~ A Birthday Blast for Comstock, Ferre & Co. ~

We first heard about Comstock, Ferre & Co.‘s 200th Anniversary Birthday Bash when their seed catalog arrived in the mail way back in December… or was it January?

In any event, it was cold and there was lots and lots of snow…

the perfect time to start planning our gardens, devouring seed catalogs, making just the right choices to get us through the cold, bitter New England winter months…

the perfect time to make plans to visit the Comstock, Ferre & Co. in Wethersfield, Connecticut for their 200th Anniversary Birthday Bash!

Jere & Emilee Gettles, owners of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds of Mansfield, Missouri purchased the 200 year old seed company with the intention of restoring it to its former glory and continuing its heritage by carrying heirloom seeds to supply small gardeners and retail operations as well.

A dream come true.  The Gettles brought an Amish crew from Missouri to restore the historic buildings and barns and I can’t think of a better owner to understand the value of such a place and its heritage.

The day dawned clear and cool, a nip to the air, promise of a beautiful day to come… we headed out to Wethersfield (about an hour away from our Central MA home) with the excitement of a day out, surrounded by plants and history!  Nothing prepared us for such a lovely day… a lovely day indeed!

Here are some photos of our day… LOTS and LOTS of photos of the day, but it was hard, very HARD to eliminate them… we so enjoyed ourselves!

The Belden House at Comstock, Ferre & Co.

We arrived on Main Street, Wethersfield… parking was full, had to take a ride around the block in order to find a shady spot to park (the dogs joined us).

We arrive at Comstock, Ferre & Co.

Our first view of the festival… where to first???  Re-enactors in every corner… way too much fun!  A recent trip to Fort Frederick Market Fair had given us a taste for this, so excited to find more… AND so close to home!

A blacksmith selling his wares… and demonstrating in period costume!

Heating up the iron… a portable forge!

Working the iron…

… and getting the curve just right!

Just the right amount of twist!

Using the bellows to heat the coal…

This fine lady was demonstrating various needle crafts and her skilled weaving…

Tools of the trade… a lady would have had many of these implements attached to her waist (or girdle) holding her needles, scissors, thread and the like.

This little loom was for weaving cording.

Equivalent of a sweatshirt, back in the 1700′s… this shirt is a linen-cotton mix, hand-woven and hand-stitched by this fine lady who gave me instructions on how to make it without a pattern.  Can’t wait to give it a try!

Every seam was a “French seam” which covers up the raw edges and reinforces the stitching… at the shoulder seam, cotton twill tape was used for strength.

Triangular gussets were used where the shoulder meets the neck for additional strength… keeping the fabric from fraying or tearing.

Just LOVE this gusset at the bottom of the neck opening!

Detail of the turned under edge along the neck opening.

Jere Gettles talking with a few visitors.  Both Jere and Emilee were wandering in and out of the crowd, talking with visitors and taking photos… I wished I had more time to try and chat with them!  Jere’s recent interview with Zan Asha for The Renegade Farmer was so interesting and gives you a feel for what they are all about!

These guys were fun to talk to!  Great information on this replica cannon (casting of an original untouched 1750 cannon given by the British to us, hidden away and recently discovered)… so cool!

Officer’s field desk, with everything an officer would need…

This nasty little weapon was pretty neat… no mater how you throw it, it always ends with a point up… imagine the damage this baby could do to a hoof or soldier’s foot???  Evidently, they were used up to the Vietnam war.

Paul discussing the cannon with its owner…

I absolutely loved the wheels!

The type of shot which would have been fired from this cannon.

… and a close up of the cannon itself.

This fellow was displaying 18th century tools that were found on his family’s farm in Windsor, CT…

…a great collection, used by his family for generations!

So cool!

Ice saw and tongs used for harvesting ice which was stored in sawdust in the ice house for summer use!

Blueberries… yum!!!

LOVED this arbor/trellis… new project for Paul to add to the side of my new arbor!

It’s the little things that get me excited!  Can you believe they were selling plants like this???   CHEROKEE GREEN TOMATO… awesome!!!

Inside, there were lots of vendors, seeds and great things to buy!  Here are Baker Creek cups, t-shirts and hats!

A great selection of books relating to heirloom gardening…

… honey and beeswax products…

… natural fertilizers and insecticides…

… and SEEDS…

… great displays, vintage design cards…

… and candles…

… birdhouses…

… and all sorts of gardening gadgets, supplies and information!  LOVED the twine holder!

Old seed boxes and crates were everywhere… so cool!

Looks like old seed packets, but they’re packaged for 2011!!!

Walls of old file cabinets, bins and equipment!

