Monadnock Berries Troy New Hampshire

I decided to go berry picking this summer because its been many many years since I have done so. And I heard rumors there was a berry farm nearby that had more than just blueberries. Monadnock Berries boasted of blueberries, raspberries, goose berries, red currants, black currants, and white currants. I have never eaten gooseberries or currants so I was keen to check this out. I brought my mother with me even though she’d heard it’d be expensive.

There were signs from the center of town you could follow but it was pretty far out in the woods on a dirt road. You just had to trust there’d be more signs or that your GPS was worth trusting.

Finally we got to the farm which had a nice dirt parking lot on a hill. We followed more signs into a cute little shop which had pre-picked berries, maple syrup, and a few other commodities. There were also cartons and buckets of various sizes to go picking ourselves. We were told we could mix all the berries if we chose to except for the raspberries. They were more expensive and apparently turn into sludge if you pile other berries on top of them – hence the need for separation. As such I declined the raspberries and bought a “small bucket” for $22. It didn’t look big but boy, by the time we were done we had over four pounds of berries! That’s an overflowing large Pyrex mixing bowl! If you’re familiar with how much a tiny carton of berries cost you’ll know this was a steal, the very opposite of expensive.

There were maps via QR code but also signs everywhere. The blueberries were endless, just bunches of bushes. We found the raspberries next, and in front of them was the first row of currants, all black. I tried them and found them to be quite displeasing to my pallet but this was a matter of personal taste. The red currants were nearby and had a remarkably different flavor profile. They were very tangy! I started throwing fistfuls of them into the bucket. The bushes at first didn’t look like they had much on them but with a little closer inspection the lower branches were heavy with berries.

My mother at this point got very into picking red currants and took some convincing to move on. The gooseberries were a good walk away, snuggled next to the white currants which had a delightfully mild taste. The gooseberries were robust in their unique flavor. These two ended up being my favorite berries of the day.

By now it was getting hot, I was overheating, and it was threatening to rain. Our bucket was nearly full anyway so I said we should get some blueberries to top it all off as we walked back towards the store. I was surprised to find the blueberries from different rows also tasted different, perhaps they were of different varieties. I settled on a bush with very large blueberries which I felt were the sweetest. When the bucket was filled we walked back to the counter which felt like it was miles away in the heat. When we turned in the bucket the teenage cashier pulled out the plastic bag lining the bucket and exclaimed how happy it made her to see currants under the top layer of blueberries. Both the teenage girls working today were so friendly and funny I couldnt help but adore their youthful enthusiasm. I paid my $22 and got a cold drink to go.

All and all this was a really fun day. We made out like bandits and there were some adorable goats in a pasture next to the parking lot. This place was awesome. Well worth a visit and family friendly to boot! I could have spent all day taking photos of the luscious berries and the sprawling mountain landscape beyond. This place was gorgeous. I guess that’s why they also host weddings here on Saturdays. I was impressed.

July 22, 2025 0

Bradstreet Farmstand – Newport Maine

On our way back from the Moore Manor Lavendar Farm we happened upon an old fixture, the Bradstreet farm stand. My mother grew up in these parts and remembers fondly going to school as a child with some of the members of the family that owns this farm.

We had stopped by on this day to see good things we could get to eat and we were not disappointed! Although it was still early in the season they still had quite a bit to offer. I grabbed a bag of fresh peas, some pickling cucumbers, two plump tomatoes, some beets still connected to their greens, and a couple zucchini. Later against the wishes of my body I’d eat the most delicious cucumber and tomato sandwhich with boiled beet greens for dinner later on. No complaints here! Well, aside from my gall bladderless digestive system which now believes cucumbers to be poison. Still worth it. The peas also served for a fun snack for me as I like them raw.

These veggies were pricier than the super market but much fresher and I can’t help but want to support these local ventures as much as I can, especially seeing how old most of our farmers are these days. On this day it was no different as a grandmotherly lady took our money at the counter and quietly laughed at our conversation.

