Sunday, September 29, 2013

Melons, livestock & breakfast links


Burning questions answered during yesterday morning's open house at the museum --- "Are the moon-and-stars melons ready to eat?" and "How will they taste?" 

They were, and those who sampled said the taste and texture were outstanding. Plus, there were lots of seeds to spit. So there's another heirloom garden success story --- and we'll plant more next year. 

It was a gray, cool and damp morning, with occasional drizzle --- so we had a slow but steady flow of guests and quite a few new faces. It was a good morning, and no one's going to complain about needed rain.


Special guests were a calf and a goat --- named Precious --- and their attendants. I asked everyone's name, but neglected to write them down. Once I find out, I'll repost the photo. The calf will have moved on by next year, but maybe Precious can be convinced to pay a return visit.


I like to look at other peoples' photographs, especially when they feature places I've never been --- and old houses. So Watson Brown's flickr site, "Edgecombe Planter," is a new favorite.

Edgecombe is a county in northeastern North Carolina. Tarboro is the county seat and Edgecombe shares Rocky Mount with neighboring Nash County.

Brown, a retired city planner, is the fifth generation of his family to live on a plantation called Adelphia, hence "Edgecombe Planter." The photography is outstanding and the glimpses the images provide of a way of life considerably removed from Iowa, exceptional.


Reading about others' experiences with old houses also keeps me entertained, so I've taken to following the blog "227 North Street," detailing the trials and tribulations of Phillip and Mark as they have restored an historic, but almost derelict, house in Healdsburg, Sonoma County, California.

This is a saga that's been unfolding since 2009, when the couple bought the old building. If you start with the earliest posts and read forward, there's a book's work of material here.

Preservation is just beginning to catch on in Iowa --- and for that matter a majority of the United States. And I'm still gnashing my teeth (in a non-accusatory sort of way) about the Harper House. 

Even in California, it's rare to find people willing to invest four years of their lives and most of their money in conserving a worthy structure.

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