Gilsland Farm’s peonies are spectacular
Each June, I must drive out to the Maine Audubon Society’s Gilsland Farm on Route 1 in Falmouth, to admire their peony gardens. My visit this Saturday was a pleasure.
The garden on the lawn near the Environmental Center building was the first I viewed, with pink, red, and white plants at their peak, although a few have already faded, and a few others are soon to bloom.
Next I had to take my annual walk down the trail to see the garden in the fields there – – they are my favorite peonies. I met a couple on the path and asked if there were still peonies in the fields. They assured me that there were, but the man said that there are fewer there than before. He recalled that they were much more spread out in previous years.
But they were lovely. It’s a pleasure to walk in the paths there and see the lovely views down the hill, overlooking the Presumpscot River. It is a beautiful place for a hike.
I was very pleased to see a group of young children and their two leaders there, all wearing bright green T-shirts, with an inscription printed on the shirts, saying “A Joyful Noise.” What a rewarding outing for young children, to be outdoors to learn about nature. One of the leaders told me when I asked if they were a summer camp group, that they were from “A Joyful Noise Christian Day and Learning Center,” with locations in both Westbrook and Windham.
The sign on the center’s building on Main Street in Westbrook reads, “Serving infants thru school age.” One little girl in the group gleefully pointed and called out, “A butterfly,” as it flew by. One of the leaders identified an osprey as it flew overhead, telling the children it is her favorite bird.
I also enjoyed the few wildflowers I noticed in the fields – yellow buttercups, many chickweed plants, and a favorite of mine, the purple vetch, a member of the pea family. Marilyn Dwelley’s description says, “the stems of this plant are climbing or trailing and are about a yard long. Blue (but they are purple in color) vetch grows in fields or meadows and along roadsides. The leaflets are arranged in pairs along a center leaf stalk. There are from five to ten pairs of leaflets on each leaf. Tendrils are at the end of each leaf stalk.” I think it is a very pretty flower.
My next peony viewing was in the sheltered garden, also near the Society’s building. Large shrubs surround the lawn at each side of the peony garden, and I found these peonies to be in excellent condition. I suppose they were protected from the heavy winds and rainstorms that the southern Maine area encountered recently.
My visit was a real treat. I copied down the inscription on the granite slap outside the Audubon Center, as I think the gift of this beautiful acreage is admirable.
GILSLAND FARM
A living memorial to David Edward Moulton, is given to the Maine Audubon Society, the people of Falmouth and of Maine, by his daughter, Ruth Moulton Freeman, Maurice Tracy Freeman and their family, in Recognition of his great love for his farm and the natural beauty and wildlife of the state of Maine, Dec. 2, 1974.
Barbaro Gallops Toward Recovery
That headline appeared in the June 19 Boston Herald, over a beautiful picture of Barbaro’s head, and another picture of the famous colt on the finish line at the Kentucky Derby, on top of the racing world.
In the Preakness Stakes, in which he was considered to be the odds-on favorite to win, Barbaro took a bad step a few hundred yards out of the starting gate and his right leg flared out grotesquely and he veered sideways, after which his jockey pulled the colt to a halt.
This report was in the May 31 Ramblings column. He is now doing well, but surely he will not gallop again soon. He has a new fiberglass cast that protects the catastrophic injuries to his right hind ankle, which happened at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore May 20.
The June 19 article says that months of healing remain before the cast comes off for good, and decisions are made about Barbaro’s future. Surgeon Dean Richardson was feeling better after fitting the colt with a new hock-to-foot cast last week. His left hind leg has been fitted with a special shoe and support apparatus to ensure that his weight is evenly distributed.
Barbaro’s owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, are daily visitors to the intensive care unit at the Widenar Hospital for Large Animals at New Volton Center, in Kennett Square, Pa. The Jacksons are amazed at the colt’s ability to handle so much adversity. Roy Jackson said, “I don’t think I’d have as good an attitude as he has. He just seems to know he’s got to go through this. It was the same thing with his racing. He knew what he had to do and did it.”
We know of several Barbaro admirers here in Maine, too.
RECIPE
Carol Reynolds sent today’s recipe to me, and I’m very pleased that it was a favorite in the Stanley and Blanche Bennett household, and is still being used by present family members. I’ve written about the Bennett’s son Alden (Awnie) several times, and we were very pleased to use his excellent article about his harrowing trip up Mt. Washington, in a heavy snowstorm; he was climbing with Deering High School friends in the Class of 1936.
Carol Reynolds knew and at times worked for several of the Bennetts, and her husband Stan was an Oakhurst truck driver for 26 years, until his retirement. Carol’s note, with today’s recipe said that when on the Reynolds’ annual trip to the Lancaster, Pa., Amish area, they stopped to visit Alden and his wife Ellie, and Ellie had baked Alden’s mother’s chop suey recipe for them. And the title? Carol thinks that young Stanley had trouble with the word Grandma.
Gum Gum’s Chop Suey
1-4 lb. salt pork, diced
6 medium onions, sliced
2 cups celery, sliced
1 lb. hamburg
1 can of tomatoes
1 cup rice, cooked
1 tsp. salt and pepper
1 tbls. soy sauce
1 pkg. fresh bean sprouts
Add a bit of brown gravy coloring
2 cans of Chinese noodles.
Simmer all but the noodles, for at least 1 hour, covered. Serve hot over the Chinese noodles.
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