What is the why of the Heath Fair? It is a celebration of the bounty of the earth - and the knowledge and energy to make it fruitful. It is a celebration of our farms and farmers. It is about sharing the natural world with our children. Those are miniature mama goats. The Heath Fair is about competition, and music, and Blue Ribbons. For more (almost) Wordlessness this Wednesday click here.
As a liberated woman I have made sure that my grandsons have had a few cooking lessons over the years. Rory was 13 when this photo was taken, but it is not his first lesson. Perfect scrambled eggs was probably an early lesson, but by 2009 he had moved along to the perfect omlette. Saumon en papillote, a Julia Child recipe, amazingly simple, but a dish with dash, has become Rory's specialite. I cannot begin to tell you…
Bella came to visit in time to prepare her exhibits for the Heath Fair. Baking for the Fair is almost as much fun as the Fair itself. At the age of 6 Bella is in a real competition which means that she has to make her cookies all by herself. No one else, not even Granny, can touch the cookies. She measured the ingredients, operated the mixer, and used a tiny ice cream scoop to measure the dough…
For the first time in seven years weather at the Heath Fair was just right. Not too hot. Not too cool. Not too breezy. Just right. It seems all the world thought the day was just right, too. I don’t know how many records were broken for number of attendees or business for the various vendors, but I can tell you that when I arrived Sunday afternoon to take my turn at the new Authors Tent, set up…
Our creative community got to display its imagination and skill at the 95th Annual Heath Fair from August 17-19. The Hall exhibits range from flowers, flower arrangements, vegetables and fruits on a plate or in jars, cookies, bread, maple confections, eggs, ciders, honey, quilts, knitted or crocheted hats, sweater and scarves, lego constructions, photography, art of every sort - and all categories are organized by age. Ribbons and money can be won by everyone! I spent a lot…
We moved to Heath in the fall of 1979 and attended our first Heath Fair in 1980. However, we had heard about the Fair years before when we were living on Grinnell Street in Greenfield. Deb Porter of Heath was visiting her friend (and my temporary boarder) Wendy Roberts in my kitchen, but she had to cut the visit short that day in order to race back to Heath and bake pies for the Fair. Deb still works…
The Heath Fair gave me a unique experience this year. In addition to enjoying all the other delights and events, I got to meet and talk to other gardeners who asked me to sign my book, The Roses at the End of the Road, when they bought it. This was a thrill for me. The book my family and I had been working on all summer was finally in our hands - and on sale. Of course, The…
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I spent a lot of time working, one way and another, in the Friends of the Heath Free Public Library Book tent. This book sale and raffle is our big fund raiser of the year. The Book Tent is a good place to read, and eat homemade pie a la mode, and to visit. But there is a lot to see at the Fair. Food preservation is a hot topic in the general culture these days, but canning…
This morning dawned cool and misty. A walk through the garden was so quiet and peaceful. A glorious morning indeed. And we look forward to a glorious day at the Heath Fair. Yesterday was all energetic activity. We had scores of boxes of books to bring to the Fair for the Annual Friends of the Heath Free Public Library book sale. $1 for hardcovers! This is our big fundraiser for the year. After loading up the books, we…