Summer Holiday: Back at the Farm
At Northland Sheep Dairy The original plan was to head to Bethany Beach for the annual family reunion and body surfing competition. So hubby and all of his brothers, sisters, in-laws, nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles headed to a strip of Delaware to reconnect and unwind. I hear they had a great time...for while everyone was sunning and sanding at the beach, I was home alone taking a unit test followed by the final exam for Speech & Voice Science (I passed) . Not to miss another family tradition, I headed to Northland Sheep Dairy , a fe…
2017 Trip to the Farm
This year’s retreat was earlier than usual, and our visit to Northland Sheep Dairy was long overdue. We visit the farming sect of the family only once a year, and each time, being intheir presence rejuvenates us and recharges the batteries!!! While our region of the mid-Atlantic has been hazy, hot, humid, and dry, the Marathon New York region has been lately sloshing with rain. Firefighter of the year...so proud of this guy! This meant that the gathering of hay has been preempted for other things. Like baking, milking, and enterta…
Lamb Chops with Balsamic Glaze
As we left the Northland Sheep Dairy last month, Donn and Mary Rose stopped us and slung a soft-sided cooler full of meat into the back of the car. We got stew pork, pork chops, and lamb chops. I've never cooked meat, so hubby got to do the honors. Check out this delicious recipe from AllRecipes.com : herb-rubbed lamb chops served with a delicious balsamic vinegar sauce. Simply rub the chops with rosemary, basil, and thyme, and give them a quick fry in the skillet. The flavorful sauce stars sautéed shallots combined with vinegar and …
Our annual Trip to the Farm
We've come back from the Northland Sheep Dairy, again. This year we made excellent time driving back from seeing the extended family--5 hours from Marathon to Maryland! As usual we had a great time, caught up, drank too much, and lent a hand where we could; hubby more than I--as he helped them bail and bring in their first cutting of hay. It was something like 800, 50 lb bales that were moved by hand. We also learned the difference between hay and straw! This was Last Year's Trip Donn and MaryRose are gracious hosts, and excel…
The Smoking Saga
Okay, so I started smoking when smoking was cool...sometime last century. Like classic convertibles, playing lacrosse, listening to the Grateful Dead, finishing the New York Times crossword, huddling for warmth in a wintertime circle of smokers, cool. In short, I started smoking in high school. For the next several years, cigarettes were a wonderful accompaniment to the all of life’s small and large milestones. They helped fill in the awkward pauses when meeting people in bars, between bands playing at the Side Bar. Between classes as an under…
2016 Trip to the Farm
Northland Sheep Dairy This year’s trip is at an end, but true-to-form I took enough photos to make even the hardiest city slicker feel like he was right there with us. Even though we took this annual sojourn over a week earlier than usual, we completely missed making hay, and instead we helped harvest the garlic crop—a much less strenuous endeavor. (Click on the pics to view all flu size images) Leaving our home base I was diligent in checking the forecast for our drive. The day began with promises of afternoon rain in Marathon, NY…
We’re Moving to Upstate New York
Ithaca, specifically. After returning from England in January, I applied to several jobs in my professional field—outside of academia. From the 7 applications, I removed myself from the running for two, was not contacted for interview for two, and interviewed and received job offers for three. All three seemed professionally challenging, financially rewarding, and viable stepping-stones to my move to international work—in a few years. After one fairly successful second interview, the director at a university department of Environmental Health…
Our Annual Trip to the Farm
The edge of nowhere…that’s what it feels like at midnight when you look up at the sky and you see a million stars overhead. We’re spending the weekend at the Northland Sheep Dairy in Marathon, New York with the in-laws, their sheep, horses, chickens, pigs, ducks, and working dogs. This is our annual summer trip to get away from the city and spend time with family; farmers, Donn and Mary Rose. We drove a four hours from Baltimore and arrived in time to catch the evening milking of the sheep, happy hour, and dinner. The awesome th…
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