July 16, 2025 0

Green Fields Market – Greenfield Massachusetts

It’s kind of funny, I am a bit jaded because I have been so many places and done so many things but it’s always a real joy for me to bring someone along who hasn’t. After enjoying quite a good chunk of time at Whitney Hall Antiques we decided to amble up the street a bit and see what was there in the way of shops and whatnot. And the first we came to was a grocery store. My companion was curious so we went in.

We were immediately greeted by an impressive produce section for a city market. It seemed to have everything – loose hot peppers of all kinds, fresh full figs, several other fruits and berries I had little to no recognition of, and all the usual things you find but so fresh looking! I was impressed. This was almost a farmer’s market.

As we walked in further I found the first fresh kombucha machine I’d ever encountered with no less than four flavors to choose from. As much as I appreciate the health benefits of a good kombucha I had to pass. That stuff really smells. But to each their own! Around the corner there was a grind your own coffee bean station with several different varieties to choose from and there was a whole isle dedicated to bulk things which included but was not limited to carob chews, granola, various oats and grains, dried beans, nuts, really anything you could think of being dispensed in such a way.

I’d been to these little hippie/hipster markets before and I absolutely adore them. I used to get granola at a place like this to put on top of my yogurt in the morning. It’s these simple luxuries that can make life so worth the little moments.

ANYWAY, if you’re in town check it out! Never know what delicious thing you’ll find. (And also props to the giant paper mâché cow sitting above the dairy! It was adorable!)

October 1, 2023 0

Doe Orchards – Harvard Massachusetts

You know what’s awesome about having a birthday at the end of September? It’s the perfect time to go apple picking! So that’s what I did to celebrate entering another year of life. And this year I decided to bring an old friend who happened to live just down the street from several orchards. I chose this one as it seemed to have a lot of varieties of apples listed and it also seemed a little less touristy. You know me, the perpetual introvert. I like supporting the little guys whenever I can.

I couldn’t have had a better experience. The people were wonderful, the apples were DELICIOUS, and we had such a great time catching up and picking the perfect bag of apples. This orchard was really lovely in that it allowed people to come with their well-behaved dogs so there were cute fluffy dogs accompanying their owners. It was like wandering through a Norman Rockwell painting.

And this orchard was nice in that it had all the trees labelled with colored markers, so you knew what kind of apple you were picking and what week they were supposed to be ripe. It had rained earlier on in the day so the ground was SOGGY and my friend had to lop off her shoes and barefoot it through the puddles. The grey clouds and raindrops on the apples made for some nice photo opportunities!

This place was really wonderful. I ended up with a bag of apples (and some of these apples were HUUUGE) as well as a $10 pumpkin which was perfectly round and I honestly don’t know if I am going to carve it or eat it. There was also a regular farm stand here so you could just buy a bag of apples if you didn’t want to pick them yourself.

I would definitely go back to this orchard. It was beautiful, the apples were just an amazing quality, and the people running the place were friendly and warm. This was the perfect way to spend my birthday.

October 1, 2023 0

Somero Maple Farm – New Ipswich New Hampshire

You ever have one of those moments when you’re driving down the road and you see an interesting sign but you’re on your way somewhere else and don’t have the leisure to go poke at something? That’s what happened the day I hiked the Ponamah Bog. I was driving there when I saw a sign promising maple syrup which just by coincidence I’d run out of earlier that day on a sweet batch of wheat pancakes. I tried to make a note in my head to remember on my way back but that’s always a super dicey prospect when you have flagrantly untreated ADD.

Well! You wouldn’t believe it but several hours later I was still hankering for maple syrup when I remembered to look for the sign on the way back. It’s a small sign and it points vaguely down a country road with the instruction that it was a mile down said road from the sign. Oh boy. I just love these little sketchy adventures I go on by my lonesome.

I drove for quite a while until I came to an intersection. The sign didn’t say anything about an intersection. Had I gone too far? No! For there was another sign promising I was close! And so I was.

I drove into a small parking lot of what was clearly a farm but there wasn’t a soul about. It said something about a gift shop but it looked dark. I slinked uncertainly up to the door which had one of those digital number locks on it. This was not feeling great…. so I peered in through what looked like a darkened window and guess what? I saw the cutest damn gift shop I’d ever seen! So I tried the door handle and it wasn’t locked! I walked into a tiny one room temple to the glory of maple syrup.

