John and I have been attending Sporting Clay Shoots these past few weekends. A majority of these Shoots are held on acres and acres of beautiful woods. I don't shoot. I really have no interest in shooting, but I like accompanying John. He likes to shoot clay targets flying through the air to see how many he can "kill" and I like capturing the moments with my digital camera.
I love being in the woods! There is something calming and peaceful being surrounded by Mother Nature's bounty and beauty! It's an entirely different world being surrounded by trees, ferns, stones, rocks and bushes....
It brings the blood pressure down. It creates peace in your soul and your Spirit is able to communicate with you with ease while you are in the woods.
Join me on a peaceful "walk in the woods....."
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Friday, August 24, 2007
The Latest Adventure.......
Last weekend John and I attended a two-day Shoot at Silverton's Sporting Ranch in Canaan, Maine http://flurrieclays.blogspot.com/. If you wish to look at a slide show of those photos, click on the link.
It was more of an adventure for me to take photos. I took a book and knitting just in case I got bored, but did not have a chance to use either while at the Ranch!
Instead of driving back and forth from the house both days, we booked a room at the Comfort Inn in Waterville. I tried to get a "Non-Smoking" room, but none were available. The other hotels in the area were either all booked (Best Western Inn) or too expensive (Holiday Inn). The EconoLodge will never get my business because they place their bathroom sinks in the bedroom, and I need privacy unless I am staying alone.
So how bad could a "smoking room" be?? Boy! As soon as we stepped off the elevator the stale cigarette smoke hit us in the throat, and the room's air was almost un-breatheable! Even turning up the air conditioner did not help. Fortunately I packed my vials of peppermint, orange and wintergreen oils. I place drops on my pillow each night before going to sleep because it smells soothingly wonderful. I put some on the upholstery and the pillows in the hotel room and it made a tremendous difference in the air!
The following day while we were out, Housekeeping cleaned the air with an ionizer and you couldn't even tell you were staying in a "smoking" room after that.
An unexpected delight was a free HOT breakfast with "limited waitress service." Breakfast was buffet style: scrambled eggs, home fries, link sausages and tiny pancakes. Also available was a large variety of cold cereal, breads for toasting, pastries, coffee, tea, orange and apple juice. The last time I stayed in a hotel, breakfast was served but it was all cold items. So this was a welcomed change!
Silverton Ranch is surrounded by acres and acres of beautiful corn fields. It was a wonderful two days in the outdoors!
I did get to stop in Watervilles's wonderful yarn store (The Yardgoods Store). They sell yarn, beautiful fabrics for sewing, and sewing machines. I wish I could have brought the entire store home with me! I got to actually feel the various yarns I see pictured in catalogs and the online yarn stores. It was a great tactile experience!! (Only a person who works with yarn understands the need to touch the material before you buy it).
One evening after leaving Silverton's we ate at Friendlys. I hadn't eaten there for over 20 years and read they were having trouble attracting customers and revamped their menu, so in we went. John loves to get an appetizer no matter where we eat, so we opted for the Waffle Fries! My god....They were good!! I recommend you stop in and try them. They are extruded potatoes in the shape of miniature waffles, fried golden brown and drenched with cheddar cheese and bacon bits, served with sour cream and ranch dressing for dipping. They were to "die" for!! The serving was enough for 4 people! Here is the link for finding a Friendlys near you: http://www.friendlys.com/menu/lunch/.
A restaurant to avoid like the plague is Govenors!!
http://www.governorsrestaurant.com/?area=features
The food served at this place is old and stale; and a fish meal ordered by a nearby customer filled the air with a stinky fishy odor; indicating that the fish was extremely old. We should have gotten up and left, but we were tired and hungry. I ordered chicken medallions with cranberry stuffing and baked potato with pickled beets. How bad could that be, right?? Pretty bad!! I took it to the waitress and told her I could not and would not eat it! The chicken medallions were dried out, the gravy was dried out, the potato was old as well... the only edible portion were the beets. John's meat loaf must have seen better days and could have been used to tile a wall. His baked potato was "days old" too. With branches in five other locations, do not patronize this eatery! In my opinion, they should be closed down!!!
Maine is an incredibly beautiful state. There is very little that is ugly or an eyesore, and on the days when everything is green, the humidity and temperature is perfect, you feel as if you are in a portion of paradise!
Riding along the rural areas (which most of Maine is) there are signs beckoning you to buy corn, strawberries, blueberries, cukes and apples from roadside farms. You even run upon small stands and shacks selling live lobsters at a reduced price. No wonder people travel from all over to vacation here. It's a little slice of beauty, peace, and wonderful quiet! It's soothing to your soul.
