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.

My Little Friend

Not so many months ago, my son discovered he was no longer allergic to cats after 21 years of absolute misery in a cat loving family.  A trip to the local feed and grain store resulted in him bringing home two sweet little kittens, brothers… much to my dismay.  We already had 5 cats, a stray had recently arrived on our doorstep and we certainly didn’t need any extra mouths to feed!  He named them Fidel  and Franco (a bit of humor on his part) and promised to care for them, pay for their expenses and moved out shortly thereafter, leaving the kittens in my care… what a surprise.

I had forgotten how funny kittens are, hopping about, chasing anything in their paths, even attacking the dogs who are 10 times their size!  They quickly won my heart… Franco is the purr-ball, sweet and lovable and Fidel is the quiet one, more of a challenge and now my little charmer… a Momma’s boy!

If I am home and working about the gardens or in the Garden Shop, the boys are usually underfoot.  If I’m picking raspberries, all of a sudden I feel someone climbing up my legs!  Today I was working in the shop, up on a ladder, hanging herbs from the rafters… the next thing I knew, little Fidel was in my face, had climbed various pieces of furniture and jumped up on top of the ladder to get closer to his mom.  Of course, a cuddling break was in order which totally pooped him out… and I left him sprawled out on the doorstep as I went on to other garden chores.

I guess, the lesson here is appreciate what you have, you never know when life is going to give you little gifts… a sweet moment, an overwhelming sense of love and well-being.  Stop and smell the roses, enjoy life and those little special moments.

It’s Brimfield Antiques Week Again!

Well, it’s upon us again… Brimfield Antiques Week… September 7th-12th.  Three times a year, the little town of Brimfield, Massachusetts turns into an international antique mecca as host of a giant “flea market” for antiques with fields of vendors and thousands of shoppers from all over!

A true experience for anyone, it’s a “must-do” for all antique lovers!  You can find antiques of all sorts from early American to primitive to Victorian to vintage to 80’s from all over the country!  True quality antiques are there as well as oddities, parts from machines, barns, cars, old buildings, you name it!

As one of the owners of Walker Homestead, together with my partner, Doreen Piechota, we head out to Brimfield religiously each week day of the show.  We are always looking for new merchandise for our shops as well as building relationships with dealers of early country antiques and primitive goods.  We host the Simple Treasures from the Past – Antiques & Primitive Goods Show at Walker Homestead in June and September and hand pick each of our vendors, many of whom are acquaintances from our Brimfield forages!

We are lucky that we live close by and are able to run over each day, however there are a variety of hotels and bed & breakfasts in the area willing to host you if you come from afar!  Each field has a different opening day and time, so it is best to check their schedule.  Some of our favorites are Quaker Acres (Tuesday at daybreak), New England Motel (Wednesday at 6 a.m.), Hertan’s (Wednesday at noon), May’s (Thursday at 9:00 a.m.) and J&J Promotions (Friday at 8:00 a.m.)… we will be trying out Dealers’ Choice (Tuesday at 11:00 a.m.) for something new.  Parking is plentiful in fields behind the vendors, church lawns and residential yards, ranging from $5 – $10.  It is best to plan on which fields you are going to and the parking areas near those particular areas as it is a very long walk from one end of the mart to the other!  Food is available at various locations along Route 20, or you can bring your own picnic.  No matter what you choose, get there early, wear good walking shoes, water & sunscreen (or rain gear) and get ready for the experience of a lifetime!  Hope to see you there!

Gardening Friends

A visit yesterday from representatives of two local garden clubs, in preparation of a joint garden tour, made me realize how much camaraderie there is between gardeners.

We meet people every day who come to our shop, visit our gardens, or just in the course of business (I’m a Realtor®, too)… the absolute delight we find in each other once we discover that gardening is a common interest is incredible!  Instant friendships are born, loosening of tongues, chattering of this plant and that… have you tried this?  Where did you find that?  How did this grow so well for you?  Have you been to this nursery or that?

A recent visit to a friend’s house for an impromptu plant swap and pot luck dinner provided a tour of their garden, conversation about gardens for several hours, new friendships were born, new plants came home to our own gardens… what a great way to spend a summer evening!

When my children were young, we used to travel with a friend and her children to Caprilands in Coventry, Connecticut to visit with gardening guru, Adelma Grenier Simmons.  Within 45 minutes of home with no admission, we were free to wander through the gardens, shop a little and thoroughly enjoy our day.  Her shop and related gardens were always an inspiration for me, each garden had its own theme, herbs and heirloom plants were everywhere!  Mrs. Simmons used to hold court in her little book store, sitting behind a desk in her vintage cloak, answering visitors’ questions and autographing her books.  She also held herbal luncheons and dinners.  Her many reference books on gardening and using herbs are still my bibles, dog-eared pages… the first place I run when I have a plant question!  Sadly, she is no longer with us, but her legend lives on.

Another favorite is Pickity Place in Mason, New Hampshire, still a favorite after all these years.  Centered around a lovely early American cape-style house, Pickity Place seems to be situated in the middle of nowhere… an oasis of sorts.  This is the house illustrative site for the 1948 English edition of Little Red Riding Hood by Elizabeth Orton Jones and is the theme of their book store.  They host herbal luncheons (reservations are suggested, their menu changes monthly and is available on-line), have beautiful gardens to stroll through as well as a well stocked garden shop and gift store.

As I prepare for another morning of watering my gardens (we’ve had a long stretch of no rain!), I think fondly of my gardening friends, acquaintances and favorite spots to visit… enjoying the plants I picked up here and there, each one with a memory of the place or person where it came from.  I look forward to a garden tour this weekend, meeting fellow gardeners and enjoying our time among the plants!  How special it is that one little seed, with a little nurturing, can become this plant which provides us with such pleasure!

Looking forward to seeing you in the garden!

Good Morning!

Good Morning!  It’s my favorite time of day, the early hours of peace and quiet… only the sounds of the chickens squawking to be let out, the roosters crowing and the birds singing… before most people are up and about, a time to sit and enjoy my coffee and get ready for the day ahead!

A dear friend and family member suggested to me to write a blog highlighting our home and business, Walker Homestead, so here I am!  I live on a 30 acre farm in a 1698 colonial saltbox at the end of a dead end road in Central Massachusetts.  Life is peaceful here.  We co-exist with cats and dogs, chickens, sheep, goat, pony and whatever other animals wander into our day.  Daily life involves working in the gardens, tending the livestock, and running our businesses.

Walker Homestead is home to Walker Homestead Primitives and the Colonial Quilt Shop (both owned and operated by Doreen & Steve Piechota) and Walker Homestead Gardens which includes the Garden Shop and Heirloom Gardens (owned and operated by myself and my husband, Paul Casucci).  We work together as a group, with our goal of creating an experience for our visitors… a little piece of the 18^th century mixed with a bit of country!  Our love of early American antiques, primitives and early American crafts is obvious in everything we do.  We also host the Simple Treasures from the Past – Antiques & Primitive Goods Show in June and September with vendors from all over New England, New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio, music, food & fun for all!

As we get into this new process of blogging, I’ll try to bring you a little piece of life here at Walker Homestead, some of our treks out looking for antiques, adventures in trying to recreate something old, catastrophes and successes, photos from the gardens and some of our wonderful pets and friends.

I look forward to this new adventure!