Connecticut — pleasure in simple things

Tag: Connecticut

brunch at the mayflower

July

Summer is such a fabulous season in Connecticut. There are so many great spots to explore – many that take on an aesthetic excellence during the summer months.

One of these spots is The Mayflower Inn and Spa in Washington, Connecticut. The Mayflower is a luxury country retreat set on 58 private acres of beautifully landscaped gardens and woodland in Litchfield County. The Mayflower always exudes distinguished luxury, but the spectacular grounds make a summer visit extraordinary.

Cacio y pepe beignets served at The Garden Room at The Mayflower Inn and Spa in Washington, Connecticut.

My recent visit to The Mayflower Inn was for brunch in The Garden Room – a beautiful light-filled dining space overlooking the Shakespeare Garden. Though the menu showcases the finest in seasonal and local ingredients, the views were the star of the brunch for me. Two fabulous views: 1. the view of the indoor décor and 2. the view of the outdoor grounds.

From the painted gardens scenes on the walls…

…to the fresh flowers…

the décor provides the perfect garden ambiance – right down to the perfect bathroom wallcovering!

While dining, the outdoor view of the Shakespeare Garden prompts a walk outdoors to visit and appreciate all its nuances!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you are inspired to explore a spot near you!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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not your grandma’s pumpkins

October

If you’ve shopped for pumpkins recently, you know the pumpkins available today are not your grandmother’s pumpkins!

The basic round orange pumpkins I knew as a kid have been replaced with endless varieties of pumpkins and squash. A trip to a local farm stand can be as aesthetically stimulating as a visit to a museum!

With the weather in Connecticut starting to get crisp, I spent part of a recent day off checking out such a museum – a local farm! I wasn’t planning on buying anything – just checking out what was on display!

I’m sharing some of what I saw on my visit – probably my last farm stop of the season – though I may make a stop at the one that serves apple cider slushies!

I hope you are enjoying some of what fall has to offer near where you live.

Thanks for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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playing in the sand

July

I enjoy stopping by any sand castle competition in Connecticut I can find. I am use to seeing dozens of submissions when I visit a competition and I was surprised to see only a few at a recent contest.

When I asked one of the competitors why there were so few entries, the answer was “COVID.”

How the virus would cause a drop in sand castle builders, I do not know…especially for an outdoor activity!

At any rate, these are a few sand creations I did happen upon recently.

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a fabulous weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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touring broken arrow nursery

July

If it seems like I travel all over my state of Connecticut to visit gardens – I do!

What could be better on a Sunday morning than taking a tour of a nursery! This trip is to Broken Arrow Nursery in Hamden where they specialize in rare and unusual plants.

There is no charge to enjoy a morning tour walking through the property with an extremely knowledgeable staff member. It is a great opportunity, not only to see what is growing on the nursery property, but also to learn more about growing in Connecticut as well as discuss any personal gardening concerns with an expert.

I definitely left the nursery with a heightened knowledge of trees and plants in my area and, because of my addiction with all things white, an obsession with this particular plant!

Also, love this Georgia Plume Tree!

Visiting a local nursery or taking a trip to a public garden (You know how I love Longwood Gardens!) is a wonderful field trip to take this summer and a super way to enjoy the outdoors!

I hope you are inspired to visit one this summer!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a fabulous weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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majestic beech tree

June

Something I truly admire on visits to one of my favorite nurseries in Connecticut – White Flower Farm – is the gorgeous tree standing guard near the front of the property.

The European beech has been described by many experts as the finest specimen tree available. This one at White Flower Farm was planted in 1958.

Isn’t it something?

While having that beautiful beech on my mind, I was walking around my neighborhood and realized that a tree doesn’t have to be 63 years old to be appreciated.

There is so much about trees to admire. A couple of trees I passed on my walk, changing with the season, caught my eye.

While I do have favorite trees at nurseries and gardens I visit (such as the copper beech at Longwood Gardens), I can appreciate the humblest of varieties!

I hope you are inspired to take special notice of some local trees or trees you see in your travels.

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a fabulous weekend, Jackie

Note: Some interesting history about the European beech tree From the Arbor Day Foundation website:

The European beech tree has an unmatched place in history. The beechnuts were food for prehistoric man and are still consumed today. The wood has been employed for centuries for both fire and furniture in Europe. Historians claim that the first written European literature was inscribed on Beech bark in Sanskrit. The English word ‘book” comes from the Anglo-Saxon “boc”, a derivative for the Anglo-Saxon “beece” or Beech.

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6 years ago today

February

Today I am sharing some photos I took this time six years ago. Maybe my friends here in Connecticut will think better than to relax about this year’s snow.

Plus, everyone seems to forget that just last year, the worse month of snow was in March!!

