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Tornados in Salem?

Yesterday afternoon we had a tornado warning here in Salem. Seriously, here, in Salem, Massachusetts…on the coast of New England, where we don’t get tornados.

Blaire sent me this photo from downtown as the warning was issued.   Thank you Blaire!!

Just as Blaire sent me the photo above, our cell phones sent my girls and I messages warning us to seek shelter and my husband called to relay the tornado warning that he had also received and to ask me  how things were going. Below is a photo of what I think  was the cloud as it worked it’s way across our backyard.  I took this shot kind of early on as it approached.  I should have stayed with the camera as the wind, rain, lightening and hail went through. I really couldn’t though because I was distracted by the nine children who were playing in my house at the time. They were fine, but I was running from window to window trying to discretely keep an eye on things and thinking about where to stash all of these kids should an actual tornado make it’s way through my neighborhood.

  The news broadcast later in the day reported that a funnel had been spotted in Peabody and Lynn, less than a mile from here. Yikes, that was a little on the close side!

Fortunately, all is well.  There’s no damage to report at our house. The garden is fine and so are the people, pets and property.  Some residents of Salem experienced flash flooding, wind damage and power outages. I hope that things are settling down for all of them today.

We are truly blessed.  It’s good to be reminded of that sometimes.

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Awesome Camping, Right Here in Salem!

I love camping! This week I decided to pack the kids up and head down to Winter Island for a few days.  Winter Island is a city park that is an island (connected by a causeway) right on the ocean.  It has a few amenities like a very rustic bathhouse and a camp store but it’s really all about the beach, the water and a little bit of history.

We’ve been going to the beach there for twenty five years but had never family camped. I was amazed that I could be so “on vacation” this close to home.

Our campsite was wooded and spacious.

And  the  views are spectacular!

This is looking in toward Derby Wharf and the city.

The island was historically a fort and more recently a coast guard base.

Here’s a post about it’s history that was written by  Salem blogger Beth Melillo a few weeks ago:

http://connectshore.com/2012/07/03/winter-island-a-personal-and-public-history/

There’s always something interesting to ponder.

Was this building used to store munitions or was it used for holding prisoners?

We really need to research that and figure it out.

Here’s the old sea plane hanger…

and a view from the back with one of the Salem Community Gardens sites in the foreground.

There’s the old barracks. I’d love to see this building restored and used again.

My kids have grown up playing at the playground.We used to go down for an hour before lunch and nap time when they were little.

There are flowers blooming all over the island.

One of the former caretakers loved to plant things and his handiwork is everywhere!

Casey’s gardens make me feel right at home.

The kids spent lots and lots of time exploring the tide pools…

Here’s a close up of some star fish that they found.

My little guy spends hours out there.

We did have to watch out for the critters that came out at night.

There were ground hogs and wharf rats. One night a skunk wandered right through our site as I was tucking the kids in.

We knew it was time to head home very early yesterday morning when Michael caught a raccoon pulling a bag of marshmallows through this hole that he (the raccoon) had chewed in our tent!

A little duct tape to repair the hole is nothing compared to wonderful family time and views like this!

Whether you spend a few hours or a few days, Winter Island is a perfect place to relax and get away!

Zucchini Rotini

The zucchini is growing faster than we can eat it all ready.

Here’s a quick and simple dish that I made for dinner on Sunday. It was delicious!!

The Rotel tomatoes made it quite zippy. My family likes that but if yours is more conservative I’d suggest using fresh tomatoes, diced tomatoes or even the mild Rotel.

Michele’s Zucchini Rotini

1 Lb Rotini pasta

3 T butter

2 T Olive oil

2 T minced onion

1 pinch of sugar

1 t Garlic powder or 1 T chopped fresh garlic

1 medium zucchini, cut into thin strips. I left the skin on half and pealed the other half so as not to overwhelm anyone with too much good nutrition

1 can of Rotel Tomatoes

1 handful of chopped basil

½ cup of half and half, or light or heavy cream

grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta to al dente. While pasta is cooking melt butter and olive oil together in skillet. Add onion and sugar and sauté until onion starts to brown. The sugar helps the onion to caramelize a little bit. Add the garlic and zucchini and sauté until it starts to soften. Add the can of tomatoes and the basil. Cook for a few minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Drain cooked pasta.

