Picking our own strawberries used to be a favorite way of marking the summer solstice, but since my diet is so restricted now we decided to visit a different kind of farm this year. The beautiful, sweet-smelling Lavender Pond Farm fit the bill perfectly.
I had to laugh at myself. We were almost there when I realized I still had my house slippers on! So I wore my slippers all day! (Absent-minded old lady!) Thankfully there was no mud on the ground to deal with.
There were quite a few attractions and activities and it looks like they are still adding more. First we took a walk through the formal garden.
The air was fragrant with a thousand trodden aromatic herbs, with fields of lavender, and with the brightest roses blushing in tufts all over the meadows.
~ William Cullen Bryant
(Prose Writings, Volume 5)
Then we took a nice long, slow train ride on the purple Lavender Express, through the lavender fields and around the ponds. We also passed by more than a few fairy gardens in the woods.
and you can see them working around the hives.”
We are wont to forget that the sun looks on our cultivated fields and on the prairies and forests without distinction. They all reflect and absorb his rays alike, and the former make but a small part of the glorious picture which he beholds in his daily course. In his view the earth is all equally cultivated like a garden.
~ Henry David Thoreau
(Walden)
in the USA and first in CT to put in a SmartFlower.”
See the work of a master bridge wright.”
After the train ride, we did a quick walk-through in the gift shop, which smelled lovely, and then met a sleepy rooster outside. Tim spent a fair amount of time admiring a very old red truck. It felt a little strange being so close to people without a mask on, actually, just being close to people, period. I never know what to make of people who are wearing masks. Are they unvaccinated? Or playing it safe?
We had a lovely taste of the best kind of summer morning, with low humidity and comfortable temperatures. On the way home we stopped at my favorite restaurant for lunch, where they graciously take and prepare my special order. 🙂
The next day we went to an estate sale, something we haven’t done since before the pandemic started. Again I felt uncomfortable being in such close proximity to people with and without masks. (We’re not wearing them unless required by an establishment.) But I found a nicely-framed needlepoint of two chickadees on a branch, for only $5! And since the garden rake we use to spread mulch every year was falling apart we found one in good condition to replace it, also for $5. It doesn’t take much to delight us! 🙂
Astonishing picture of the kolibri! what a camera you must have. And I am in awe of the possibilities for hikes around you, Barbara!
Thank you, Leelah! But I must let you know that metal hummingbird is actually a large sculpture! Very beautifully crafted, I have to say. 🙂
You certainly have some beautiful sites in CT. Low temps and low humidity sounds great to this FL girl.
Thank you, Anna. Our summer days can be as hot and humid as yours, just not nearly as often! Stay cool down there. 🙂
Sounds like you had a lovely day. I’m enamored over those pastel-hued hives — somebody went to a bit of trouble making sure they were different but complimentary. Wonder if the bees instinctively know which colored hive they belong to, ha!
You got me thinking, Debbie, what do bees see? I found this: “Humans base their color combinations on red, blue and green, while bees base their colors on ultraviolet light, blue and green.” So I imagine the hives do look distinctive in some way to them. Fascinating! 🙂
Oh I very much love your first photo of the lavender flowers, I can just imagine the fragrance in the air while there! 💜 I had a giggle on you and your slippers, oh my I hope I never do that! 😉 Love that metal hummingbird, too.
Thank you, Donna! I love that photo, too, and couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it on the full laptop screen! I was enjoying the sights and smells so much that I quickly forgot all about wearing the slippers. If it ever does happen to you my advice is to have a good laugh and carry on! 😉
Looks like a beautiful farm and the fragrance must have been sublime. I liked the solar ‘flower’, covered bridge and old truck, great attractions.