Do not rest easy my friends! We live in New England, after all ;)

Thanks for stopping by. Remember to take pleasure in simple things – like the beauty of a newly fallen snow!

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white flowers are the best flowers

August

One of the first perennial borders planted by the founders of White Flower Farm was pure white. (For a short time, the owners even considered growing and offering only white-flowered perennials and shrubs..I wish that was carried through!)

I call my all-white garden a ‘virgin’ garden. At White’s, the all-white garden is called a ‘moon’ garden. The white border is planted with a white tree wisteria and looks crisp and refreshing during the day and positively glows at twilight – the reason for its name!

This garden is my favorite at the farm, but visitors can’t get too close to admire it. This changes once a year when White’s has their open house. During the open house tour – and the best part of it – visitors can get up close and personal to the fabulous moon garden!

This year, the open house happened on a rainy day, but I wasn’t going to miss the tour and my chance to get close to the moon garden!

Today, on Friday field trip, I am sharing some photos from the beautiful moon garden at White Flower Farm in Morris, Connecticut. Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a fabulous weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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lavender in connecticut

July

I’m still trying to recover from an exciting weekend! Our family had a big (white party) celebration on Saturday and it is taking me some time to get back into my work routine!

Today, I wanted to let my local friends know that right now is prime lavender blooming time here in Connecticut! If you have not yet visited Lavender Pond Farm, now is the time to go!

With over 10,000 plants on 25 acres, Lavender Pond is the largest lavender farm in New England.

It is easy to find off the Clinton exit of I95 – just a couple minutes north of the outlets.

The photos here were taken before the prime blooming season – about a month ago.

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great week and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

P.S. In other news – It is SHARK WEEK on the Discovery channel!

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milk house chocolates at thorncrest farm

July

Connecticut constantly amazes me. I have lived here my whole live and I am still able to discover some great, new places on a regular basis!

Milk House Chocolates at Thorncrest Farm was a recent discovery that blew me away. Artisanal chocolates are made in small batches one at a time with no preservatives using their own fresh milk, cream, and butter.

The phrase coined by the farm ‘the magic is in the milk” is an understatement!

The farm operates on a core focus of comfort and happiness of their cows. They recognize each cow’s individual flavor in the milk, and ensure that flavor isn’t compromised by never allowing the cows to be stressed out! Kimberly and Clint Thorn believe great flavor from milk comes from lack of stress – that any kind of stress shows up right away in the milk. Everything from which cow is sitting next to which, to the hay they eat (they are fed only the sweetest hay and natural feeds) and the comfort of their beds can directly affect the flavor of their milk, so every little detail related to the cow’s happiness is considered!

Each chocolate is connected to a very specific cow, with each cow’s milk making an unbelievable difference in the flavor of the chocolates. For instance, after meeting the cow Daydream, I discovered every single caramel at Milk House is made strictly from her milk since the sweetness and flavor of her milk, with its ivory, buttery tone, makes it the best choice for a great tasting caramel!

I was fascinated to find out that milk works much in the same way as wine – just like each wine has a specific type of grape from a specific region and is affected greatly by the climate, soil, and other factors – milk works much in the same way. So, the 122 unique chocolates in rotation throughout the year at Milk House Chocolates are determined by several factors – including which cows are milking at that time!

These chocolates are truly amazing – of course, the freshness is off the chart, but also, they melt different, taste different, and feel different than a typical chocolate. I tasted the root beer filled and the dark chocolate and peanut butter with sea salt and couldn’t believe the fresh, rich tastiness of each piece.

A fresh peanut butter sea salt chocolate.

I brought myself home a bag of caramels made from Daydream’s milk. I really wanted to bring home some fresh milk infused with vanilla bean (doesn’t that sound luscious?), but I hadn’t brought a cooler with me so I couldn’t safely transport it home.

What a find this place is! I can’t wait to make another visit!

Biting into a fresh root beer filled chocolate at Thorncrest Farm.

Note: In addition to visiting Thorncrest Farm in Goshen, Connecticut, you may enjoy making a day of exploring 10 farms in Goshen this summer. The tour is offered free of charge on August 4^th and 5^th through the Goshen Agricultural Council.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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miss florence’s garden

June

One of Connecticut’s historical treasures is the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, home of Florence Griswold which was the center of the Old Lyme Art Colony – the main center of development of American Impressionism.

In addition to the museum’s collections, the grounds are something to admire. For today’s Friday field trip, I am sharing some photographs of the June garden at the historic site.

Florence Griswold, or “Miss Florence” as her friends knew her, was an avid gardener.

An archaeological dig in 1998 identified the physical boundaries of the garden beds and walkways of Florence Griswold’s garden before her death in 1937. With this information, as well as paintings and historic photographs of the site, Miss Florence’s garden was recreated to its appearance circa 1910.