Valentine's Day 2012 Bill and I planned a Valentine's Day dinner at the farm but appointments and weather conditions did not allow us to do so. Not to be defeated, we just had the dinner a few days late! The plan was to have a special but simple meal and take a break from the usual work done there. A major part of the plan was to try our special Blanc du Bois wine, which had been aged 8 months and was in very limited supply. |
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The tablesetting (above left) was planned with items on hand. On the red quilted table runner, note the white milk-glass vintage dish filled with camellias. The dish is from Bill's family and the camellia plant was selected by Elizabeth at Tallahassee Nursery many years ago. The pewter napkin rings were a Christmas gift from John's grandmother Betty Veliquette and the red cookie cutters were also gifts but the details have been lost. I wrapped red burlap and twine around some white candles for a last minute addition. The meal (not pictured) included lemon-pepper steak (pasture-raised on a Centennial Family Farm on the adjoinging Land Lot), pan-roasted potatoes, green beans with almonds, chocolate cake with ice cream, and Blanc du Bois wine. The wine was excellent, perhaps the best we've made, with the muscat heritage of the grape shining through. Rounding out the evening, we enjoyed a farcical CIA flick with a fitting title, Red. The weathered, notched fence post (above right) is very old, likely grown on the farm. It is shown attached to a remaining piece of old fencing, but it may have seen service previously. Note the long leaf pines (planted in 2006) on the far left of the photo. |
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| The low-growing plant (upper left) is most likely Darrow's Blueberry. I learned it's a good wildlife plant and has good fruit. We'll see. In the above photo on the right, Bill tags a blueberry plant, as he did in several places. He also tagged some native azaleas. He is standing before a virtual wall of fetterbush that rims Buck Bay. | |
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I admired the plant (above left) in many locations around the farm. It is a Black Haw, likely Walter Viburum, a good source of food for birds. It's a most lovely plant. A highlight of the photography sessions was an early morning visit by a hawk (above right) in the black walnut tree Bill and his mom planted in 1963. Unfortunately, the tree will have to be removed despite rejuvenation efforts. |
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Last edit 2012-02-18. |
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