Great twine!

You wouldn’t believe how wonderful these Swedish natural bristle brushes were!  They had vegetable brushes, nail brushes… you name it!

Pysanky eggs!  I hardly ever see them out and about… we’ve made them, a lot of work, but so worth the effort!

There were beans in jars, lots of beans as well as all these lovely drieds… so sweet!

Catholic Charities immigration assistance had an area where they were selling these gorgeous rugs and knits!

… and SEEDS!

I just LOVE the packaging!

Samples of bread dipping mixes… mmmmmmmmm, so good!

… and more SEEDS!

A view across the main floor.

… and more SEEDS!

Paul checking out the amaranth seeds…

… now tell me, where can you find amaranth seeds… not one variety, not two varieties, but 5 VARIETIES!!!  So awesome, great seed selection!

How about this variety of eggplant… couldn’t get myself to try it this year, but maybe next year’s garden???

PURPLE TOMATOES, PINK TOMATOES, GREEN TOMATOES… whatever color your heart desires… they’re here!

Heirloom Gardener magazine!  The current issue and many back issues… we carry this back at our shop, it’s awesome!  Jere & Emilee Gettles do a great job with it!

Old signs…

… and antiques!

A view of the front yard festivities!

LOVED these old drug store bottles!

FANTASTIC sign!!!

Cases of old seed catalogues, packages and related memorabilia!

Not sure if these were measures or scoops or both, but they were AWESOME!

Sacks…

.. old crates…

… machinery used in the seed industry…

LOVED this machine… I have no idea what it was used for, though!

Here is another unknown beauty!  Look at that old paint!

Emilee & Sasha Gettles at the Farmer’s Cow ice cream booth…

… it was so GOOD!!!

One of the back buildings used for speakers… Jere Gettles on the left, talking with a customer.  There were food vendors, plants and more set up out back… great stuff!

Back out front, re-enactors were set up.  Here is a basketmaker’s display…

… this lady was showing visitors how people had to write…

… and this lady was spinning naturally dyed wool…

… all naturally dyed wool yarn, the red is from cochineal (a bug which was imported in the 18th century for red dyes), the brighter orange is from cosmos!

This young family looked so sweet!

Writing samples…

… and wares.

This lady’s needlework was AWESOME!!!

She showed me this great book with photos from Winterthur Museum and look what I found!!!  I have a sampler very similar to this that my great, great, great, great, grandmother’s sister made… same era, also from the Lexington Concord area!

LOVED this guy’s coat!

The band played on!

… and we reluctantly said our farewells!

A fabulous time, wish we had more time to stay and visit with everyone, shop and enjoy… SOOOOOO… if you ever happen to be near Wethersfield, CT, be sure to stop in at Comstock, Ferre & Co. – you won’t regret it!

Simple Treasures from the Past – Antiques & Primitive Goods Show ~ SPRING 2011 ~

Well, we’re at it again… SHOW MODE!!!

Our 2nd Annual

SIMPLE TREASURES FROM THE PAST

ANTIQUES & PRIMITIVE GOODS SHOW

Saturday, June 18th, 2011

10 – 4      Admission $5

is almost here!!!

Things are happenin’ around Walker Homestead…

Lawns are gettin’ mowed, fields cleaned up from the winter, gardens weeded, new gardens established, plants and seeds are all on their way into the wonderful rich soil.

Final touches are in the works…

This season we are having YOU, the CUSTOMER VOTE for

THE BEST BOOTH CONTEST!!!

You will receive a ticket at the admissions booth, fill out your name and choice of best booth, drop it off at the Chuck Wagon and you will be eligible to win a prize!!!  You must be present at the drawing (noon & 1:00 p.m.) to win either a Garden Gift Basket or a Wooden Crow on a pitchfork!

WE ARE… s00000000…        E – X – C – I – T – E – D!!!

The PODUNK RAMBLERS will grace us with their bluegrass music throughout the day… these guys are awesome!!!

