Home and Harvest

The town of Antrim, near where we live, has started a new tradition in recent years called "Home and Harvest". Held in late September, the festival celebrates the best of small town life and community and the abundance of the season. Our friends at Tenney Farm provided the spot for the chicken barbecue and fireworks as well as other activities throughout the afternoon on Saturday.





Our boys were in their first prize-winning float as ears of corn (Chris Salamy and his wife, the Tenney's daughter Krista, organized the float and run the farm with her parents). Our daughter Addie scooped ice cream at their stand on a weekend home from college and helped with the pet show judging. After the barbecue, we all enjoyed pie on the porch, care of Linda, who made a sublime apple pie. And then we watched fireworks. A great day and perfect weather.


Linda's pies had a slight flavor of lemon from the Gravenstein apples


Linda sells pies to my husband from "Three Dog Bakery", a home baker from Antrim

The Tenney's barn-turned-house, worthy of Country Home Magazine, has a screened in porch that overlooks their pastures along the banks of the Contoocook River. They can see only one house, built in recent years, and Linda has a sunny, southeastern kitchen with view of the farm and farmstand. A few days prior, Linda saw a woman in a pink outfit and beehive hairdo on her porch at 7am, on her cell phone. She sounded very retro and I thought perhaps she had landed in an alien craft that may have left a crop circle. One of life's little unsolved mysteries.



This year the Tenneys grew this tremendous variety of pumpkin which looks like a massive "Howden" or "Connecticut Field" but with a thick green stem. They are gorgeous and I had to get one for the kids. They also carved their names into some others.


The boys played all afternoon: parade, amusements, barbecue, ice cream, and fireworks were just the icing on the cake


Eric and Temple hung out and directed traffic

And their cider is flowing--the best and sweetest (and no preservatives!). Their own sweet corn is still in, too, as well as other vegetables. We just love the Tenneys and Tenney Farm.


No hometown parade is complete without Veterans of Foreign Wars


Or the local firetruck brigade...


Or fireworks, care of Atlas in nearby Jaffrey ~ a grand show!