Connecticut College Arboretum

Established in 1931 750-acre Connecticut College Arboretum includes their 25-acre Native Plant Collection located in the larger Bolleswood Natural Area.  The Native Plant Collection trail is broken down into 9 main stations with a few additions. The main trail is roughly 2 miles long and can be completed in 1 hour at a leisurely pace.

As we headed down the hill we entered Stage 1, described as a typical forested wetland which has water present at or near the surface for most of the year.  The ground definitely looked like it would normally be swampy but with our current drought the ground was,at best,damp. The Marsh Marigold with its buttercup-like flowers were flourishing.  

As we continued along the marked trail, we entered the second stage filled with various types of  magnolia's. Here two stoic 79yo tulip trees planted in 1936 have grown tall.  The fast growing tulip tree grows perfectly straight and love moist wet forested areas. Around the base of these impressive trees are the Roseshell Azaleas planted in the 40's.

Stage 3 takes us to the conifers. The Gries Memorial Native Conifer Collection was established more recently in 1988 then the majority of the collection.  It's relatively young age is a result of the previous grove of red pines secumming to an insect infestation in the early 80's. The refreshed conifer collection now includes red and white spruce, hemlocks, cedar trees and various pines. 

Along the large Pond is the fourth stage, a dam responsible for the 3' deep pond. The dam built in 1934 allowed the seepage fed pond to devlop its own natural ecosystem and is host to many creatures like crayfish and tadpoles. 

As we continue along the dam we reached Stage 5 filled with many deciduous trees and herbaceous species like oaks, birches, maples, dogwood and mountain laurel. Typically you would also find Eastern Hemlocks but the Asian Hemlock Wooly Adelgid insect has decimated the trees. 

It was here we had an option, we could continue along the main path or deviate and follow the bog path. We decided to check out the bog and took the path to Stage 5a. A bog is a fairly uncommon feature found in Southern Connecticut.  Bogs develop when glacial depressions fill with water and over time plant material accumulated and formed deposits of peat as thick as 3'. Shrubs like cranberry, highbush blueberry, and leatherleaf can be found along the bog edges. The bog was fairly dry thanks to the current drought. 

The sixth stage includes native nut trees like the Hickory Tree. Their hard shell fruits are edible and provide food for many of the local wildlife. Here you could also appreciate the rocky out croppings from which much of the granite buildings on campus are built from. 

As we made our way along the path we reached the one man made  structure. Stage 7 was a gift by the Buck family in 1937 and is known as Buck Lodge. It's used by the college for recreational gatherings and meetings. 

The eighth stage puts you under a massive White Pine planted in 1940 to replace the loss of another large pine in 1938. It sits on the edge of the outdoor theater once used by Connecticut a College for Comomencement exercises. As we admired the open area we discussed the possibility that my Grandmother who was an alum of Connecticut College may have received her diploma in that very spot. 

The final stage, stage 9 is the home to the arboretum's native Holly collection. With both male and female trees I have never seen such big holly trees. The female trees have red berries where the male trees do not. 

That wrapped up our self-guided tour of this impressive collection of native plants on this beautiful late summer early fall day.

Crave Meadery

With only a few hours before work we decided to check out a local Meadery in Blackstone.  Located in a small building right on the town boarder with Woonsocket is Ken Tubman's Crave Mead. The building is nothing fancy and is clearly a working meadery that offered tastings to educate and encourage the community to try something differently instead of just a retail operation. As their slogan says "Rethink your drink!"  

Our tour began with a quick explanation of how Ken got into the mead making business.  As an avid bee enthusiast and keeper who enjoyed making wines and beer he thought what better thing to do then combine his too biggest interests and put his tasty honey to good use.

Our first sample was the paddy mead. The dry mead is made from roughly 1/2 lb honey, water, and yeast.  He uses 4 different yeasts as each yeast creates a different taste depending on what he is trying to create. It had a nice and sweet but refined flavor that I really enjoyed. The dry mead is also the base for all his other flavored meads and ferments for roughly 2 months before it's ready to be bottled and sold. 

