The First Thanksgiving

The first colonists often celebrated days of thanksgiving as it was a big part of their religious beliefs. Thanksgiving days for the early colonists were quiet days of prayer - not feasts as we think of them today. However, in 1621 the pilgrims had their first big harvest and the reason why this harvest was successful was in part due to the support they received from the local Wampanoag Indians.

To celebrate the first large harvest as well as the cooperation and interaction between the English colonists and the Native Americans, a feast was held in Plymouth in the fall of 1621 - this is by many to be considered the first Thanksgiving. Since Plymouth is just a few miles from where I live, this time of year brings added meaning as we think about this historical event that took place hundreds of years ago right out our back door.

The legacy of thanks, and particularly of the feast, have survived the centuries as people throughout the United States gather with family, friends, and enormous amounts of food for their yearly Thanksgiving meal.


So, what foods were on the table during that first historical meal? Although we can't be certain as to exactly what they ate, we do know that this meal did not have mashed potatoes since potatoes were not available to the colonists during that time. Based on historical writings we can be certain that venison and wild fowl, probably wild turkey since it's so common to this area, was most definitely on the menu.

Although our modern Thanksgiving menu includes lots of vegetables, the colonists' menu was centered around many different meats since vegetables did not traditionally play a large part of any meal. Back then colonists needed lots of protein since they were more active and needed to survive long cold winters.

It's also interesting to note that pilgrims did not use forks to eat since they had yet to be invented. Instead they ate with spoons, knives, and their fingers. Salt also would have been at the table, but pepper would not have been.

Above - Traditional Wampanoag Indian place setting included a spoon, turtle shell, and knife.

Above - Traditional Colonial English Setting Table from early 1600's

Here's a list of foods that were probably on the menu. This list has been obtained from Plimoth Plantation.

Foods That May Have Been on the Menu

Seafood: Cod, Eel, Clams, Lobster
Wild Fowl: Wild Turkey, Goose, Duck, Crane, Swan, Partridge, Eagles
Meat: Venison, Seal
Grain: Wheat Flour, Indian Corn
Vegetables: Pumpkin, Peas, Beans, Onions, Lettuce, Radishes, Carrots
Fruit: Plums, Grapes
Nuts: Walnuts, Chestnuts, Acorns
Herbs and Seasonings: Olive Oil, Liverwort, Leeks, Dried Currants, Parsnips

What Was Not on the Menu

Surprisingly, the following foods, all considered staples of the modern Thanksgiving meal, didn't appear on the pilgrims' first feast table:

Ham: There is no evidence that the colonists had butchered a pig by this time, though they had brought pigs with them from England.
Sweet Potatoes/Potatoes: These were not common.
Corn on the Cob: Corn was kept dried out at this time of year.
Cranberry Sauce: The colonists had cranberries but no sugar at this time.
Pumpkin Pie: It's not a recipe that exists at this point, though the pilgrims had recipes for stewed pumpkin.
Chicken/Eggs: We know that the colonists brought hens with them from England, but it's unknown how many they had left at this point or whether the hens were still laying.
Milk: No cows had been aboard the Mayflower, though it's possible that the colonists used goat milk to make cheese.


So, as you prepare for your Thanksgiving meal think about what the early colonist may have eaten and how different things are today. But one thing that has not changed throughout the years is our gratitude for the blessings we have received and for the family and friends that are so close to our hearts.

You Know Thanksgiving is Coming When...

....A bunch of wild turkeys cross the street in front of your house (sorry the pics are blurry, but these guys were moving fast!).

I Went a Bit Overboard!

It seems I just can't resist a good sale - especially if gardening is involved. The other day while shopping at Lowes I saw a display for spring bulbs. I wasn't planning on planting any bulbs this fall, but when my eye caught the 50% off sign I was hooked!

Andy knew when I saw the sale sign that I was a goner so he left me standing there blurry eyed in a "sale stupor" while he roamed around the store to do more manly things (whatever that means). 30 minutes later he comes back to see me standing in the same spot. "What on earth are you still doing here?" he says annoyingly. He then looks down at my cart and sees what must be 30 packages of bulbs. "You're not planning on buying all of these are you?" "Of course not," I say as I cross my fingers behind my back. "Well then why are all those packages in the cart?" I then say to him confidently, "I'm planning the spring bed in my head and trying to figure out a planting scheme." ...Actually I'm just confused at that point. "Well just make a selection and let's get out of here before you buy the entire display!" "Maybe I will -- After all it's a darn great sale!"

The rational thing to do would have been to buy maybe one or 2 packages, but obviously I'm not rational so I ended up buying a total of 200 bulbs! Here are my purchases spread out on my kitchen table (along with the 2 packages of amaryllis bulbs and 1 package of paperwhites that I intend to force indoors this winter).

Looking at them all spread out like that makes me want to procrastinate - something I'm really good it! I have no idea where I'm going to put them all, but this spring should be full of color. Now I've got to hope for a few days of nice weather so I can get them in the ground before it freezes. Some how the actual planting part wasn't in my head when I was standing at the 50% off sign dreaming about spring - UGH!


Before I sign off on this post I'd like to mention a some things I've been thankful for these past few days:

• Thankful that Andy was able to rent a leave vacuum and shredder to get up most of our leaves. Boy if we had to rake them all by hand we'd be out there for a week straight!
• Thankful that Andy's eye was not seriously injured while using the shredder. He usually wears goggles but had forgotten to put them on. Thankfully no long term damage was done.
  
• Thankful we were able to find Ellie after she decided to chase after a squirrel and wander the neighborhood for an hour... jeez she's so little and it was so cold outside that if we didn't find her she would have never survived - I shudder to think.
  

Swine Flu Yuk!

