Here at Hangman Hill

We have been trying out the new food dehydrator that Sheri received for her birthday.  We were inspired by the excellent dried fruits that we received as gift from Kerry for Christmas, so naturally we started there. We dried plums, apples, pears, grapes, pineapples, strawberries and kiwis.  We also dried tomatoes,  onions, peppers and mushrooms.  To our delight, the first attempt was successful and we especially like the apples, pears and plums.

Our next foray into drying food was with misirwot, an Ethiopian lentil stew.   We started with our standard stew recipe that we got from our friend Lynne,  The we dried it by spreading it thinly onto a tray with a liner.   After about 12 hours we had a dry crumbly stew and an amazing smell of curry in the basement.  We also dried some vegetables at the same time so that we could take them on the trail.

We tested out the misirwot and veggies on the trail during our recent trip to Kearsarge North for the 4th of July overnight trip. The stew and veggies hydrated nicely and were wonderful with bread from Vintage Bakery.  This will likely be a go-to backpacking/hut dinner in the future, but we are also eager to try other favorite recipes including chili and Thai green curry.

We are now drying some sweet Italian peppers from the garden and look forward to trying some herbs very soon.

In the late afternoon of the 4th of July we hiked to the summit of Kearsarge North, a small peak to the north of the Mt Washington Valley.   The plan was to watch fireworks in the valley and brush up on our backpacking skills. The forecast was for warm temperatures and clear skies.   We packed dinner, plenty of water, the bug tent and sleeping bags.  We walked the  3.1 mile sustained ascent, which felt strenous with our gear, with Kokee leading the way. This was also the another step towards getting Kokee her back on the trail with a more strenuous hike.  She did well. 

July 4th weekend is probably one of the busiest weekends of the year in the White Mountains, and for some unknown reason we decided to attempt one of the most popular hikes in the area.  The hike starts at the Lafayette Campground, ascends the Falling Waters Trail to Little Haystack, and then follows the open ridge to the summits of Mts Lincoln and Lafayette.  From there it is a steep descent back to the start via the AMC Greenleaf cabin.

The ridge that we hiked.

Sheri on the ridge.

A well marked trail.

Falling waters on the way up.

Elevenses on Little Haystack.

Fun in the woods during our descent.

On Saturday morning we awoke to low cloud and mist.  We had expected a sunny day and had plans to hike Mts Haystack, Lincoln and Lafayette. With a forecast of clouds in the high summits and winds gusting to 60-90 mph, we changed plans and made for  the Tripyramids (north, middle south) in the Sandwich region.  These three peaks are just over 4,000. While they have limited views, we hoped they would be in the clear and a little less windy.

It turns out our change in plans was a good decision as we were enjoying sun and clear skies in the valley.  The clear skies persisted as we traveled to the Sandwich Wilderness of the White Mountains and for the rest of the day.  We parked at Sabbaday falls, and walked a mile down the road to the Pine Bend Brook trail which took us to the summit of North Tripyramid Mountain. This winding trail followed a lovely brook and was well designed.  

Karen and Sheri on the Sabbady Falls Trail

Chicken of the woods?

We had a dry and cool spring this year in North Stonington and it had several strange effects on the garden.  The most prominent of these has been a major infestation of Gypsy Moth caterpillars which are stripping all of the trees and shrubs of their leaves.  Most badly hit were the blueberries and raspberries, so our soft-fruit crops have been quite low.

Gypsy Moth caterpillars 

Poor blueberry bushes!

Potatoes and beans in our new raised beds

More potatoes, peppers and carrots

The new mini-polytunnels to help germinate the leafy veggies 

(lettuce, Swiss chard, and kale)

Brasicca and rhubarb are on their way!

Last Sunday was a perfect day in New Hampshire and a great opportunity for us to hike on the high peaks.  We got up early and were on the Airline Trail to Mount Adams (5793′) by 8am.  The trail steadily climbs up a ridge and emerges from the trees at about 4000-feet.  The last part of the hike continues up the rocky upper part of the ridge and eventually crosses a boulder field to the summit.  We were treated to great views and we were on the summit by 11.30am.

On the trail again

Looking across the King Ravine 

(Can you spot the hut on the ridge?)

The ridge to Mt Adams

Looking down on the AMC Madison Springs Hut

Rock-hopping

At the summit of Mt Madison

Waterfalls on our descent

For peak baggers in New Hampshire the “52 with a view” list presents a series of modest hikes with excellent vistas.  Last Saturday with decided to tackle one of those peaks, Mount Martha in the Cherry range, so that we could give Kokee the chance to flex her legs.  The weather was perfect and the bugs weren’t too bad until we stopped at the summit.  And of course the views were spectatcular and the effort quite minimal (just 3.8 miles round trip).

We traveled to Madison to attend the annual Land O’ Lakes Conference.  This year was the 50th anniversary of this conference that was also a tribute to Professor George Zografi. We met one another while we were working with Professor Zografi at the School of Pharmacy at UW-Madison. We were honored to be invited speakers at the conference and very much enjoyed being part of the celebration.

We spent some extra time in Madison which gave us the opportunity to catch up with many friends. We started the weekend with a visit with Joann and Eric who traveled from Milwaukee so we could catch up. We had a nice breakfast that included donuts (we were in Wisconsin) followed by a very long walk. We walked the Lake Shore path to Picnic Point and back to the Capital Square where Eric and Jo have an apartment.  There we had a birthday celebration with cupcakes made by Eric.  Sheri also received a V05 (80’s cover band that includes Drew, keep reading to learn more about Drew) T-shirt and a flower for our garden (made by Eric).

We had several trips to the terrace and enjoyed meeting with the members of our Zografi family on Saturday afternoon.  It was nice to catch up with those we spent time with while we were in Madison, and even some former colleagues from Pfizer.  The gathering on the terrace rolled into a dinner at the Great Dane Brew Pub where we enjoyed a nice meal in the beer garden.

Sunday was a relaxed day starting with brunch at the home of one of George’s students who lives just outside of Madison. In the late afternoon we met our Brown House Family for a really nice cookout hosted by Julie and Craig.   Sheri lived with Drew, Julie and Niels in …yes a big brown house for 3+ years while she was studying in Madison.  It was great to spend time together, see the kids growing up, and as the true tradition of the Brown House, enjoy great food, including fresh greens from Niels’ garden.

The conference began on Monday which kept us very busy the rest of the week. Monday evening following the first lectures we celebrated Sheri’s birthday at the “Study Pub” at the Fluno Center with friends including Jayne, Sandy, Mehran, Paul (not pictured) and Lynne (not pictured).

We did take another break on Wednesday evening to visit with Mike and Sue Capp. Mike and Sue now live on the west side in a beautiful neighborhood.  Mike is a fabulous cook and it was nice to have a home cooked meal. Sue gave us a tour of their garden, and we did a nice walk after dinner.  We also enjoyed some live music with Sue on Piano, Mike on a cigar box guitar and Sheri on a cigar box ukulele

It was great to be in Madison and enjoy all that it offers and see some really good friends. It is also nice to be home.