When leaving the Comfort Inn, I picked up some brochures of available places to visit in the surrounding area. If you like to fish, here is a wonderful excursion for you. I don't even like to fish and I thought it was unusual and exciting: Drive up north to Mount Desert Island http://www.acadiamagic.com/SouthwestHarbor.html and board the Vagabond owned by the Masako Queen Deep Sea Fishing Company. They take you 8-20 miles out of the the Southwest Harbor where you may catch cod, cusk, cunner, mackerel, school pollack, sculpin, redfish, and occasionally a wolf fish or a mako shark. They offer a 3/4 day or half day trip. Half day trips are fun for the entire family; enjoy porpoises, seals, eagles, osprey and occasionally a whale. On all trips they haul a lobster trap for each person on the boat. Any legal lobsters in the trap they haul for you are yours to keep with their compliments. The Vagabond is a fast, comfortable, off-shore commercial fishing boat, coast guard certified with a "head" and well equipped. Fares start at $34 for 12 and under; $44 for adults. The price includes: rod, bait, fish cleaning and maybe a lobster(s). No charge for lost tackle. All tackle is free! If you don't fish and just want to enjoy the trip deduct $5 from the fare. Moderate consumption of beer or wine coolers are OK.. no hard liquor and no large coolers of alcoholic beverages allowed. What to bring: warm clothing, rubber-soled shoes, sunscreen, camera and lunch. Snacks, chips, soda and water is available on the boat. Trips not recommended for children under 5. Call for information and reservations: 207-244-5385, 7 to 8 AM. I am typing all this information because they do not have a website. September is the last month until June of the following year to enjoy the day with these folks.
Here is a short slide show of what goes on in the world of Sporting Clay Shooting.
It was more of an adventure for me to take photos. I took a book and knitting just in case I got bored, but did not have a chance to use either while at the Ranch!
Instead of driving back and forth from the house both days, we booked a room at the Comfort Inn in Waterville. I tried to get a "Non-Smoking" room, but none were available. The other hotels in the area were either all booked (Best Western Inn) or too expensive (Holiday Inn). The EconoLodge will never get my business because they place their bathroom sinks in the bedroom, and I need privacy unless I am staying alone.
So how bad could a "smoking room" be?? Boy! As soon as we stepped off the elevator the stale cigarette smoke hit us in the throat, and the room's air was almost un-breatheable! Even turning up the air conditioner did not help. Fortunately I packed my vials of peppermint, orange and wintergreen oils. I place drops on my pillow each night before going to sleep because it smells soothingly wonderful. I put some on the upholstery and the pillows in the hotel room and it made a tremendous difference in the air!
The following day while we were out, Housekeeping cleaned the air with an ionizer and you couldn't even tell you were staying in a "smoking" room after that.
An unexpected delight was a free HOT breakfast with "limited waitress service." Breakfast was buffet style: scrambled eggs, home fries, link sausages and tiny pancakes. Also available was a large variety of cold cereal, breads for toasting, pastries, coffee, tea, orange and apple juice. The last time I stayed in a hotel, breakfast was served but it was all cold items. So this was a welcomed change!
Silverton Ranch is surrounded by acres and acres of beautiful corn fields. It was a wonderful two days in the outdoors!
I did get to stop in Watervilles's wonderful yarn store (The Yardgoods Store). They sell yarn, beautiful fabrics for sewing, and sewing machines. I wish I could have brought the entire store home with me! I got to actually feel the various yarns I see pictured in catalogs and the online yarn stores. It was a great tactile experience!! (Only a person who works with yarn understands the need to touch the material before you buy it).
One evening after leaving Silverton's we ate at Friendlys. I hadn't eaten there for over 20 years and read they were having trouble attracting customers and revamped their menu, so in we went. John loves to get an appetizer no matter where we eat, so we opted for the Waffle Fries! My god....They were good!! I recommend you stop in and try them. They are extruded potatoes in the shape of miniature waffles, fried golden brown and drenched with cheddar cheese and bacon bits, served with sour cream and ranch dressing for dipping. They were to "die" for!! The serving was enough for 4 people! Here is the link for finding a Friendlys near you: http://www.friendlys.com/menu/lunch/.
A restaurant to avoid like the plague is Govenors!!
http://www.governorsrestaurant.com/?area=features
The food served at this place is old and stale; and a fish meal ordered by a nearby customer filled the air with a stinky fishy odor; indicating that the fish was extremely old. We should have gotten up and left, but we were tired and hungry. I ordered chicken medallions with cranberry stuffing and baked potato with pickled beets. How bad could that be, right?? Pretty bad!! I took it to the waitress and told her I could not and would not eat it! The chicken medallions were dried out, the gravy was dried out, the potato was old as well... the only edible portion were the beets. John's meat loaf must have seen better days and could have been used to tile a wall. His baked potato was "days old" too. With branches in five other locations, do not patronize this eatery! In my opinion, they should be closed down!!!