Here I found all color variations of maple syrup in every size from adorable nips to a full gallon. And there was flavored maple syrup! In coffee and cinnamon. And maple syrup BBQ sauces, maple salt water taffy, honey, fresh eggs, cute NH related swag… this place knew I was coming.

I grabbed a half gallon of maple syrup like I was the goddamn ham burglar. And those sweet little maple leaf shaped cookie cutters! Obviously I needed eggs too and a teeny tiny whisk because it was shiny.

Then I didn’t know what to do because how was I to pay for this? I muttered to myself getting distracted as I wandered to what sort of looked like a counter. There I found detailed instructions on how and where to leave exact change (or a check but c’mon I’m not 80.)

This place was so adorable… I just can’t. If you’re in the area and in need of maple anything this is your place. You need to come here.

September 24, 2023 0

Birchwood Orchard Apple Picking – Mason NH

My mother told me recently she’d never been apple picking so I decided to take her today. She’s been super observant of social distancing and really needed to get out of the house. Apple picking seemed like the perfect outing after being cooped up for so long.

I looked at the reviews of local orchards and the one in Mason peaked my interest. It was an odd deja vu adventure that transpired from there. Imagine my surprise to find it was a farm I actually knew about and played on when I was a small child. I couldn’t have been more than four or five when I spent at least one day there playing with the little boy who lived there. I don’t even remember his name now.

Everything was as I remembered. This place was down a long dirt road smack dab in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by forest, with a few shady paddocks where some horses happily loitered.

I had to follow signs to get to the orchard. The Prius already wasn’t happy with me driving it down a dirt road. It was even less pleased when the parking turned out to be a grassy patch of free space behind a stone wall and well off the road. Judging by the looks I was getting this may have been the first Prius to visit…

We were the only ones there besides the woman who owned the property. I knew it was the end of the season but I was still hopeful. She directed us towards the trees that were still fruiting. A few pear trees were present with a sparse smattering of fruit still left. Behind them was a row of Red Delicious. I’m not a fan of Red Delicious so I went towards the Golden Delicious that were still heavy with apples. The rows were marked with the types of apples – Mccoun, McIntosh, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Courtland, and Honeycrisp. However, being so late in the season most of the trees were bare. My mother picked some small Mccouns which she favored for being so hard. I filled my bag with Golden Delicious before she found three or so Honeycrisp trees that still had some apples. Score! I was happy! Now I got the apples and the Mason jars I am going to be making apple butter for Christmas!

This orchard was perfect for someone looking for a little known place with few people. Their prices were VERY decent too – cheaper than their competition for sure! And I was told that had we come at the end of September we would have also found peaches to pick. This is unusual for New England. All and all it was a lovely little adventure off the beaten track, well worth the visit!

October 20, 2021 0

B F Clyde’s Cider Mill – Mystic CT

After getting our share of apple picking at Wittle Willow’s Spring Farm we continued our apple-centric adventures by driving a few minutes down the road to B F Clyde’s Cider Mill. It’s claim to fame is that it is the US’s only steam powered cider mill still running today. And it sometimes gives tours – although it appears only on the weekend and we were there on a Thursday so I apologize for my complete and utter lack of photos.

What I can say is this place was hoppin’! SO MANY PEOPLE had gathered here and it was pretty clear why. They had everything here. Regular cider, hard cider in more varieties than I could easily count, all sorts of old timey county store type things (like the pumpkin pancake mix and pumpkin butter we ended up bringing home) and I was thrilled they had apple cider doughnuts too which I gluttonously ate while sipping a cup of hot cider. It was then as we were all sitting around just enjoying ourselves that the jig was finally up. My companion looked up from his phone.

“It’s your birthday?!”

“Yeah…”

He looked around at where we were, where we had come from, and what we were eating. “This is kinda an awesome birthday.”

“It is!” I laughed.

