Sunday, November 29, 2015

Beer and cider rmaking

What better to do than to spend a Saturday afternoon upgrading my beer and cider making skills?  So....a few weeks ago I went to our local home-brew shop to learn about "boil-in-a-bag" full grain brewing and apple pressing with locally picked apples.  As you can see a fun time was had by all and some very fresh apple juice made its way back to Hangman Hill Road.




 
  
 



Saturday, November 14, 2015

The Season In-Between: Rest, Recovery and Preparations for Ski Season

After some fantastic late fall hikes in New Hampshire we are spending a few weekends in Connecticut.  Sheri has been recovering from abdominal surgery (nothing serious, but a slow recovery) and Bruno has been taking care of the pets, the garden and Sheri.  


We are grateful for all of the encouragement, gifts, cards and well wishes for Sheri's speedy reocovery.  Special thanks to DiAnn and Mike for the lovely plant and flower display and the fresh fruit bouquet!

Sheri has enjoyed two books from our friend Denise.  Grandma Gatewood's Walk tells the story of the first woman to hike the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine at age 65. She then then repeats the walk two more times.  The second book, Following Atticus, is the story of Tom Ryan and his miniature schnauzer Atticus as they hike the forty-eight 4000 footers in the White Mountains in all four seasons.  Both are inspiring reads and make us eager to get on the trails be it on foot, ski or snowboard!

It has been nice to spend time at home with the cats and enjoying some warm sunny skies.  The garden is winding down and Bruno had been tidying things up for winter so that in the first warm day in spring we can start planting.

Essential tools for Sheri's recovery

Hary is a good companion for the patient

Colorful flowers are welcome this time of year!

Monday, November 9, 2015

November Face of Produce: Fennel, radish and beet

The leaves have mostly come off the trees which means it is time for fall clean up in the garden.  It is always a little melancholy packing up hoses, cutting back the asparagus fronds, putting the pots in the shed and cutting back the remnants of sunflowers, beans, and other garden fruits.  It is for this reason the disovery of big red beets, crisp radishes and bright green fennel that you forgot you planted in late summer is so very sweet.  We have a tasty face of produce this November.  The taste of garden fresh veggies, and visions of fresh powder on the trail, keep us smiling.





Saturday, November 7, 2015

North, Middle & South Carter via the Imp Face

Last weekend we were in New Hampshire enjoying unusually warm weather and clear skies.  We hiked in the Carter range and enjoyed views far and wide in every direction.  The hike up to the Imp face was steep, but once we were on the ridge we were able to take it easy and enjoy the scenery.  Mount Washington was in the clear and we think that we may have spotted Marty the summit cat with our binoculars!











Sunday, November 1, 2015

Award for Bruno

We both recently attended the annual meeting of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (APPS), where Bruno was honored with the "AAPS Achievement Award in Manufacturing Sciences & Engineering".  This award is given in recognition of outstanding scientists who have demonstrated significant impact in their respective fields.  In addition to lots of interesting science and renewing some old friendships we were fortunate to enjoy a week of warm weather in Orlando FL.


  


First winter hike of the season

It was late October, and we set out for a short hike on the Davis Path towards Crawford Mountain.  The temperatures were a little chilly, but we werent expecting to be caught out in a snowstorm!  The hike started gently, but as we approached the summit we started to see signs of winter; frozen puddles on the trail and a few snowflakes in the air.  As we reached the top, a big storm coud blew in and we were hit by a snowy squall.  Fortunately we had our hats, gloves and down-jackets with us, and a thermos of hot tea too.  We had a great hike but we didn't manage to snap any pictures on the summit because of the unexpected cod snap.


 




Hedgehog Mountain

A few weeks ago we hiked to Hedgehog mountain, a peak off the Kancamagus highway in New Hampshire.  It was a superb hike with lots of views, and we had great weather for the whole way around the loop.



















5 x 1 Relay Race

Each year we participate in a 5 x 1-mile relay race at Pfizer in support of the local United Way charities. Part of the fun is to run the race in costume, and prizes are given for the best dressed team as well as the fastest (and the most money raised).  This year Bruno's team were dressed as the "Village People" and Sheri's team were elements of the periodic table,

Banjo Players On-Stage

In September we were lucky enough to be able to see Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn at Connecticut College in neaby New London.  The are virtuoso banjo players and truly masters of their instruments.  A great time was had by all!

Fryeburg Fair

Near our chalet in New Hampshire is the small town of Fryebrug (Maine).  Every year this is the venure for an extrordinary and enormous agricultural fair.  The fair lasts for a full 8-days and includes everything from cooking demonstrations, blacksmithing, plowing competitions, horse racing, steam engines, ox-pulls, sheep shearing, a best christmas tree competition, and, of course, lots of country music and fried food.  We went on 'woodsmans day' which features various competitions for male and female lumberjack-types (cross-cut sawing, tree climbing, axe throwing, etc).  It was a wonderful family atmosphere and the fair is extremely well run.  We were especially impressed by the cleanliness of the rest rooms and the piped music therein!.  I suspect that we will return in future years because there is so much to see and we barely scratched the surface.