Feeling Sheepish?

About 3 weeks ago, in the waning afternoon sun, I took a drive south on Route 9 into Kennebunkport.  There is a sheep farm on the land rising up from the estuarial marshy area along the shore.  Every year, I look to see if they have any new lambs I can ogle.  I had seen some before and hoped they were close enough for me to photograph.  Well, I had no luck, but I took pictures anyway.
I think the view is looking to the southeast standing on the side of the road (Route 9).  The Atlantic Ocean is out there…not too far out.  If you were looking on a map you would see Goose Rocks Beach.  I love the rocky hillside.  I’ve lived in a flatland state, and I so missed hilly, rocky terrain!

Some days, the sheep are on this little slope, right by the road, and that’s where I hoped they’d be, ready to have their portraits made.  But I guess they were feeling, you know, sheepish.  (Sorry)

A closer look at the barn seen in first pic.  And those wonderful craggy, lichenous, moss-covered boulders heaving up out of the hillside.

Isn’t a glorious barn?  The afternoon sun is lighting it nicely, despite the patchy, low-hanging clouds.  Love that hanging, sliding door, and the transom window above to let in the afternoon glow.  I bet it smells sweet like hay inside.  And a little dusty.

Those massive granite blocks make an excellent retaining wall to keep the earthen approach to the side door from wearing away.

On the south side of the barn, looking north.

This gate in the stone wall makes me think of  the Yorkshire farms described in James Herriot’s All Creatures Great and Small books.  Have you read any of the series?  Or seen the BBC shows? 

Waste not, want not.  Yankee thrift dictates that this old iron tub makes a good watering trough.  Can you see the sheep in the far pasture?

This was as close as I could get…Do you see the evergreen tree in the upper right?  I believe that is an early graveyard.  Probably a family cemetery from the original settlers of this “saltwater farm”.

Then I heard barking coming in on the wind, and I realized that one of the sheep was not a sheep at all, but a sheepdog, probably a Great Pyrenees.  That is he in roughly the center of the picture.  He is likely an absolute necessity, as there are definitely coyotes around who’d love a little lamb feast.
I took so many pictures on this particular day, but I’ll share on another day, if I can find something interesting to say about them.

Late Sunday Afternoon at the Quincy Market

As we drove through Boston on Sunday, I was just not ready with the camera, and I wish I had been.  I don’t know how many message screens we saw all with the same message:  “THANK YOU ALL”   alternating with “WE ARE ONE BOSTON”.  I wasn’t expecting it, and I choked up each time I saw one.  We passed under an overpass in Medford (where bombing victim Krystle Campbell lived) which was covered with American flags.  Later, a banner strung up on an overpass really grabbed me; it read in a child-like font on a brightly-colored background:  “no more hurting people.  peace.”  Wow.

Today I watched the Memorial for MIT police officer Sean Collier on New England Cable News (necn.com), and I would highly recommend going to the website and listening to Joe Biden’s speech.  So moving.  And James Taylor singing. And the bagpipers playing Amazing Grace.  It was very cathartic for me, and I believe it was a very important part of the recovery of the many people there or watching on TV.
Okay, I really do have other things to talk about, I promise.

Jeff and Sean on the right.

On Sunday, after the Lacrosse game we made our way to the giant food court that is Quincy Market.  I took some pictures, but I really didn’t do the offerings justice.  I don’t know how many vendors there are, but I bet it could be 50.

You walk right down a central aisle with counters on both sides.  There are deli-style offerings, various international cuisines including sushi, Indian cuisine, Mexican, Italian, traditional New England seafood, fruity smoothies and ice cream, delectable pastries, pizza, barbecue, I can’t remember it all.  .  
We were overwhelmed, and hungry as we were, it took a long time to make decisions. We wanted one of everything.  I took a couple of pictures, but they came out quite unappetizing.  I really wish I had taken pastry pictures.  At one of the counters, I got (to take home) a box containing a fruit éclair, a red velvet cupcake, an Oreo cannoli, and the best thing was a really decadent item called a lobster tail.   I had never seen one, and I’m going to see if I can find a recipe or something to help me describe it to you.  I’m pretty sure that that is all they serve in heaven.

In the middle of the building are 2 levels of seating/standing for diners. There were families everywhere, chattering away in languages from all over.


By the time we finished eating it was well after 6 pm and apparently that is
when most of the vendors close up shop on Sundays. One vendor told me he was staying open a little longer to make up for Friday’s lost business building, running the length of it, are add-on glass enclosures. Therein are vendor carts full of art, gift items, and other engaging novelties, but they were when the city was under a “shelter-in-place” request. On each side of the almost all closed, so we couldn’t browse.
I tried to capture the message around the edge of the mezzanine, but if you can’t read it, it says:  “This building  has served the people of Boston as the central market since its dedication in August 1826.”    Why didn’t I take a picture of the rotunda?

The back of Faneuil Hall.
Quincy Market is directly behind Faneuil Hall, an important historic building.


As you can see, I had fun taking (too many) pics of Samuel Adams’ statue  in front of  FH (in inadequate light). There is a museum housed there, also closed at the time of our visit.  I provided a link for those of you interested in learning more about Samuel Adams.  Hint:  his legacy had nothing whatsoever to do with beer.

We strolled around the building enjoying the atmosphere in the waning daylight.    There are benches everywhere, and you can imagine the scene on a sunny weekday at midday, when lunchers ranging from tourists to workers in the nearby Financial District and Government Center are enjoying their selections from the Market.
This drummer was dripping with sweat, as he gave an amazing performance to passersby.
 
He was very friendly and didn’t mind having his picture taken.  That is a frying pan sticking up out of the traffic cone, and was one of his improvised percussion instruments.


It’s been ages since I’ve been to the area, so the huge statue of Kevin White (mayor of Boston 1970-1984) was new to me.  You can see it behind the drummer above.  When I first saw it, I assumed it was a Kennedy, but then I found the plaque on the ground identifying him.
I hope you enjoyed this little visit to a popular Boston landmark.