After this we ambled around some more. There was another little shop there with more touristy things and I bought a magnet figuring it was high time to replace the ones on my fridge currently. Outside this there was a tasting station for all the various hard ciders (and wines? Champaign is a wine I think. Fuck if I know, I’m a teetotaler. ANYWAY…) Across from this they were setting up a hard cider slushee station which our friend gave a go. Sounds like some fresh hell to me but he was impressed and that’s all that matters.

This place was amazing and I left stuffed to the gills but we weren’t done. From here we’d walk off those doughnuts at the Old Mystic Village.

October 2, 2021 0

Apple Picking at Whittle Willow’s Spring Farm in Mystic Connecticut

Thursday was my birthday but I really didn’t feel like celebrating. I have been in a stress-induced haze for a year and didn’t make my goal of publishing another book on my birthday as is the tradition I set for myself. As such I was feeling less like my birthday was about celebrating surviving another year of life and more about marking down I was another year closer to death which seemed a bit grim. And because of this I didn’t give anyone any warning it was my birthday.

I did try to figure out something cool to do but I was coming up short so I did what I always do in these situations – I left it up to the Universe – “If you want me to celebrate my birthday, you figure something out.” And it did! Sort of out of nowhere we ended up getting together with another friend who suggested we go apple picking. I haven’t been apple picking since I was just a wee one so the thought of it definitely tickled my brain. Yes, this would be the perfect way to spend my birthday – and was it ever!

We ended up going to the Wittle Willow’s Spring Farm in Mystic Connecticut. They had a lovely little farm stand set up and both an apple orchard and a pumpkin patch to pick from. They handed us some brown paper bags and off we wandered into the vague direction they were pointing. We were told there were lots of McIntosh, some Granny Smiths, some Red Delicious, and a few Golden Delicious somewhere out there. And so we wandered out into the orchard which was… not marked in any way and the trees didn’t even grow in proper rows but seemed to be dotted at random. We found some Granny Smiths but they too were not in a cluster but rather smattered about in between all the McIntosh. It was pure chaos and only about to get more chaotic.

For here in the middle of the orchard was a neatly groomed stone wall with a tiny old family cemetery within it. There was even a sign dating it to the 1700’s. How ironic is that that we went to probably the only orchard with a cemetery in it?! Obviously I was charmed. Meanwhile my companion was charmed with a singular pair tree just hanging out and chilling.

“They’re just funny looking apples.” My dry sense of humor is sometimes lost on those who have to endure it.

When we all had our paper sack loaded up we headed back to weigh and buy them. It was $1.50 a pound and we all made out like bandits. I’ll be making apple butter and probably apple sauce. There was talk of apple juice, pancakes, and pies.

And then we finished our little adventure playing with some pigs sleeping in a wallow. There were three big sows and maybe a couple dozen piglets and the farm stand was selling lettuce and corn to feed them as treats. The second they heard the first lettuce leaf being plucked off they all woke up and ran to the fence. From there it was just a feeding frenzy with the big mamas grunting in disapproval whenever the treats ran dry. The largest one seemed most insistent nuzzling the fence and grunting. She reminded me of a dog with weirdly human looking eyes. The whole scene reminded me of the happy days I lived on a farm throwing one grape at a time into the chicken pen and watching 50 or so hens all make a mad dash for it. Someday I will return to this life but for now I found it very cathartic to just visit.

Our adventures were just starting for the day because after this we wanted to go to nearby B F Clyde’s Cider Mill where I was hoping to score an apple cider doughnut in lieu of a birthday cake.

October 2, 2021 0

Mushroom Festival Laconia NH

I was really excited to go to the mushroom festival today. It’s a two day event way up in the White Mountains that is gaining popularity. I found out about it through a FaceBook ad and decided I needed to go wherever my people are. Who are my people? Weird people. People who would find mushrooms far more interesting than flowers. People who would appreciate my favorite punderful T-shirt that reads, “Amateur mycologist with questionable morels” which I had no choice but to wear today.

Unfortunately I don’t live in the area so I missed the Early Bird Mushroom Walk which sounded like fun. However I did manage to get my sorry carcass up there in plenty of time to enjoy some other events and I had a great drive up listening to local artist Holly Brewer’s new album Medicine of Time Travel. As usual it was absolutely beautiful and put me into a spacey sort of mindset – perfect mushroom festival mood music.

