This Weekend in Iceland

Welcome to the Freakshow!

And I don't just mean Step Right Up! by Eric Woolfe...

No, this is more of a placeholder, so I can expound more thoroughly (at some point) on all the craziness that has been my life for the last few months.

There was Young Company and Just This Once Upon A Time. And I may actually have a picture or two, either somewhere on the computer, or still on the camera... (I think I uploaded them.)
Then a few seconds, it seemed, of going away for a weekend of historical re-enactment, except it involved remembering what gear we needed, and where it was, or even what it looked like, and food for people, not just us...
And rushing back to make a whole passle (passel?) of red satin shoe bows for The Rockettes.

And trying to design this new show, with four actors and twenty-two characters, and no-one ever leaving the stage...

And being reminded right now, by the sound of wagons rattling past, how we discovered last Sunday, when FORTY of them didn't even slow down at the stopsign at our crossroads, that apparently they're exempt from the Highways Safety Act, or whatever you call the laws about traffic and the rules of the road! So no, they're not required to stop at stop signs. (Gee, wish someone had mentioned that to me when they were explaining things...) I suppose this 'exemption' may also explain: no lights, no turn signals, using cellphones while driving, no underage limit on driving a vehicle, no 'your side, my side'... and a whole bunch of stuff I'm seeing more and more of as the density increases...

So, it was all craziness anyway. Rush, rush, rush, and trying to think even faster than that. And then we had a little too much 'smoke and mirrors', shall we say... so life is even a bit crazier.

Anyway, still alive.
But this was my two minute break, and now I'm back at it!

anti-v, still crazy after all these years.

Chooks and Peeps

This weekend we were at a 'blackpowder rendez-vous' to celebrate the seasonal opening of the Ameliasburgh County Museum in Prince Edward County, near Belleville. It's a little pioneer museum, and every May long weekend for 14 or 15 years (our memories are failing....) a group of re-enactors interested in French-Indian Wars, furtrade, black powder, buckskinning, all sorts of things in the 1750 - 1840ish timeframe, have been getting together there.

Apparently, last year, after the long weekend, so we missed it, they brought in a load of chickens to take up residence for the summer. (Years and years ago, back when little museums had a bit more funding and support and staff, there used to be more 'on loan' critters.)
This year the chickens arrived for the weekend.

And were just so appealing I had to take pictures! Not just those little pale yellow chicks I remember from my childhood. These are pretty little colourful chicks, taking after their parents. (And it's amazing just how many peeps you can squeeze under one momma at night!)

The Long Weekend

Not the play by Norm Foster. That's packed up in dry dock, waiting to move to Port Dover, and then to Kincardine.
Nope, I'm talking about camping on the long weekend. Each year we go to Ameliasburgh Museum for their opening weekend, and are part of a black powder rendezvous. Well, not much black powder actually, but lots of buckskinners, and some French Indian War people, and some suttlers... And a potluck, and some games, and a lot of old friends.
The toad who had to move a few yards when we dug our firepit.




Some of the camps.





Pete, being stylish.



Darrell in the blacksmith's shop, looking a lot like the Paul Calle print.




One of the children, and two of the fellows in earnest conversation.

First Camping of the Season

Well, it's come and gone.
And for all the not-inspirational weather, it was a relatively
pleasant weekend.

Every May long weekend, we head over to the season opening of
the Ameliasburgh Museum, near Belleville, and take part in a
rendez-vous.
This is demo camp of varying folk of the Black Powder &
Buckskinner persuasion. Depending on the annual mix of
attendees, there can be French & Indian War re-enactors,
mountain men, 1812, Butler's Rangers, with a goodly mix of tipis
and wall tents and suttlers and settlers.

After a number of years of playing on the periphery, (too many
interests, not enough weekends,) we finally settled on the
Louisbourg time period, 1750's, which is also pretty much the
same time period as Last of the Mohicans.
Mostly, it was in an effort to help us coordinate our gear. Coming
from a Canadian Pioneer Museum background, we have a lot of
1850's stuff, and interests in earlier time periods, and indeed, in
all things old, has led us to have a large collection of bits and
pieces. Way more than we ever take. Plus, we fall into that trap
of getting a great deal on something 'old' to take to rendez-vous,
and then hesitate, and say, gee it's old, what if it gets broken, so
it stays on the shelf!

But it's nice, when one actually does plan a lighter load, to have
some specific things to choose from. [We no longer ever bother
taking kerosene lamps.Works for later, but not for 1750.]

Of course, then this necessitates being able to sort and store
your belongings by time period! Funny how quickly you can fill
and overfill a drive shed!

Anyway, the weather was cooler than some other years, and
wet. Though we've seen colder and wetter, so we can't complain.
Of course, it does remind us that we have a few repairs to make
to the wall tent, and that all our canvas could probably use re-
waterproofing....

We'd taken our Shaker stove in case it got really nasty, but
ended up using the firepit for all our cooking anyway.
I made a surprisingly tasty venison stew one night. (Surprising,
not because I can't cook, but because I don't recall actually doing
much to it.) My brother-in-law and I had kind of frittered away the
afternoon adjusting tarps and canvas for maximum rain and wind
protection, and I lost track of time. When it suddenly occurred to
me to check, I was about an hour and a half away from the
potluck! So much for slow cooking! However, the venison turned
out to be quite tender, so that helped.
As I recall, I chopped some onions and browned them and the
venison a bit. I'd brought the rest of my first harvest of wild leeks,
and some of those went in. I was fairly certain I'd back some
bouillon packets, but I guess not, so I had one veg broth cube I
added, and some cooking beer. And pepper.
But an hour after I started, I took a taste and decided we should
either jump the queue at the potluck, or announce that it was
puppy dog stew. Because it was awfully good, and I was
determined to get a taste.
As it turned out, there were a number of very good hot dishes,
and we did indeed get some of mine without resorting to fisticuffs.
But there weren't leftovers. Or even seconds.

Oh well, I have more of that same batch of venison. And must go
over and dig more leeks.

vandy