Hurry To Capisic Pond Park To Admire The Asters
I decided to take a half-hour last weekend to walk up the trail from Capisic’s Macy Street up to Lucas Street, and I am so glad that I did.
The path is surrounded on both sides with fields full of my favorite aster, the purple New England aster. There were numerous stands of the deep purple, and some of rose color. There were also stands of the New York aster, with violet rays.
It is a magnificent show, and all free, too. I’m sure that many of you wildflower enthusiasts won’t want to miss it.
October’s Bright Blue Weather
I was reciting James Russell Lowell’s poem, recently. The first lines are:
“And what is so rare as a day in June?
Then, if ever come perfect days.”
Yes, we Mainers look forward to June, and its rare days. But then I recalled a verse about October’s bright blue weather, and I decided to check that out, with the help of Bartlett’s “Familiar Quotations.” It was from Helen Hunt Jackson’s poem, “October’s Bright Blue Weather,” and the first lines are:
“O suns and skies and clouds of June.
And flowers of June together.
Ye cannot rival for one hour
October’s bright blue weather.”
So now we Mainers can rejoice again, and also be happy viewing the beautiful colors of our maple and oak trees in their fall foliage – the maples of red, rust, orange, etc., the oaks of red, the birches of yellow. Foliage tours bring many visitors to our state this season, and many will arrive soon, despite the high gas prices we all are worrying about.
Rich News From Tokyo
We read this article in the Dec. 9, 1965, issue of the South Portland – Cape Journal, after Harry T. Foote took over as publisher. I’ll print it here, and then update the Rich Family news.
“Local friends have heard recently from D. Lee Rich, of Hannaford Cove, Bates Island and Tokyo. She and John enjoyed seeing Mary Martin in “Hello, Dolly” in Tokyo. Then on a trip to Viet Nam for NBC, John saw Miss Martin again in the same show. They report it was very popular in both places. Since D. Lee had seen Mary Martin in “A Touch of Venus” on her first trip to New York City, way back in the 1940s, she was especially thrilled.
Nate (Nathaniel) Rich and his twin, Whit (Whitney), 8 years old in November, now attend the Ecole Francaise in Tokyo, speaking only French during school hours. His mother reports being quite shocked when, on a recent cold morning, he answered her warning to put on a sweater with, “Don’t speak to me in American, Mommy.”
Now, 40 years later, in 2005, the twins, Nate and Whit, are parents, and their children have language skills, too.
Dylan, Whit’s son, now 12 years old, studies in the school his father attended in Tokyo. He spends part of his summer at summer Camp Robinhood in Deer Isle, Maine, and also visits with his grandparents in Cape Elizabeth.
Nate and his wife Ming have a daughter, Madelaine, 8, and a young son, Malcolm, 3-1/2 years old. They live in Taiwan. Nate is in the development business, and does a lot of business in China.
An exciting experience for John and D. Lee’s grandchildren this summer was an overnight at the Richs’ island, Bates, in Casco Bay. They helped John pull his lobster traps and pulled up five lobsters; then they had the pleasure of seeing them cooked in the cottage, and then eating them.
They won’t forget that experience, I’m sure, since the youngsters live in big Asian cities, quite different from the quiet Maine island and all its attractions.
Rats In Belfry? No, City Hall
The Sept. 27 Daily News printed quite a story of the invasion of rats in New York City, telling New Yorkers that even Mayor Bloomberg had rats in his front yard.
Workers blame the rat boom on a hot summer and a bustling lunchtime crowd at City Hall Park, where the rats “frolic boldly” on the park’s well-manicured lawns. Over the past few days the Park Department has been busy filling nooks and crannies of the park with rat bait. It has also conducted multiple trash pickups per day, and has installed trash cans with lids to discourage the hungry rats.
Perhaps the lunchtime picnickers will be forced to eat their lunches indoors.
RECIPE
In the Westbrook Lions Club’s cookbook, “Home Cooking,” comes this recipe for eggplant, which was submitted by Mildred Noack. Friends have given us eggplant from their garden recently, and this sounds like a good one to try.
EGGPLANT (HERB BAKED)
1 large eggplant
1/3 cup milk
1 (10-3/4) oz. can of mushroom soup
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup chopped onion
1-1/4 cups herb-seasoned stuffing mix
2 Tbls. melted butter
1 cup shredded American cheese
Cook diced eggplant in boiling, salted water for 7 minutes, until tender. Blend milk and soup. Add egg, eggplant, onion and 3/4 cup stuffing mix. Toss lightly. Turn into greased 6 x 10 x 10-1/2 inch dish. Crush remaining stuffing mix (1/2 cup). Toss with butter and sprinkle over eggplant mixture. Top with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until heated through. Yield, 6 to 8 servings.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
