More Dress Up

We seem to be on the historical music beat. Last week we did a concert at the General Henry Knox Mansion in the Oval Room. Henry Knox was the man who transported cannons captured in Ticonderoga 300 miles across the wilderness to lay siege to Boston (and created Route 20 in the process)

This building is a replica of the original. Built in 1929, it contains many furnishings and objects from the original mansion.

The Oval Room is, in fact, an oval room. The doors are even curved to match the curve of the walls. The acoustics are wonderful and the ambiance led us to wear our late 18th century duds. The tailcoat is hot and the cuffs on this shirt tend to get in the way, so playing the guitar or violin can be a challenge. I don't have the waistcoat yet. I wonder if there is an air conditioned outfit for Florida?


An Afternoon Stroll
The early autumn weather has been brilliant. We went for a walk down to the shore with Julia's cousin, Tracy. We live in an area where there are many protected areas with public asset. This preserve is called Laverna. The trail goes about a mile through the forest to a section of the coast which is totally undeveloped.






As you can see, it wasn't always this way - nobody EVER built a stone wall through the woods. This area - indeed, much of Maine south of Bangor - was devoted to sheep farming until the end of WWII, when wool uniforms for the military were replaced by synthetics.




The trail winds through the forest, crosses a wee burn (stream) or two. The worst of the wet places and the burns have bridges so you can get to the shore mostly dry. This time of year there are very few bugs. There are still many plants and flowers to see.









Sometimes you can find faerie houses. There was a large community of faerie on Monhegan Island until about five years ago when they were all evicted and their homes destroyed. Many have migrated to the mainland but still live near the ocean. Some of the humans on the Island objected to the fairie aesthetic of building from found materials. It's odd, considering the famous Hermit of Manana lived nearby in a house built from driftwood.





Eventually the path comes out to a rocky shore. This is on the west side of Muscongus Bay. We are blessed to live in a place like this - sometimes we take it for granted and don't avail ourselves of all the places we can go around the peninsula to enjoy nature.





Small Harp Sighting
We spotted this harp at Helen's Restaurant in Elsworth. The place is decorated with lots of flotsam and jetsam. This little fellow is about 18 inches high. (The chair behind is miniature, also). It's too small for us humans and a bit too big for our local faerie.