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| Lucia's backyard garden in August |
COLEBROOK, CONNECTICUT
We finally made it! For four years I have been trying to visit my sister's garden and house in this tiny town about a three hour drive from Manhattan's West side. I cancelled numerous trips due to covid surges, but this year I was determined. The plan was to spend a week in New York and CT before flying to Italy, and it turned out to be a great plan.
I loved everything about Colebrook. I basked in the historical reminders of the town's history. Relics of the Revolutionary War were everywhere. The Colebrook Store pictured above was founded in 1812 and is the oldest continuously running store in CT. Now they serve good coffee and bake excellent custard filled eclairs.
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| This is one side of the sign that greets you as you enter town |
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| Late summer hydrangeas lined the road next to the Colebrook Store |
Everything was so lush and green, in contrast to California's dry summer terrain. Unusually heavy rains on the East Coast have made the plants especially lush for August.
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| late summer garden |
Lucia prefers her garden in June, but I couldn't imagine a more beautiful display of flowers than these August blooms. She's designed a beautiful garden and does all the upkeep herself, including digging, planting, weeding and mowing (and composting)!
ESPALIER PROJECT
My sister had planned a few projects for Dean when he was visiting, and he was happy to oblige, The first was to espalier her apple tree. Since there are no stores in her town except for the historical Colebrook Store which is actually a lunch spot and coffee shop, we drove to the hardware store in Winsted for stakes, tools and garden tape. The large, modern supermarket is also there.
Lucia and Dean worked together to accomplish the task while I shot photos
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| The finished espaliered apple tree |
Back to Manhattan
We took the train back to New York City- a beautiful ride with views of the countryside and wealthy New York suburbs- and with only a day and a half until our flight to Italy, I had an agenda: First, I wanted to show Dean the Highline which I had visited and loved ten years ago. Lucia was kind enough to accompany us via the subway, like real New Yorkers, and we got an early start to beat the other tourists. It was more impressive than ever. What a miracle!
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| Dean examines Mckenzie's water hemlock growing on the side of the walkway |
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| Glimpses of art abound |
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| New York streets taken from above on the highline |
In the afternoon we planned to go across Central Park to visit the Metropolitan Museum. When we arrived, the lines to get in were prohibitively long, even for residents. Having so little time we left the museum, had a cool drink at a cafe in the park and again took the cross town bus back to the Upper West Side and got out at the Museum of Natural History. Since it was now late afternoon, the lines had dispersed and they allowed us to enter for free. All the new exhibits like the Van Gogh Cypresses and the Butterfly room required special tickets which we didn't have. However, we could get near enough to see the large space which encloses the exhibit through the large indoor windows and observe and hear all the ticketed patrons interacting with the butterflies as seen in the video we took below. It was almost as good as being inside.
That evening we ate at an outside table at Taralluci e Vino which my sister had recommended. It was a short walk from her apartment and is a popular neighborhood spot with excellent food and wine.
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| Bruschetta with arugula pesto and burrata |
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| A refreshing watermelon salad sprinkled with herbs |
Wednesday afternoon we took a cab to Kennedy Airport and had a celebratory drink in the lounge before departing for Florence via Amsterdam. We toasted Lucia who made our East coast visit so much fun. I can't wait to return and see the garden in June.
