Friday, September 16 - Pickity Place, Mason, NH

It has been almost two weeks since my last post. Much has happened!

Between the every day stuff I have had a few major car issues - U-joint replacements, cracked radiator, etc. All is well now, and boy am I glad it happened close to home.

I meant to post yesterday, but was busy with other things.

Friday my sister, her daughter (my niece!) and I headed up to Mason, NH, for lunch at Pickity Place. For those who do not know what it is, it is a cottage built in 1786, and is now a small restaurant with an abundance of herb gardens (and gift shop). With a history!

Entrance

Entrance

Everyone knows "Little Red Riding Hood" from Grimm's Fairy Tales. You might also remember "Little Golden Books" - each fairy tale condensed to one book. In 1948 Elizabeth Orton Jones chose the red cottage and grounds at Pickity Place upon which to base her illustrations for the book :)

What big eyes you have, Grandma!

It is now a very excellent restaurant located practically in the middle of nowhere. At the end of a very narrow and winding dirt road. With a TON of excellent and herb gardens and flowers that reward at the end!

The restaurant has 3 seatings a day, and the menus are fixed almost a year ahead of time. The menu changes monthly, and the same courses are served throughout the month. Reservations are necessary, as it is small (and crowded). Lunch is a 5-course meal, served at 11:30, 12:45, and 2:00. We opted for the 12:45 seating. It gave us time to peruse the herb gardens and take our time as we wandered through them and work up a bit of an appetite.

Herb gardens

Herb gardens (mostly sage)

Herb gardens

Purple peppers

It was a gorgeous day! Could not have ordered better :) Not too warm and not too chilly. Needed a jacket when I headed out in the morning, but it warmed up quite nicely later on.



The food.... wow.... to die for!!! They use their own herbs and veggies in everything. We began with caramelized onion dip and crackers, followed shortly by soup - Arugula potato. A Caprese salad and rosemary olive oil foccacia bread came after. The bread was warm and I could not stop eating it! Then came the entrees: my niece and I had asiago stuffed meatballs over spaghetti squash, and my sister opted for the vegetarian alternative. Summer veggies over grilled polenta (broccoli, portabellas, sweet peppers, tomatoes and summer squash).

They do not serve alcohol, but you are welcome to bring your own. I had 2 wine coolers, which the front desk kindly sent to the kitchen refrigerator while we were waiting, and were served on ice in a lovely ceramic container. Sister and Niece split a few same size small bottles of Prosecco :)

I was already full - overfull! Could not finish my entree (well it WAS 5 meatballs, and made very excellent leftovers!). Then dessert arrived. White chocolate praline cheesecake. With home-made whipped cream and raspberry sauce on the side. Of course I could not resist, and dug in.

It was an awesome gastronomic experience! All the food was freshly prepared, and absolutely to die for. Flavors and fresh herbs were outstanding. I think I had tears in my eyes by the time I was eating the soup :)

I did not get many pix of the food. I know it is a "thing" now, but we were all hungry and focused on the food, company, and enjoying the day. Here are a couple (I did not take).

Caprese salad

Whit chocolate cheesecake

After we rolled out of the dining room, we perused the gift shop. Pickity Place dries (and mixes) and sells a lot of what they grow for the home cook. Along with quite a few other treasures.

Shortly after that, we headed back. It was such a wonderful day, and I loved every minute of it! Made even more special by sharing it with 2 people who mean the most to me - my sister and my niece.

Rolled into bed that night (still full!), but so very, very glad of the day, the experience, and the company. I would love to return.

There is an ash tree that grows on the property. It is 60+ feet tall, and as old as the cottage. A tree well over 200 years old! Now there is another part of Mother Nature one cannot help but awe :)

Ash tree

And, of course, I will leave you with a few of my (in)famous "random" pix!

In the gardens

Gardens

Drying shed

Gardens

Gift shop

Gift shop

Tuesday, September 6 - Small Lighthouses

My niece sent me a few pictures of a small lighthouse, which triggered this post. Technically they are referred to as Cottage Lighthouses, which consist of a small single-story building with a light tower and lantern on the roof. They were quite common in early to mid 1800s; especially in the south. Typically they combined the lighthouse with a small keeper's cottage built around it, next to it or nearby.

My Niece's pic, Maine

My Niece's pic, Maine

Cottage lighthouses were usually built at the end of a pier, on a marsh jog, or on broad shoals and made of wood, which made them very vulernable to the elements. More than quite a few were rebuilt several times up through the 1960s. Not many remain, and most of those which do are in the mid-Atlantic region (Chesapeake Bay area). There are a few still remaining in New England as well :). In more recent times the small lighthouses also served as landmarks, or harbor lights, to mark the entrance to a harbor.

To give credit, there were quite a few cottage lighthouses built on the Great Lakes and the North West Coast of the US as well.

Most are no longer in operation, although a few are.

Lake Michigan

Built at end of pier

In addition to providing light at night, they also served as "Daymarks" to guide mariners into narrow coves from the sea. To that end, they were typically brightly colored or painted with distinct patterns.


To be effective at night, the lamp must be high enough to be seen before the danger is reached by a mariner. The exact height of the light is calulated by a complicated triginometry formula (really - look it up! I got lost after the first few sentences!).

From the website: Sometimes a lighthouse needs to be constructed in the water itself. Wave-washed lighthouses are masonry structures constructed to withstand water impact, such as Eddystone Lighthouse in Britain and the St. George Reef Light off California. In shallower bays, screw-pile lighthouse ironwork structures are screwed into the seabed and a low wooden structure is placed above the open framework. As screw piles can be disrupted by ice, steel caisson lighthouses are used in cold climates.

