A Dodgy Visit

JohnM · June 01, 2014, 06:47:03 PM

Had the good fortune to meet and host Dodgy Loner, his wife and little Elam for lunch here at our 'farm' (few chickens and a couple of gardens count as a farm? ???) while they were up here in Maine. Good food and great company, par for the course as far as Forestry Forum meet-ups go I guess. ;D

(Not sure who the fat guy is in the second pic... ??? :-\ :

)

We made sure to round out their visit with whoopie pies for dessert. DL has developed a taste for Moxie soda and they had tried lobster and blueberry pie earlier on their trip. I'm not sure how you could eat more 'Maine' than that! :D

Now the real reason I ~~begged~~ invited DL out to our place is to look at a few of my father's and both grandfather's old wood working tools. You don't know what ya got til someone tells you, right? ...or something like that. :-\ (For those of you here that don't get over to the Woodworking section much you should know that Dodgy is an excellent woodworker and really knows hand tools in particular. And he's only 30! We'll see him on PBS some day.

;D)

He tells me the two crosscut saws on the left are gooduns, however, you'll have to show me how to sharpen them the next time you're up Justin. ;D

The Stanley #4 1/2 (left) caught his eye and Justin gave me advice on how to rehab the planes and the square. Very helpful and much appreciated!

We took a walk around the 'grounds' and fired up the Lucas for a few passes. DL pointed out a plant that we have all over the woods and asked what it was, I should know (and will likely be mad at myself when someone says it >:() so who can help us out? (Aldo Leopold, I am not! :-[)

I believe it has a white flower... ???

It was a great visit and, as always, nice to put a face to an avatar.

yukon cornelius · June 01, 2014, 07:01:41 PM

that looks like a good time and good food! I read about a little elam...is there really more elams in this little world. we are elams. when I was little, I was little elam. anywho, looks like you had a nice time!

WmFritz · June 01, 2014, 07:46:15 PM

I've got the twin to the second saw from the left. Belonged to my Grandad too.

John, not a bad idea having Dodgy traveling about...
rehabin and sharpening our old tools. :D :D

Magicman · June 01, 2014, 09:13:00 PM

It's good to read about the visit, fellowship, and food. FF Friends are everywhere. 8)

thecfarm · June 01, 2014, 09:24:24 PM

Glad you all had a good time.

WDH · June 01, 2014, 09:51:59 PM

Very nice. I could stand some lobster, too.

Dodgy Loner · June 04, 2014, 12:31:40 PM

We had a great visit with John and his family. It was great to meet John in person- he has a wonderful little homestead in a beautiful part of the world!

And I finally got to see a swing mill running:

He and his wife are pretty good cooks, too ;D. The pork chops and roasted potatoes that they fixed were awesome! Next time I will have to try some of their homemade maple syrup.

We visited John on Sunday, but we spent Thursday-Saturday traveling through some little coastal towns and Acadia National Park. I loved the clam chowder and the haddock, but I've decided that lobster was not for me. Elam was intrigued, but he can't have shellfish quite yet. I thought it could use a little crab boil with some onions and sweet corn :D:

We loved Acadia NP:

And we loved all the coastal towns, with the lighthouses, sailboats, and gorgeous colonial architecture.

Casie and I have decided that we could live in Maine, if not for the 6-month winters :D

Magicman · June 04, 2014, 01:47:45 PM

It's good to hear that you are enjoying your trip. That is some beautiful country for sure.

WDH · June 04, 2014, 09:33:54 PM

Very beautiful from the pics. I would love to get up there.

Mooseherder · June 06, 2014, 09:36:41 PM

Pack your bags and meet me there next Friday. ;)

Dave Shepard · June 06, 2014, 10:06:37 PM

If a snow bird is someone who goes to Florida for the winter, then what do you call someone who goes to Maine for the summer? :D

Mooseherder · June 06, 2014, 10:43:33 PM

Smart! :D

PC-Urban-Sawyer · June 07, 2014, 02:12:34 AM

Quote from: Dave Shepard on June 06, 2014, 10:06:37 PM
If a snow bird is someone who goes to Florida for the winter, then what do you call someone who goes to Maine for the summer? :D

Fly Bait???

SwampDonkey · June 07, 2014, 06:22:58 AM

Lots to see for sure...and ermm eat. ;D

Oh and them plants were sarsaparilla. Common in our mixed wood and maple forests. ;) They are a 'fake' ginseng.

Nice to see little Elam is doing well to.

Thanks for sharing your visit.

slider · June 07, 2014, 07:27:10 AM

Great pics.

Dodgy Loner · June 11, 2014, 03:14:21 PM

Quote from: SwampDonkey on June 07, 2014, 06:22:58 AM
Oh and them plants were sarsaparilla. Common in our mixed wood and maple forests. ;) They are a 'fake' ginseng.

Thanks, SD. Aralia nudicaulis? I thought it resembled ginseng but I wasn't sure what it was. I've seen it all over the southern Appalachians but I am not as handy with herbaceous plant ID.

SwampDonkey · June 11, 2014, 04:49:18 PM

Yep, that's it.

JohnM · June 11, 2014, 09:03:41 PM

Yes, thank you SD. Can you make the drink out of it? Actually I wouldn't be surprised was in Moxie. :D

SwampDonkey · June 12, 2014, 04:10:20 PM

I believe so, I've never looked into it until just now in a book. But may have been a tropical plant to. Also, spikenard was used in the same way according to 'Medicinal Plants' by Peterson. Spikenard is a lot bigger and has a cluster of red berries on a spike. Mostly for antiseptic on sores/wounds, stomach aches, and rheumatism and such. ;D They are in the ginseng family.