Our LIST OF VENDORS:

American Country Rugs – Pawlet, VT

Lucille Festa, Proprietor

Angel House Designs – Brookfield, MA

Valentin J. Dzelzitis, Proprietor

Baskets by Dakota – Enfield, CT

Dakota, Proprietor

Blackstone Antiques – Primitives & Candles – Douglas, MA

Kate Foynes, Proprietor

Bowl Barn Antiques – Douglas, MA

Louise Villa, Proprietor

Country Plus – Hopkinton, MA

Judy Coffey, Proprietor

Dater House Antiques – Troy, NY

Cindy Johnson & Leann Breer, Proprietors

Dianne Sandman – East Brookfield, MA

Dianne Sandman, Proprietor

The Early Homestead Woodshop – Napoleon, OH

Dirk Dishop, Proprietor

Haley’s Gatherings – East Chatham, NY

Donna M. Russell, Proprietor

Hands of Time Antiques – Palmyra, PA

Connie Gleed, Proprietor

Hearts and Homespun – Leyden, MA

Jo-Ann Helbig, Proprietor

Henhouse Primitives – Oxford, PA

Cecilia Taylor, Proprietor

Hometown Antiques – West Brookfield, MA

Cindy & Joe Shepard, Proprietors

Kulina Folk Art – Warren, MA

Gariné Arakelian, Proprietor

Log Cabin Country Primitives – Colchester, CT

Nancy Bryer, Proprietor

Magpie Primitives – Canaan, NY

Mark & Chastity Stephenson, Proprietor

Mary Elliott Antiques – Pepperell, MA

Mary Elliott, Proprietor

Mill River Primitives – Springfield, MA

Tammy, Proprietor

Milltown Primitives – North Stonington, CT

Robin Rock, Proprietor

Newgate Designs – East Granby, CT

Theresa Case, Proprietor

Olde Country Store – Brockport, NY

Dottie Miller, Proprietor

Orphan Annie’s Antiques – Barre, MA

Ann McDonald, Proprietor

Painted Duck Antiques – Niantic, CT

Bill Phaneuf, Proprietor

Pied Potter Hamelin – Warren, MA

Rick Hamelin, Proprietor

Pine Patch Primitives – Spencer, MA

Eva Ramsey, Proprietor

The Pleasure of “Yore” Company – West Brookfield, MA

Patti White, Proprietor

Primitives by Maria – Brookline, NH

Maria Cardillo, Proprietor

Primitive Crafts – West Springfield, MA

Victoria Amato, Proprietor

Richard Fuller Antiques – South Royalton, VT

Rick Fuller, Proprietor

Richmond House Antiques – Ashford, CT

Karan & Edd Oberg, Proprietors

Sassafras Hill Primitives – Enfield, CT

Denise Davis, Proprietor

Susan H. Wirth – Union CT

Sue Wirth, Proprietor

Tinkertown Antiques – Douglas, MA

Molly Garland, Proprietor

Turnpike Antiques – Madison, NY

Jack & Dirinda Houghton, Proprietors

Village Weaver – Bristol, ME

Phyllis Leck, Proprietor

Waters Tavern Antiques – West Sutton, MA

Cheryl Bonin, Proprietor

Wigwam Hill Antiques – Wilbraham, MA

Doug & Linda Burr, Proprietors

Winterberry Primitives – South Mashpee, MA

Lana Testa, Proprietor

Join us for the experience of a lifetime!

Some of the finest dealers in country antiques & handmade primitive goods from all over New England, New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio get together FOR YOU!!!

Stroll through the heirloom gardens, visit with the farm animals, listen to the music, dine in the Homestead Tavern or out back for simpler fare at the Chuck Wagon… and SHOP, SHOP, SHOP!!!

WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU!!!

For additional information, visit our website.

While you are in town, you  may want to visit our friends at the Salem Cross Inn for their

Drover’s Roast on Sunday, June 19th… for more information visit their website.

Pennsylvania~ Walker Homestead on the Road

Friday morning dawned early for these girls with a 3:00 a.m. start, Doreen was here by 4:00 and we were off!

The first part of our journey was uneventful, getting used to the trailer and driving in the dark, but as daylight dawned, we we able to enjoy the scenery passing by.  We noticed that Connecticut received as much snow as we had back in Massachusetts!  Only as we passed through New York into Pennsylvania did the snow amounts lessen and we actually saw patches of ground!  Yes, to all those folks back home… there is soil and grass under all that snow!

We arrived at our hotel, the Scanticon in King of Prussia, PA late morning, checked in and dropped our trailer for our next excursion… a visit to Diane Windle’s home and shop, Windle’s Log Cabin Antiques which was only a half hour away.  Nothing can truly prepare you for this treat.  Diane’s shop is her 11 room home tucked away at the end of a dirt road in an 18th century stone house and attached log cabin.  The drive was icy this visit, the scenery just amazing!  Not as much snow in PA, but snow just the same.

Diane is a warm and welcoming hostess, giving us free rein of her gorgeous home and the antiques it beholds!

Every time we come here we plan on an hour or two, but with so many choice pieces, it’s often difficult to make up your mind!  Our plans always go awry and we stay longer than expected!  Friday’s visit resulted in an awesome 18th century Dutch cupboard and early dry sink in old red paint.