Maine is an incredibly beautiful state. There is very little that is ugly or an eyesore, and on the days when everything is green, the humidity and temperature is perfect, you feel as if you are in a portion of paradise!
Riding along the rural areas (which most of Maine is) there are signs beckoning you to buy corn, strawberries, blueberries, cukes and apples from roadside farms. You even run upon small stands and shacks selling live lobsters at a reduced price. No wonder people travel from all over to vacation here. It's a little slice of beauty, peace, and wonderful quiet! It's soothing to your soul.
When leaving the Comfort Inn, I picked up some brochures of available places to visit in the surrounding area. If you like to fish, here is a wonderful excursion for you. I don't even like to fish and I thought it was unusual and exciting: Drive up north to Mount Desert Island http://www.acadiamagic.com/SouthwestHarbor.html and board the Vagabond owned by the Masako Queen Deep Sea Fishing Company. They take you 8-20 miles out of the the Southwest Harbor where you may catch cod, cusk, cunner, mackerel, school pollack, sculpin, redfish, and occasionally a wolf fish or a mako shark. They offer a 3/4 day or half day trip. Half day trips are fun for the entire family; enjoy porpoises, seals, eagles, osprey and occasionally a whale. On all trips they haul a lobster trap for each person on the boat. Any legal lobsters in the trap they haul for you are yours to keep with their compliments. The Vagabond is a fast, comfortable, off-shore commercial fishing boat, coast guard certified with a "head" and well equipped. Fares start at $34 for 12 and under; $44 for adults. The price includes: rod, bait, fish cleaning and maybe a lobster(s). No charge for lost tackle. All tackle is free! If you don't fish and just want to enjoy the trip deduct $5 from the fare. Moderate consumption of beer or wine coolers are OK.. no hard liquor and no large coolers of alcoholic beverages allowed. What to bring: warm clothing, rubber-soled shoes, sunscreen, camera and lunch. Snacks, chips, soda and water is available on the boat. Trips not recommended for children under 5. Call for information and reservations: 207-244-5385, 7 to 8 AM. I am typing all this information because they do not have a website. September is the last month until June of the following year to enjoy the day with these folks.
Here is a short slide show of what goes on in the world of Sporting Clay Shooting.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Tomatoes!
John wanted to try growing something to eat this spring. We have both grown plants and flowers in our 'city life,' but neither one of us have ever planted something to eat.
John is the more 'adventurous' of the two of us, so off we went to a private garden center and came home with two container cherry tomato plants. We re-potted them into larger containers; watered them with Miracle-Gro and a few drops of "Crystal Energy," (a special treatment that makes water more "effective") and I placed a small single-terminated crystal into each pot to increase the 'goodies' found in our air and sun. A few weeks ago, we started harvesting cherry tomatoes, and boy are they good!
I cannot describe the taste... they are both sweet and a bit sour; full bodied in flavor, nothing like you buy in the stores.
My "beef" with just about anything "fresh" you buy in supermarkets is a lack of full-bodied flavor. If you have ever tasted food purchased directly from a farm, you will understand what I am talking about.
There is something vastly different about allowing a fruit or vegetable to ripen on a vine, stark or tree that brings out a complete level of taste. What we purchase in a store isn't allowed to fully ripen, and it shows in the taste.
I am usually always disappointed whenever I decide to buy fruit because it lacks full flavor. So to taste the wonderful difference of our first-grown tomatoes is lovely, and I think it is safe to assume that next Spring, we will purchase more plants, expand, and explore our newly found "farmer's thumb."
Here are a few photos of our small bounty......
John is the more 'adventurous' of the two of us, so off we went to a private garden center and came home with two container cherry tomato plants. We re-potted them into larger containers; watered them with Miracle-Gro and a few drops of "Crystal Energy," (a special treatment that makes water more "effective") and I placed a small single-terminated crystal into each pot to increase the 'goodies' found in our air and sun. A few weeks ago, we started harvesting cherry tomatoes, and boy are they good!
I cannot describe the taste... they are both sweet and a bit sour; full bodied in flavor, nothing like you buy in the stores.
My "beef" with just about anything "fresh" you buy in supermarkets is a lack of full-bodied flavor. If you have ever tasted food purchased directly from a farm, you will understand what I am talking about.
There is something vastly different about allowing a fruit or vegetable to ripen on a vine, stark or tree that brings out a complete level of taste. What we purchase in a store isn't allowed to fully ripen, and it shows in the taste.
I am usually always disappointed whenever I decide to buy fruit because it lacks full flavor. So to taste the wonderful difference of our first-grown tomatoes is lovely, and I think it is safe to assume that next Spring, we will purchase more plants, expand, and explore our newly found "farmer's thumb."
Here are a few photos of our small bounty......
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