Early last week I was sick with what I thought was a bad cold, but as things progressed from bad to worse it was apparent that I wasn't dealing with any normal cold. To help me feel better and to reduce the severity of the virus, my doctor put me on a course of Tamiflu. Let me tell ya folks that stuff works wonders! Within 24 hours of taking it I felt better and within 48 hours I could actually get dressed and do things around the house. The only draw back is that the medicine does have a side effect of nausea so you really have to take it with food.

I'm thankful that I have a great family physician as well as a wonderful DH who took care of me over the past week. We took every precaution to make sure that the virus didn't spread to Andy but only time will tell... I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Now that I'm back to the land of the living I need to catch up on my blogging and take care of all the things I've neglected around the house. Last night I put up a few Thanksgiving decorations. I never decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving - no reason to rush the season since all the retail stores do that for us.



While I was recovering I didn't get a chance to do any posts for the 30 Days of Thanksgiving so here are the things I've been thankful for these past few days:

I'm so grateful for having Andy in my life. He kept my spirits up, made all of my meals, and generally took care of anything I needed.

On Demand cable. It may seem frivolous but when you're sick the TV is your friend. My eyes hurt too much to read a book so the only activities I could do was sleep and watch TV. Thankfully we have On Demand cable so I was able to watch a ton of great movies.

A nice warm fire. Andy kept the fireplace going the entire time I was sick and the warmth of that fireplace was so comforting and soothing.

Chicken Soup. Need I say more.

Ginger ale. For me this is the best stuff for nausea.

The warm sun and a gorgeous day on the first day you are really feeling better. Ahhhh.... so wonderful!

Their Final Resting Place

As the birthplace of our country Massachusetts has a long and storied past. With so many generations having lived here and with it being the home to many famous people there are bound to be a bevy of haunted places. So on this eve of Halloween grab a friend and hang on to your heart as we take a tour of some of the creepiest cemeteries in the Boston area.



King's Chapel Burying Ground was founded in 1630 as the first cemetery in the city of Boston.

John Winthrop's grave site. He was the first Puritan governor of Massachusetts.



William Dawes, Revolutionary War hero, grave site.



Founded in 1660, the Granary Burying Ground is the city's third-oldest cemetery. It is the final resting place for many notable Revolutionary War patriots, signers of the Declaration of Independence, and victims of the Boston Massacre.



Paul Revere's grave site.



John Hancock's grave site.


Boston Massacre grave site.



Mother Goose's grave site - yes she was a real person.

Burial Hill is the oldest cemetery in Plymouth dating back to colonial times. Before it became a cemetery, it was the site of the first fort, meeting house, and place of worship. Last Halloween night we took a ghost tour of this cemetery. Talk about scary! Our tour guide told many bone chilling stories that night.


John Howland's grave site. John was one of the pilgrims that came over on the Mayflower.

I think the creepiest cemetery is Salem's Burying Point. On this small patch of land are buried those responsible for the Salem Witch Trials.




One of the most notorious figures of the witch trials - Justice John Hathorne's grave site.


This now concludes our tour - be sure no one from beyond is following you home. ;)

Happy Halloween!!!

Fertilizer Friday - October 16

Happy Friday everyone! Please join me and our host Tootsie over at Tootsie Time for another edition of Fertilizer Friday.

It's mid-October already and this weekend we are expecting a Nor' Easter and a dusting of snow. Around my yard there's not much blooming and the houseplants have been taken in for the season, but thankfully the mums are still doing really well.


The coleus tilt-a-whirl hasn't been affected by the cold yet. I'm planning on propagating this one.



I found this leaf really interesting with the bug-eaten holes.



Shades of red and burgundy are all around us this time of year. The sumac fruit is so vibrant.




There are lots of rose hips on the side of the road and especially around the beaches.



Wildflowers always make me happy especially in fall. I found these growing in the backyard.





I'm still amazed this zinnia is around. I've really got to gather up some seeds from it - if it ever would stop raining.

Kayaking on a Crisp Autumn Day

One of the best ways to take in nature's beauty is by kayaking. Whether you're paddling along a sleepy river, exploring a salt marsh, or catching the waves of the ocean this fun sport enables you to go places and see things that you'd never be able to explore on land.

Leaf peeping takes on new meaning when you are in a kayak. On a recent chilly autumn day we took in all the glorious colors during a paddle down the Nemasket river.

On this day the river was calm and the air still so it made for an easy paddle. Here you can see the river looked like a mirror.



As the river was winding we started to hit some thick vegetation. This actually made it challenging to paddle.

Turning the corner we started to spot something moving. I grabbed for my camera and....

....look what I saw! A blue heron standing proudly in the marsh.


Continuing on we spotted many brightly colored maple trees like the tall one below with dazzling red leaves.
There were a few large rocks and boulders on the side of the river. Some were actually right in the middle of the river and we had to navigate around them.


As you can see Andy paddles much faster than I do and he's always way ahead of me.... hey whatever happened to the buddy system?






We often hit spots where the trees made a gorgeous canopy over the river. Some canopies were so low we'd have to duck to go under them.


Once we were through the first canopy we saw some really interesting dead trees and branches.




Here was an old abandoned cottage. When we got to this area we could hear coyotes howling.... I was glad I was on the water! It made for a spooky pre-Halloween trip.




I love the way the leaves look when they have fallen on the water. I wish the camera could have captured the colors better because they were so radiant.




We paddled on for 3 hours and enjoyed some more bird watching. There were a few other kayakers and one couple canoeing that passed by us. As the sun started to set we knew we had to head back to the boat ramp. With heavy hearts we returned to our cars. There won't be many more days this season like this one. Soon the trees will be bare and the river frozen over, but for the moment we felt like we went back in time - we could just imagine what the Indians saw and the pilgrims who settled not too far from here in Plymouth.