, having the time of their lives. I had just started making the gingerbread
when Mike called down from the weather room. I hurried up...in the 3-5 minutes since I'd left the observation deck, and the kids had come in from the tower, a fierce thunderstorm had swept in. I got to see lightning, up close and personal...very spectacular and very scary!!
This was actually a double red-letter day... Later, while looking east from the inside observation deck at the clearing sky and sun-and-shadow landscape, I saw a rainbow. Short and thick with wide, distinct color bands, it was sort of wedged between two mountains, not arched up high at all. Wisps of clouds drifted past then closed in. What a gift to catch that first to seven minute window!
And so another day ends. There are not words big enough to even begin to share this experience... the place, the people, the ever-changing, always-glorious panoramas.
And now, Nin is feeling very snuggly and I, very sleepy. A quick trip up to the weather room - no outside stroll for me - and lights out. G'night!
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