When I drove in I was greeted by a young woman who tried to tell me where the parking was in the most alarming way possible, “HEY! So the parking is over there… see that row of cars out in the field? Like there’s tons of parking… but also a lot a holes! But we marked them with red flags so you don’t ruin your car!” Another woman in full steampunk regalia cantered up, “Why are you giving her a full song and dance?! Just go out and park! And avoid the holes!” I immediately regretted taking the Prius. It stands only two inches off the ground and is known for getting stuck in fields. But we did OK! The holes were very well marked!

And then I checked in. The festival is free but for a $10 donation I could get a cute mushroomy lapel pin or $15 I could get a glass and fill it with lemonade. I already have an odd fascination with pins so I figured why not.. and trotted off with something shiny.

I was happily surprised by everything here. The weather was GORGEOUS, there was a food truck and even a bar outside. Bathrooms were in a nearby restaurant. And unlike most of these weird little fairs and festivals I go to there was quite a few vendors and a delightful mix of things being sold – lots of jewelry, grow your own mushroom kits, some amazing sculpted art, incense and hippie things, some clothes, fresh honey, mushroom tea, and even a woman selling Fiore artisan vinegars and olive oils – three of which were mushroom varieties. She let me try them with a little bread. I asked her what her favorite was – she said lemon so I tried that first and I must say it was nice, bouncy, and fresh. Very lemony. But Obviously I was here for mushrooms so when in Rome… I requested the White Truffle because I have never eaten truffles and was curious to know what the fuss was about and HOLY SHIITAKE that was some AMAZING oil! I think I made a face because she gave a bit of a laugh. It was very strong but not at all unpleasant. I’m notoriously stingy when it comes to these things but I forked over $21 for a little bottle without a second thought. AND I WILL DEVOUR IT.

All the vendors here were super sweet and chatted pleasantly with me. They all seemed to be doing well. I learned this was the fifth such festival and it started with only four vendors that first year. It had grown so much that the farthest visitor to come by was from Washington DC! And I thought I drove the farthest! ha!

After this I stopped by the end of a cooking demonstration and was able to try mushroom “bacon bits.” Apparently if you marinate dry mushrooms in something you like, something bacony, you end up with these somewhat crunchy little chunks of flavor. I mean I wouldn’t mistake it for bacon buuuut it was closer than I thought a mushrooms could get and sure as hell beats the slimey canned mushrooms I was used to seeing on pizza – you know those rubbery gray bits that have the texture of a drool sopped dog toy? They were the reason I thought I didn’t like mushrooms all these years!!

But hey, I had an hour to kill before the thing I came for so I decided to get a bite to eat. Today they were serving Black Truffle Bisque, Chicken of the Woods soup, and something else mushroomy I forgot. Seeing as I am really good at finding Chicken of the Woods that got my curiosity first but then the idea of bisque took my imagination… It was $8 a cup and yet another totally worth it thing. I sat at a picnic table in the sun and just enjoyed the day, eating this lovely earthy combination of flavors.

Eventually the mushroom dying demonstration started and that’s what I wanted to see… Here another young woman had an assortment of yarn and wool all dyed with mushrooms she found locally in the woods. She was displaying tie dye silk scarves in yellow, orange, green, and wine. I bought a little silk scarf for $15 so I could try dying one. WELL! This poor woman was having a day. Her entire set up with hot water and several heated dyes went flying over and drained on the ground at the beginning of the demo. And water has to be hot for dyes to take… So she went into the restaurant and hauled out some hot tap water and tried to heat it up further on her burner as quickly as she could. Four of us had scarves and a fistful of rubber bands to make it tie dyed. Two women wanted the wine color, I chose yellow as the orange had dumped on the ground, and the last girl went for the green. Well… it takes 30-45 minutes for the scarves to set and this poor woman did not have nearly enough material to keep us occupied that long and all of us had already visited the vendors and the food station so there was a half an hour awkward wait…

I wandered off to check out their little information station. I flipped through their binders they had there and got to learn quite a bit about what mushrooms are around and what they’re used for. I guess those Chicken of the Woods were good for Cancer and Type 2 Diabetes in some studies. Interesting! And it went on to tell me about how mushrooms often have symbiotic relationships with trees, that they are some of the largest and oldest organisms on land, and that some of them even glow like jelly fish! Also there were recipes, most of which were to be expected, but three others made me really scratch my head: Chocolate and Toasted Shiitake Scones, Pear and Toasted Shiitake Jam, Blueberry and Black Trumpet Crisp.

