November 17, 2023 (Friday)
Friday is soup day in New Ipswich. I headed out to Mother Hubbard’s Ladle to pick up a quart of Guinness Beef Stew (Guinness Beef Stew: Beef chuck roast with Carrots, parsnips, potatoes in a beef/chicken broth with Guinness Stout Beer) and a Seafood and Sausage Stew (Mussels, Shrimp and Cod in a Clam & White Wine broth with Andouille Sausage). Owner Rachelle Nardson had some freshly baked Anadama rolls to go with the soup but I couldn’t help but have one on the ride home. I won’t have the opportunity to try these until tomorrow. I’m looking forward to that.
Mother Hubbard’s Ladle Stews
What is Carl Toko up to now?
When Carl is not cleaning gravestones or painting the cemetery fence, he is maintaining the graves of Veterans. Because Veterans Day had past, Carl was removing the flags from the holders. Many of the wooden flag poles have warped and swollen, so he needed to use vise grips to pry them loose. On Memorial day they will taken out again. I wonder if there are fiberglass holders available that won’t warp and swell when wet. Thank you Carl for honoring our Veterans.
Choring Around
I installed the LeafFilter gutter system so I never would have to climb a ladder again. Today I was on the ladder brushing off pine needles. It is true that the system prevents clogging of the gutters but the micro screen surface has enough friction to hold onto the needles. The water flows though the needles but there were some wet clumps. I was using a 12 foot ladder but managed to not to fall. A snow brush proved to just the tool to use, it gave me the reach I needed. I wonder if the LeafGuard system might have been a better choice? Too late to have regrets.
It wouldn’t be Fall Cleanup without some dangerous machines. John Rosenfelder brought over his new wood chipper and we had some fun making a slight dent in the multiple brush piles. John quipped that his father in law told him brush piles break down in a short time. I guess you can consider 25 years a short time on a glacial scale. I like seeing what this thing can do. Note the attention to safety. I plan to put the wood chips around my three blueberry bushes.
Daily Picture Theme – Silent
I participate in a daily photo challenge on the social media site Spoutible. Everyday there is a different subject announced as a Daily Picture Theme. I select an appropriate photo from my collection to share. I have been sharing these exclusively on Improves With Age, my Substack newsletter. However since I have untaken the task of writing daily entries, I decided to introduce a daily picture theme photo to this website.
The theme listed for November 17, 2023 is SILENT. I immediately thought of “silent as a tomb”.
Maybe an empty Fenway Park might be seen as a silent place compared to when a game is being played.