I leave you with some pictures of Cottage Lighthouses, and I thank my niece for inspring today's blog!

Caisson lighthouse Ogunquit, ME

Cottage lighthouse

At end of pier

Doubling Point, Arrowsic, ME

Saturday, August 27 - Lighthouses

As my followers know, I have an extreme fascination for lighthouses. I cannot explain why, or when it began, but they draw me in as a moth to a flame. I saw so many of them on my trip to the Maritimes, yet I still cannot get enough of them!

I am hoping to see at least 3 or 4 of the Vineyard's lighthouses next month when my brother and I visit. He is not enamored of them, but as I am driving on this trip we shall see where we end up :)

Lighthouses are so very fascinating! Of course they were erected for excellent reasons in strategic places, and have been kept through the years by lighthouse keepers and their families. A few years ago my sister and I journeyed to Pemaquid Point, Maine, and had an up-close, one of a kind tour. She had contacted the keeper ahead of time, and it was just the 2 of us. He was eager to allow us to climb to the top of the lighthouse (which is narrow and cramped and rather claustrophobic).

It was really cool, but also very small (space-wise). First and last time for me! Not an experience I care to repeat. I am claustrophobic and was shaking by the time I came down.

I did get quite a lesson on Fresnel lenses however. They slowly replaced the parabolic reflectors lighthouses along the east coast of America had used previously. Parabolic reflectors had a maximum light distance of 2-4 miles. Fresnel lenses will project light for over 20 miles. It is really fascinating, and the history and science quite something! if interested just google it :) Fresnel lenses are rated on orders; the one at Pemaquid is only one of only 6 in Maine that is on the fourth order.

Although many of the lighthouses are no longer actively used, quite a few are still are. Most lighthouses in the United States are owned and run by the Coast Guard. Pemaquid Point is still active due to the tricky waters and tides in the bay. Here are some pictures that clearly show why!

Pemaquid Point

Pemaquid Point

I will never forget our guide that day, Marty. His enthusiasm, knowledge and dedication to keeping the Pemaquid Light are something I will always remember.

 The 5 lighthouses on the Vineyard... (a lot of the following descriptions are paraphrased and distillled from several websites).

The 5 lighthouses on the Island represent the most diverse group in a small, contained area in the country, according to lighthouse buffs. All are on the north side of the Island overlooking Vineyard and Nantucket Sound.

The West Chop Lighthouse was the Island's last manned lighthouse. It was built in 1817, and in 1838 the wooden building was replaced by the present brick structure. It was moved back from the edge of the 60-foot-high bluff in 1848 and again in 1891. It is now privately owned and not open to the public.

The East Chop lighthouse in Oak Bluffs stands on the site of one of the first telegraph signals, set up in 1828. Signals from Nantucket were received here and relayed on to Woods Hole, South Plymouth, Duxbury, Marshfield, and Dorchester Heights. A series of raised and lowered arms and flags conveyed news about cargos of ships arriving at Nantucket. 1891. Originally called "Holmes Hole," it acquired the name Vineyard Haven in 1871.

East Chop Lighthouse

West Chop Lighthouse

The original Edgartown Lighthouse was built in 1828, on a small man-made island in the Edgartown harbor. An Act of Congress allocated money to build it 1/4 mile from shore. The first structure was replaced in 1938 by one reached via raft to the Vineyard from Ipswich. Although the new light was placed on the original site, sand had filled in the area between the island and the mainland, and the current Edgartown Lighthouse stands on shore.

Edgartown Lighthouse

Martha's Vineyard sits in treacherous seas, with one tide coming in from Boston, affecting the south side of the Vineyard, and another from Rhode Island, affecting the north shore. There are reefs, rocks, and shoals, and the infamous Devil's Bridge off Aquinnah, which wrecked the steamship "The City of Columbus" on January 18, 1884, with the loss of 120 crew and passengers in the icy waters. Thus the need for so many lighthouses on such a small island.

The Gay Head (Aquinnah) lighthouse has always been perilously close to the ever-eroding cliffs. The red brick light was built in 1844 to replace a wooden tower authorized by President John Quincy Adams. In 1856, a Fresnel lens was installed, after having been proudly exhibited at the World's Fair in Paris. It is now preserved at the Martha's Vineyard Historical Society in Edgartown, and is lighted every evening after dark throughout the year.

Gay Head Lighthouse

Aquinnah cliffs

Cape Poge lighthouse, the island's most remote, was built in 1801 when an Act of Congress appropriated $2,000 for its 4 acre site. The original lighthouse was made of wood and had a small caretaker's cottage.

By 1838, the building was destroyed by the ravaging sea and rebuilt farther inland. It lasted 50 years before the sea again claimed it and it was rebuilt, with a change from reflector lamps to red and white revolving prisms. The sea would not be denied, and reclaimed the lighthouse again in 1892. It was rebuilt but only lasted another 35 years. The present wooden structure was built in 1922, 55 feet high with a light visible for a distance of 12 miles. In 1985 it gained the distinction of being the first entire lighthouse to be moved by helicopter; in 1997 the lantern was again moved by helicopter for repairs. The lighthouse's current site is 300 feet from the ever-hungry sea.

Cape Poge Lighthouse

 


The lighthouses of Edgartown, East Chop, and Gay Head are still operating. Their lanterns are now automated, but the US Coast Guard minds them carefully :)