Heart Land

Day 53

Today we sleep in, which is easy to do in the delicious dim light of a north facing room. When we hear the coffee bean grinder, we make our way downstairs for the strong, dark coffee we can sense is brewing. We sit in the sunny windows to sip coffee and rub Stella. Colleen whips up an amazing breakfast: veggie and goat cheese scramble, sliced tomatoes and cantaloupe. One of their neighbors, who they also share their “extra garden” with, pops by and joins us for a bit.

The Pirate and I decide to stay off the Girl today and hang around here. The weather is beautiful, and we're beyond curious about this place. We venture down to the flat area where all of the farming happens. First, we visit the watery-eyed baby cows, who come up and lick us and let us scratch them behind the ears. Then we meander over to the flock of sheep, who are guarded by a llama, Effie. Then we check out the Farm Stand, the professional endeavor of some of the Cobb Hill residents exclusively featuring all products made from these acres. Within, there is fresh and frozen meat, eggs, maple syrup, ice cream and sorbet, award winning cheese and produce. Next we visit more baby cows, the “extra gardens” of the residents, a herd of horses, and the chickens. We also tour the community building, where the kitchen is no joke. There are two stoves, two dishwashers and three refrigerators, just to start. It's such a wonderful thing when you encounter a project that had been done right.

From our little tour we walk a half a mile or so to a little pond, where we bask and float the afternoon away. It's hot today, but the water still feels cold. We are mostly content to watch bullfrogs and dragonflies, and gaze at the fields and distant mountains that remind us so much of home.

Late afternoon is a good time for naps, showers and writing. Perched in the shade of our guestroom I knock out four days worth of blogs. How do you spell relief? Soon we are hitting the road, all of us piled in the shiny new Subaru, and heading to the Harpoon Brewery. Yes, the Harpoon Brewery, home of the Harpoon IPA. Sundays at the brewery bring a particularly special treat. A friend of Cliff and Colleen's who grinds his own flour pulls up with a portable pizza oven and busts out little 10 inchers with a choice of four toppings for a couple of hours. These pizzas are delicious-o. The flour really does make a difference. Our table starts out with two pies, and then quickly ups the order to three.

On the beer front, this pub is wonderful. Walking in the front door, you are first presented with a row of tap handles lined up like colorful tin soldiers, ready to bow and pour forth the fermented goods. The bar tender lets us sample several beers: the classic IPA, a White IPA, and a Rye IPA. I bravely decide to order a beer of my own, a first for this little Mermaid. I can throw back wine, whiskey and gin, but I have never had a taste for beer, a heartbreaking aspect to my character when you consider that my very own Dad is an award winning beer maker. In the end, as predicted, the Pirate has to finish the White IPA that I ordered. I made it through about a quarter of it, then gave up.

After our feast of pizza and beer, we head back to Cobb Hill for dessert. We have maple syrup frozen yogurt made right here, drizzled with maple syrup harvested from the farm's “sugar bush” and boiled down on a neighboring property. It is delicious, and if I ever do that Master Cleanse again, you can bet what form my Maple Syrup will be in.