The Trenton City Museum

The Trenton City Museum

Don’t you love discovering something new and enriching? This weekend we found The Trenton City Museum in Trenton, NJ. It is a little gem situated within Cadwalader Park, which was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape designer of Central Park in New York City. The site consists of 100 acres of urban parkland with a variety of trees and shrubs, curving nature paths and roadways, and lots of places for picnics. 

The museum is housed in the Ellarslie Mansion, built in 1848 for Henry McCall Sr. of Philadelphia, as a summer residence. The mansion had a varied history of use over the years but was renovated in 1971 as the museum it is today.

The museum currently has a wonderful Crafts exhibition on the first floor. The second floor galleries focus on Trenton’s famous ceramic industry and house a collection of ceramicware, decorative arts, industrial memorabilia and historical objects. A photography exhibit is opening August 9^th and will run until September 22^nd.

Sometimes a surprise is what we need to awaken our senses and remind us of the treasures around us. Flowers do that for me each Spring, when the buds hint of their imminent blossoming. But that’s the nature of discovery, the unknowing that gives way to delight. It seems to come out of the blue yet, often, was there all the time. Like a park and a museum that is only a car ride away.

A lovely place to discover:

http://www.ellarslie.org/TrentonCityMuseum-Welcome.htm

Blueberry Surprise

We went to pick blueberries this weekend. New Jersey is known for its blueberries (also cranberries, corn, and tomatoes). The bushes were spread out in long rows and every row had its devotees. It’s easy for families to bring their children blueberry picking. The bushes are low enough for small hands to contribute to the gathering. And there were children galore, happily pointing out the best bushes. In truth, all the bushes were best.

We picked lots of fat, ripe berries, almost eight pounds, but not nearly as much as the family before us in line. They picked about thirty pounds. With two extra pairs of hands the picking really picked up. It reminded me of taking our own children blueberry picking; it was an adventure as much as a functional trip. You never could tell what would happen. My very first published article was about a local blueberry field we visited as a family. It was a surprise that jump-started my writing career. And this day, too, brought a surprise, though not as dramatic.

Take a close look through the leaves of the photo. There is a mommy sparrow nestled in the blueberry bush. She’s hard to see but there she is, sitting on her eggs. Even though people kept pointing to her and talking close by, she didn’t move. No one, not even the young children who were entranced by the nest, did anything to frighten her.

The farmer knew about the sparrow and said she was used to people. This was an organic farm so he wasn’t worried about the health of the birds. He also told us that he has no trouble with critters stealing his crop. Because he doesn’t use artificial chemicals the red tailed hawks found their way to the farm and established a nest. It didn’t take long for the squirrels and rabbits to size up the situation, being a hawk’s food source, and hightail it to safer places.

I like that no pesticides were used; I try to buy organic as much as possible. To me organic tastes better. And these berries were no different. So far they have been 1) cooked in a blueberry cobbler, 2) sprinkled on top of homemade granola, and 3) eaten by the handful all by themselves. They are terrific!

Are you interested in organic blueberries? If you live in New Jersey, here is the farm we picked at: http://www.emerysfarm.com/index.html There are many pick-your-own farms across the country. This site directs you (Organic PYOs are indicated in green) state-by-state http://www.pickyourown.org/