Mingus takes a turn at the wheel.
Dan Shaughnessy, longtime sportswriter for The Boston Globe, periodically writes a column full of random sports nuggets and observations called, Picked Up Pieces. It’s sort of a mental desk-cleanup–a series of pithy vignettes which, taken as a whole, present a larger picture of the local sports and cultural scene. In that spirit, The Riven Word presents its own version of random moments and events which have occupied our figurative desktops this summer:
We left less of each course to the weather knowing the sapwood is going to decay sooner than the heartwood. Of course, the studs in an earthfast building will likely decay before all.
The contrast between the heartwood and the sapwood on these 8-year-old white oak clapboards really stood out the other day. They’re also weathering a different hue of gray than other clapboards in the pilgrim village. Every oak tree’s a little different.
Like some Santa Claus gone horribly wrong, Michael went UP the Fuller House chimney the other morning (below) in order to replace a patch of mortar which had fallen out.
The chimney mortar inevitably washes out on the lee side of the frequent northeast wind.
Here’s an inside look at one of our lofts which is rarely seen by our guests. It’s also one of my favorite parts of our recreated village. The clapboards were once the end of Winslow’s one-room cottage; now they’re facing the interior of his added parlor. This space–narrow, dark, and reeking of woodsmoke–simply puts forth a 17th-century vibe. I think we got this one right.
Yep, that's a breaker box.
All of Plimoth Plantation’s guest-facing staff have been particularly stoic and professional this summer. Through heat wave after heat wave, they have patiently and enthusiastically met the varied needs of our guests who come from near and far. And special props to those who toil in canvas and leather for a living– they do the little things (like sweeping out the morning’s tire tracks) which bring our museum to life.
Ready to whet. To whet is no let.
The rain brings the whet. We try to keep up with the need for tool maintenance as the season rolls along. The pilgrim village really is a harsh environment for an edge tool.
Norah and Don weeding maize.
In the summer months, weeding and tending the maize was among the chiefest labors in 1627 Plimoth. Our corn ground is high maintenance in any century, and it takes a dedicated effort on the part of Norah and the interpretive staff to keep it thriving.
Earlier this summer, Mark led a session on mowing hay. The gang was taught some of the fundamentals of mowing and basic scythe maintenance. Such work, along with the cultivation of maize and husbandry of our animals, further emphasize Plimoth’s agricultural beginnings.
Scythe training with a great group of people.
Building and maintaining a period timber-framed house isn’t just sexy layout and joint-cutting. Don’t let em fool ya.
A feat of clay.
Sometimes we need to jump into the muck with both feet to keep a house operational. Here, Michael “kneads” a simple clay mortar with his feet in in order to fix the broken wall panel below:
Mark and Alex recently dug up last year’s charcoal from the pit:
Charcoal, not to be confused with bituminous coal.
The coal is screened, bagged and hauled away to storage for use in our village forge. We’ll be making more this September.
We went on a cutting trip to our favorite cranberry bog the other day to get small straight saplings. We needed sways (rods) to hold thatch for some repair work. Here’s what we saw on our way out:
Peter Arenstam is not only responsible for the care and upkeep of a very high maintenance square-rigged icon, The Mayflower II, but he’s also a published children’s book author with a new book on the way: The Mighty Mastiff of The Mayflower debuts at the Town Pier out in front of Mayflower II this Saturday, July 28th from 1-4pm. The event is free and open to all.
A week from Saturday, The Dinghys, a great local band made up of several former pilgrims and featured in an earlier post http://blogs.plimoth.org/rivenword/?p=1637 will be playing at The Tavern at the End of the World in Charlestown, MA on Saturday, August 4th @9pm Come out and support some outstanding local music if you’re in the area.
TEAM EVA–Always in our thoughts and hearts https://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-EVA/223963567711425
Comparison of English Oak (top) and American Red Oak leaves.
Tags: mortar, oak, pilgrim house, Plimoth Plantation
Any shots of the mowers in action?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCjySdobDfk
Hi Seamus–we’ll do a post with some video on that mowing training session. Thanks for asking. And what a great link–that scythe action with the song is almost hypnotic! Thanks–
great shots of the otter–got to see the entire critter–and as for the rest superb as always–
We caught a glimpse of something as we were driving over that culvert and we stopped just to make sure it wasn’t the Loch Ness monster or something. Before we could get the camera rolling, the otter had poked just his head above water, while we sat there idling in our diesel, and barked/whistled at us for at least a full minute or two. After we shut off the engine and stayed for a few, he/she seemed more accommodating and posed for us! It’s hard to tell but there may have been a second one nearby–we thought we heard more whistles. It’s the first time we’ve seen one at that bog. The bog itself is no longer a working cranberry bog but is becoming slowly naturalized. It’s very cool to see the gradual–sometimes swift–changes. Thanks France.
Thanks for yet another fascinating blog… As head charcoal burner at Grayhill in Wales (farm museum set in 1599) I can report we had a slightly wet week burn last month, and didn’t get the best ‘crop’ of charcoal… You have given me the idea of extinguishing the stack and not opening it until the following year, Thanks. It is great to make contact with other early modern charcoal makers… now have to win the lottery to afford to come over and see you guys in action in September!
James
I’m going to put this out there and request that the major airlines give a significantly reduced rate for colliers to travel globally! It’s such a small group and they won’t need to book a hotel–they’ll be sleeping by the pit! Thanks for weighing in James. It’s a bit uncomfortable in the rain isn’t it? I’m sure Mark Atchison, our blacksmith/collier, would love to go over details with you sometime. Feel free to contact us at: artisans@plimoth.org . Do you have a link you can forward us of your work at Grayhill? We’d love to see and share it.
Mark and Alex have been cutting this year’s seasoned stock to length over the last week or so, and stacking it up where we’ll build the next burn. We have a supplier who cuts us small, round, coppice-y stock from his farm–perfect for coal-making. As you know, getting the material is half the battle!
It’s great to hear from you James–keep us posted on your work!
Another enjoyable and informative post. Thanks for your willingness to share.
John