Pour the zucchini sauce over the pasta, then stir in a little half and half (if your not worried about fat content go for the cream instead) just  to moisten the dish and add some extra dimension.  Top with grated Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

What’s Happening in the Garden

It’s always fun to return after a good amount of time away from the garden to see the changes.

Here’s what we came home to this week after our twelve day road trip.

Our pot of potatoes took off!

The bee balm had bloomed

along with the lavender

.

The cucumbers had come along nicely.

Maybe this will be a good year for cucumbers since I only planted a few?

The carrots needed  weeding and thinning asap.

There were plenty of peas for the 4th..

Did you know that in the state of Maine salmon and peas is the traditional Fourth of July dinner?

It was time to pinch back the basil!

And the zucchini had done it’s thing

along with the Roma tomatoes!

It really felt like magic to come back to this.

What are you growing?

How are things in your garden?

Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

Michele

Break Time

The packing is almost done and it’s time for our big family road trip!

 I’ll back for the fourth of July.

(Wait till you see the fourth of July in Salem!)

I’ll have  some great gardens and other sights to share with you

and hours and hours in the car to think about post ideas.

It could be a little scary!

Thank you all for all of your support over the past month or so!

Be Back Soon!

Love,  Michele

My Michael

Our cars are always clean.

We have everything we need.

He goes on all the scary rides.

Occasionally (very occasionally), he’ll attempt to stop and relax

He is the reason that we are able to live the wonderful and amazing life that we have.

and I am so grateful for him, every single day.

Happy Father’s Day!

Love,   Michele

Salem 101: Bewitched!

This statue has become a landmark in Salem. Can you tell who it is?

 

Here’s a closeup of her face

Of course, it’s the late Elizabeth Montgomery portraying Samantha Stevens on the Bewitched TV show!

What child of the sixties doesn’t remember watching Samantha and all of her adventures? In June of 2005 this statue was installed and dedicated here in Salem. It was donated to the city by the TV Land Network. There was quite a bit of controversy in the days leading up to the unveiling. Only two Bewitched episodes were said to be filmed here, so it’s relevance to our city’s history was widely questioned.  Some felt that it took away from the seriousness and tragedy of the  witch trials.

There was lots of excitement on the day of the reveal.  I didn’t attend, possibly because my fifth child was three months old  and the thought of taking five children under the age of eleven downtown to see a statue unveiled compromised my ability to breathe properly.  I believe that members of the cast were here, including the actress who played Tabitha. It was a big event!

It seems that Samantha has settled in comfortably. She’s become a landmark  in the center of a long row of wonderful restaurants. Salem’s downtown is hopping these days, and while Samantha doesn’t exactly represent the serious side of Salem,  she definitely adds a whimsical element to a city that is well-known for fun and whimsy.

Early Morning Helpers

Early Sunday morning I went out to find my little guy taking care of the chickens. He’s heading over to tend to the babies, poop scraper in hand!

Here he is hard at work, but if you look closely to the left you’ll notice an escape is underway.

Uh oh! We have church soon and they can’t be left to wander safely yet.

Winnie the Wonderdog wants to help!

This photo doesn’t exactly fit in to the story but my son enhanced it himself, and it’s a cute shot, so here it is!  I think he did a great job!

Getting back to what was happening… here’s little sister to the rescue!

She’ll help round them up again!

“Where should we go? How do we get back in there?”

“I’ll save you!”

She’s a great little chicken handler!

On to the big girls… it’s a tough life for these urban chicken kids!

Enjoy Everything!

A Little Glitch

A few days ago one of my cousins asked me to share some gardening failures. There are plenty and I started thinking about where to start with that post. Then Michael came in from the garden a few hours later and asked “what’s that growing in the basil and tomato plants?”   I went out there to look and found this beautiful sight:

Seriously? what is that popping up all over the bed?  I think it’s probably some grass from bunny food that had made it’s way into  the rabbit compost that I added before I planted these last weekend. I had to laugh because before I could even take a photo Michael had started digging it all out.  I’m going to add some straw mulch today after another round of weeding. That may help to keep the weeds down, moisture in and wilt away from the tomato plants. 

It happens, it’s okay, hang in there! It can be a long road but it’s so worth it in a month or so when we’re enjoying fresh tomatoes and pesto. There’s nothing else like that!  Have a wonderful day! Enjoy everything!