So after learning all this and talking to more vendors I decided to check back in on the scarves. They weren’t doing too good… Mine, the yellow, was very very faint since the water didn’t start off hot enough and I had only been away 25 or 30 minutes… She actually wrapped up some dried mushrooms and alum to go home with me so I could try it again. And when I do I shall post pix! The women who chose the darkest color seemed to have made out pretty well though…

I had a wonderful day. So many strange and charming people – all super friendly. I’m glad I pushed myself to do it. Granted I was burping up soup for hours and had Black Trumpet flavored heart burn the entire way home. What can I expect with no gall bladder…. And of course my GPS thought it’d be hilarious to make me go on a pointless detour around the police station with a bag of dried mushrooms in my lap… Thank God I wasn’t pulled over. That would have been hard to explain… “No! They’re to die a scarf! I SWEAR!”

All and all I would definitely go again. This was 100% worth making my entire digestive system cry.

September 29, 2019 0

Dummerston Apple Pie Fair – Vermont

Today I was supposed to go out to lunch with a friend and meet a different friend at the Apple Pie Fair in Dummerston Vermont, however things didn’t go as planned. My lunch friend got sick and couldn’t go and my apple pie buddy ended up double booked. None-the-less I decided I needed to get out anyway so I asked my mom if she wanted a day out and off we went!

I’d never heard of the Dummerston Apple Pie Fair until I was invited. From what I could gather it was some event held by the local church there… looked quaint and adorable so I figured why not? New England is THE best place to get Autumn apples, cider, apple cider doughnuts, and apple pie… I was going on an empty stomach for a reason!

Yesterday I spent the day helping my mother sell soap at a local craft fair and it must have drained my energy more than I thought because today I could NOT get going! So it was 2:30 before we go there… The listing online said it ended at 4:20PM, which is obviously a joke for the herbally inclined… so I thought maybe it ended at 5? I was hoping anyway. I found parking in a field down the street. There was no charge. We walked past a big house that was taking the opportunity to host a multi-family yard sale since so many pedestrians were walking by… The people there were super sweet and talkative! We moseyed on towards the church. SO MANY PIES – sold whole in front of the church or by slice down aside the church. There was also apple cider and apple cider doughnuts. I grabbed a doughnut to snack on as I walked. Apple cider doughnuts are the best doughnuts you can get, absolutely delicious, and perfect to nibble on as you walk across the street to a craft fair in another church. Sadly we got there just as everyone was packing up. Guess it ended at 3. SO MANY ADORABLE VERMONT CRAFTY THINGS! Wish I got there sooner! There was the usual knitting, crochet, quilting, home-made ties, and then just an assortment of odd things… like these adorable troll like creature sculpted by a pair who call themselves The Widow and the Spinster (nancyb63@svcable.net and bunny@svcable.net). If I’m honest I probably would have taken one home if I had anywhere to put it. My life isn’t that… organized… yet. Across the way Backwoods Vermont had its own assortment of woodland creatures – another collection of trolls, this time in magnet form, caught by eye but they also had felted creations and water color paintings. Downstairs I found someone selling wooden birds who I did not get the card for (so sorry!) and a woman selling goat’s milk soap – Four Kyds Farm – who talked to my soaping mother kindly about how farmer’s markets were really a waste for soapers to go to for the most part (and having attended too many myself I have to agree…) Craft fairs were her thing. Thanks for the tip!

Before we left I was able to buy a gallon of the SWEETEST apple cider I have ever tasted and a pie for later just as they were selling out and it was starting to rain. Perfect timing!

October 7, 2018 0