As his business grew he stopped using his own wildflower honey and began sourcing it locally from a bee keeper in Bellerica, Ma. The honey is a dark wildflower honey and really adds a great flavor to his mead.   If he is making a flavored mead he then adds either juice or fruit and allows it to ferment for another month or two before bottling. 

We tried 4 flavored meads next.  The first flavored mead was a pear nectar which was dry and slightly bitter but lighter then the dry mead.  Neither Grace or myself cared for this one. It was good but the original dry mead had a more balanced natural taste. 

The second flavored mead we tried was a pomegranate sour cherry mead. The sweetness of the pomegranate was a nice compliment to the very sour cherry taste. This would be a great wine to mix with fruit to make a sangria. 

The third mead we sampled was the blueberry mead. This was a very balanced flavorful blend which received many nods of approval from those in the sampling group. It was a natural taste with a sweetness that complimented the flavors.

The last flavored mead we tried was a strawberry mead which was made with 1lb of strawberries per gallon of dry mead. This was my favorite by far. It was light and refreshing with a nice strawberry flavor that wasn't overpowering. As a lover of anything strawberry it was no surprise that I would pick this as my favorite. 

As a special treat he offers us a chance to taste his just approved blend of mead and wine called Pyment which is a mix of Cabernet and mead; 2/3's Cabernet and 1/3 honey wine. This tasted more like the Cabernet then a mead and had that bitter taste I don't like about many red wines. While I can see how some might like this I felt it strayed too far from what a mead is about. 

Before leaving we each picked up a bottle. I went for the Strawberry Mead and Grace picked up a bottle of the Blueberry Mead. The bottles are $16 a piece and because we used a groupon for our tour we were able to take home a small 8 oz bottle of the honey they use to make their mead. 

It was a cool experience and we got to sample a great product that I doubt I would have otherwise discovered. Having tried mead before I knew I would like it and Crave Meads unique blends were definitely a treat. 

Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum

Located just off the Congress Street Bridge in historic Boston, is a floating museum unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before. The little known fact is that the current museum floating in the Fort Point Channel is roughly only a few hundred yards from where the Tea Party took place on December 16,1773. 

Authentic tea ships, live actors, high-tech interactive exhibits, multi-sensory documentary called “Let it Begin Here,”  and an original tea crate from the Boston Tea Party are just part of the experience. 

After entering a town hall style room we are each given the identity of a early American revolutionist and a feather to use as a symbol to others fighting the English that we are part of the cause. Next we participated conversation with Samuel Adams who explained that they offered Governor Hutchinson an opportunity to send the three tea ships back to England with their cargo but he refused and said they must be offloaded before returning back to England.

He also used his words to enrage the crowd calling on one such colonist asking James Brewer how he managed to pay for the new windows he needed on his house.  With the Townshend Acts in place he revealed that it was at the cost of feeding his family. 

After a spirited debate about what to do we headed down the gang plate towards the Eleanor, one of three ships that were in Boston Harbor that fateful night, where we boarded and systematically destroyed every tea crate. During the destruction one revolutionist was  knocked unconscious. That identity belonged to Grace's mother.  Try thought that he was dead and brought him to a barn to be buried the next day only to find him in the pub the following morning.

The Eleanor was a small and very cramped ship where crew shared the hold with its cargo. Before disembarking the historic vessel we each took the opportunity to throw a crate of tea into the harbor. 

Once off the ship we entered the museum its self where observed a discussion between two colonist woman. One a Tory and one a rebel arguing their perspectives. It was a riveting example of the opposing perspectives in the colonies. 

Next we entered the portrait gallery where one of only two surviving crates from the Boston Tea Party is on display.  The Robinson Half Chest as it is known washed up in the salt marshes where it was saved by a young man who hid it away to protect against any loyalist reprisals before it got passed along many generations before being given to the museum for display. Next like the portrait hall of Hogwarts the portraits of John Handcock and King George III came to life as the corresponded about the affairs of the colonies. 

Next we enjoyed the multi sensory "Let It Begin Here" presentation recalling the ride of Paul Revere, the Battle of Lexington and Concord and thus the start of the revolution. Once done we exited into the Tea house where visitors could sample the various blends of tea that were destroyed. While I didn't sample any of the tea I did enjoy a cinnamon scone fresh from the oven.