We left Diane’s, stopped for a healthy lunch/dinner at Panera Bread and went back to the hotel.  We hooked the trailer back up and unloaded for the show – The Gallery of American Handcrafters and Antiques… a new wholesale show hosted by Mark & Chastity of Magpie Primitives which was held at Valley Forge Convention Center in King of Prussia, PA.  Among our friends doing the show were Connie and Harry Gleed of Hands of Time Antiques from Palmyra, PA and Cecilia Taylor from Henhouse Primitives of PA.  What a great group of vendors and customers!  The show opened Saturday night and our hand made items were sold out within the first hour!  Quite a few of our reproductions and antiques sold as well.

Sunday was a quieter day and we headed over to the Oaks for the Market Square wholesale show to pick up more items for the shop.  A special thanks to Connie & Harry who watched our booth while we were gone!  We ran into many friends, shop owners and hand crafters at the show and purchased lots of new merchandise.

Sunday evening we decided to head out for dinner with our roommates, Donna Russell of Haley’s Gathering from East Chatham, New York and her friend, Darlene.  Donna suggested Maggiano’s in King of Prussia and we were not disappointed!  Food, food and more food!  We did their family style option which included 2 appetizers, 2 salads, 2 entrees and 2 desserts… each course is all you can eat… a truly amazing restaurant with fantastic food!

Monday morning dawned and we packed up to leave with a quick stop back at Market Square to pick up a forgotten package and low and behold, we ran into our dear friend Dirk Dishop of The Early Homestead Woodshop from Napoleon, Ohio… bought some new cement bee skeps from him while we were at it!  Then we were off to pick up our purchases at Diane Windle’s and take Donna and Dar antiquing.  As usual, Windle’s took longer than expected, and quite a few purchases later we were off again, this time bound for Christina Hummel’s Primitive America in Pennsdale, Pennsylvania.

Our GPS was a little out of sorts this past weekend and took us the round-a-bout way across the mountains and avoiding all major routes… lucky us!  Unfortunately, our ETA changed and changed again, but Christina was most accommodating and welcomed us at 5:30 p.m.!  We really wish we had the advantage of daylight, but Christina’s shop is fantastic!  These northern girls were beside ourselves, like vultures, pouncing on wonderful wooden ware, red ware and more!

We shopped to our hearts’ content, then for the treat of a lifetime – a tour of Christina’s lovely home, which is featured in the spring issue of A Simple Life Magazine.  It’s every bit as gorgeous as Jill Peterson represented with Christina’s incredible summer kitchen cupboard on the cover!

We left Christina’s around 7:30 p.m. heading east out of the mountains and homeward bound.  Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other ideas and after a harrowing journey with truck and fully loaded trailer and over an hour of driving 20 mph to cover 27 miles through wild snow in the mountains, we decided to call it a night at the first hotel we found.  A day late, but safe and sound, we arrived home on Tuesday to yet another 5 inches of snow!  We unpacked all of our wonderful treasures, returned the trailer and tried to catch our breath!

Our many thanks to both Diane & Christina for being such wonderful hostesses, to our wonderful customers for making this trip a success and to Donna & Dar for lots of laughs!  We can’t wait to return to Pennsylvania for another buying and selling trip… what fun!

The Herbal

Today was a perfectly normal day.

I moved along my usual course of business throughout the day, stopped at the office, put out a couple of fires, ran some errands and finally arrived back home.

Absolutely nothing prepared me for what was to come next.  I should have had an idea that something was up, my DH had a hint of a grin hovering about his mouth from the moment I walked in the door.

A package was sitting quietly on one of the tavern tables, just waiting for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slowly, I started to open it, savoring the moment.

The anticipation rose, each item more enticing than the last~

 

A sweet note from the past, properly sealed…

No words can express my excitement as I opened this delicious package… from quill to sealing wax, proper wrapping and accoutrement… just PERFECT.

 

 

 

 

 

A PERFECT PACKAGE.

 

BUT, it gets better.

 

 

 

 

 

and BETTER

and B E T T E R ! ! !

 

 

 

 

A true work of art, in every way…

I’m feeling very stingy right at this moment, but I’ll share a few glimpses with you…

 

 

 

 

and a few more…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I leave you tonight to go spend time with my new treasure, made by a master at his trade.  I thank you, Master McClintock, for your fine work!  This Herbal will be treasured

~F O R E V E R~

A Snowy Day ~ The Bake Oven

The Day dawned with almost a foot of snow on the ground

and a forecast of much more to come.

We decided it would be a good day to try out our bake oven… something we’ve been thinking about doing for almost 3 decades!