Loved that you inadvertently wore your slippers 🙂 I got as far as the car once before noticing my footwear and scurried to change. 😉
Once, years ago, I walked out the door early one morning to take a walk with a friend. She let me get to the end of the sidewalk before she teased me, “New sneakers?” she inquired. I wonder how long it would have taken before I noticed the slippers on my feet myself? As long as this only happens once every twenty years or so… 😉
The SmartFlower piqued my interest. If I remember correctly the tour guide explained that it follows the sun across the sky and folds itself up at night and when it rains or snows. It also cleans the panels automatically. Not sure if it stores energy somewhere because I think he said the farm gets 98% of its energy from it.
That is fascinating – I might look into the cost of one of those solar panels. We haven’t been able to use solar so far because of dormers on the roof and well, as you know, most of my yard is gardens! We are part of a community solar program at least.
I do wonder about the cost. The company’s website wasn’t forthcoming. Curious about your community solar program. We live in a condo complex and don’t see any easy way to going solar. Maybe we could take out the unused tennis court and put in a SmartFlower….
Now there is an idea! Sounds like a perfect site for one. I also like that some parking lots are being covered with roof panels. A double win, vehicles get shade and snow protection and power is generated. win-win!
If you are interested to see if there is community solar projects you can tap into, google ‘community solar’ with your town and state and a list should come up. You can always ask your electric provider, most, by law, must offer solar or renewable to customers. We pay our regular electric bill and then get solar rebates quarterly.
Parking lots covered with roof panels sound good, too. So, my husband pays the bills so I haven’t been paying attention. It turns out our utility company is municipally owned (I did know that) and has a couple of green energy options, using wind, landfill gas and small hydro. No solar, however, which I found interesting. But it’s a small city. The difference seems to be, though, that we don’t get a rebate, we get charged a little extra, 1.1¢ per kWh. Might feel good to spend extra if we can manage it. We already pay extra for organic, humanely-raised and unprocessed food. Thanks for the suggestion.
This sounds like a perfect day Barbara … from end to end. I’ve never been to a lavender farm – one opened about 20 miles away from me last year. The smell must have been heavenly. I like all the nature shots … busy bee, delicate blooms. Your poems included matched the photos exactly. The chess set was unique. And you got to top off the excursion at your favorite restaurant.
It definitely was the perfect day! And now we’re bracing ourselves for the 5-day heat wave that is supposed to begin on Sunday… More yoga and family history research to help the time indoors pass. I was thrilled to see that bee in the photo — a happy accident — I couldn’t have got such a good picture of one on purpose! 😉
This weather – ugh! Last Sunday it was rounds of storms and we have rain daily for a solid week and a stormy weekend. What a Summer. It is national pollinator’s week, so a good time to feature that bee. Stay cool. I always say in the middle of Winter I won’t complain about the heat in Summer, then I complain anyway, but this year has been over the top for heat and humidity.
What a roller coaster ride with the weather we’re all having! It’s hard to plan ahead. Sometimes I feel a little spoiled because living so close to Long Island Sound our temperatures are a little cooler than they are inland, in the summer. In the winter it switches and our temperatures are a little warmer than they are inland. But still I complain!
I know I say in the Winter I won’t complain about the Summer weather. So, it was rumbling around and I shut down my computer – I looked outside and my pole sensor light had come on so that was a clue the storm was coming. Shut down, rumbling stopped, so I’m back, but we are having a deluge of rain right now … that is not good for people who already have flooding issues. You are lucky for that cool breeze. It has been so hot and sticky. The real feel this afternoon was 94 and 76 when I got up at 5:00 this morning.
Real feel of 76 first thing in the morning is pretty awful, it was 75 real feel out there this morning. So grateful for the air-conditioning, even though we keep it at 75 inside at least the air isn’t humid and sticky!
The red pickup truck is a beauty. As is the lavender. Your adventures sound lovely, but I’m like you about being around people now. And the whole mask thing? Am I to trust everyone to do the right thing? I don’t think so.
Tim was truly enamored of the truck, he kept returning to it to admire it again and again. I don’t trust people to be honest about their vaccination/mask status either. A very sad state of affairs right now. It casts a pall on being out and about.