DH cleaned out the oven

 

 

 

 

 

and lit the fire

While I started making bread in the kitchen.

 

 

 

 

 

Three loaves of bread and a pizza!

One loaf of dill bread, one loaf of lemon basil bread and one loaf of plain…

and a pizza!

The oven heated up

 

 

 

 

and heated up

The dogs waited, soaking up the heat… just waiting…

Finally, it was time!

 

 

 

 

 

and the pizza was done!

Yummmmmmm……….

I have a feeling that this old oven is going to get a lot of use now!

Next, we decided to bake the bread… the first 2 loaves cooked too fast on the outside, I guess we’ll wait it out for the oven to cool down a bit before baking the last loaf.

What a way to spend a snowy day…

now,

back to my seed catalogs!

From the Farmhouse Primitive Show!

Well, we have returned from a glorious fall From the Farmhouse show of country antiques & primitives hosted by Cecilia Taylor of Henhouse Primitives in Elkton, MD!  We left Massachusetts in a balmy state at 4:00 a.m. and arrived to a windy, cold Elkton just after 10:00 a.m. to set up for the show.  The show was held at the Cecil County/Fair Hill fairgrounds on Telegraph Road, which was a fantastic place to hold an event.  Loading and unloading was a breeze for vendors and there is plenty of parking for all who attended.

Over 30 vendors were set up around the grounds and inside the building and was truly a site to behold!  We ran into our old friends: Rick Fuller (Richard Fuller Antiques of South Royalton, VT); Christina Hummel (Primitive America, Pennsdale, PA); Connie Gleed (Hands of Time Antiques, Palmyra, PA); Dirk Dishop (The Early Homestead Woodshop, Napoleon, OH); Chastity & Mark Stephenson (Magpie Primitives, Canaan, NY); and of course our host, Cecilia Taylor (Henhouse Primitives, Oxford, PA)!  We also met some of our wonderful Facebook and website fans as well!

After setting up on Friday, Celia provided a wonderful dinner for the vendors and invited us all back to her house for snacks and mingling.  We dragged Connie Gleed and her friend Judy another half hour away to our new friend, Diane Windle’s home for the experience of a lifetime!  Windle’s Log Cabin Antiques is a must-do, if you are in the area, filled with primitive antiques and other treasures!  I think our eyes popped out of our heads when we saw how beautiful Diane’s home/shop is.

Sooooooo, it is our recommendation that you put aside the date of Saturday, April 30, 2011 for Cecilia Taylor’s next From the Farmhouse antique show!  You will not be disappointed.

The Dooryard Garden

The kitchen window.

A comment from one of our Facebook fans the other day led me to consider my dooryard garden, which I usually take for granted.  It’s always there… I walk through it at least 50 times a day.  Every now and then, we need to stop and enjoy… to savor the wonderful beauty of nature around us; the sights, smells and sounds which bring us such pleasure.

The Keeping Room door.

My dooryard garden evolved over the last 26 years, first as a border along the house, then as a border on both sides of the walkway, then as a completely fenced garden with walkways… planned on paper first, then laid out with slate and stones, each plant chosen for scent, color and seasonal beauty.

Along the house, outside the kitchen door is my culinary herb garden, perfectly situated so we can run out while cooking and snip an herb or two at a moment’s notice with thyme and pennyroyal at it’s edges so you catch a whiff each time you walk through, then the mint garden (it used to be all hollyhocks, but the mint overtook it, it smells nice and is useful, so it stayed).  Outside the keeping room door I planted some of my favorites, so that when you walk out the door you get subtle scents of salvias (Indigo Spires, guaranitica and Maraschino), scented geraniums (Apple Blossom Rosebud, rose, peppermint), stocks and pennyroyal.

The Dooryard Garden in June with delphinium.

During the various seasons the garden evolves with fine displays of baptisia australis (false indigo), Seven Sisters and heirloom roses, delphinium, monarda citriodora (a less-cultivated, lemony bee balm), foxglove, hollyhocks, dame’s rocket and so on.  The hot summer weather brings on the spectacular color of annuals including State Fair zinnias, Bright Lights cosmos, Violet Queen cleome and multiple varieties of nasturtiums.  My garden would not be complete without southernwood, sweet annie, petrovskia (russian sage), annual poppies and sunflowers!

Salvia Indigo Spires outside the keeping room door.

I am so grateful for the wonderful bounty nature has bestowed upon us, the beautiful flowers, scents and that warm sweet feeling of the garden.  Take a break from your busy life and stop and smell the flowers, savor and listen.  You’ll be glad you did!

Peanut in kitchen doorway.