Josh Kilmer-Purcell's Blog, page 114

The 1800′s "Gooseberry Craze"

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This was once the trend of the century?

 

This year was a great year at Beekman 1802 Farm for gooseberries. We don't know if it was because we installed our new beehives this spring, or because the weather has been conducive, or if our bushes have finally matured…but whatever the reason, we've been picking a few dozen quarts of gooseberries over the past few weeks.

Historically neither of us are big gooseberry fans…in fact, like most contemporary Americans, we couldn't even recall ever eating any before growing our own. They're one of those fruits – like currants, boysenberries, huckleberries, persimmons, etc – that have a much higher name recognition than actual trial or use. When was the last time you saw a pint of gooseberries for sale at your local grocer? (And if you have, we hope you snapped up every last box.)

So why were gooseberries among the first fruits we planted at the Beekman? Well, when we first started researching the history of the 1802 farm and the crops that were grown during that era, we stumbled on some curious trivia. During the late 18th and early 19th centuries there was, believe it or not, a "Gooseberry Craze" that began in England and spread to America. At its height, the time, money, and passion spent on this humble berry would have made Beatlemania look like a passing fancy.

No one is exactly sure how the Gooseberry Craze began. The fruit had been fairly popular even before the fad started. Gooseberries are a close relative to currants in the ribe family, and are native to the cooler climes of northern Europe, the mountain regions of southern Europe, and far Western Asia. The berries come in several colors, including red, yellow, green and white varieties. There are also indigenous American species, though these were much smaller, tarter, and generally less palatable. Gooseberries were  first cultivated in English and Dutch Gardens as early as the 16th century, and English colonists first brought the tastier English varieties to America, where they soon became nearly as popular here as in England. In fact, gooseberries were included in the favorite dessert recipes of at least three U.S. Presidents, including John Adams (Gooseberry Fool,) Abraham Lincoln (Gooseberry Pie,) and James Buchanan (Gooseberry Tart.)

But sometime, around 1800, gooseberries began taking over the English imagination. "Gooseberry Clubs" began forming. In nearly every region of the country, gardeners began cultivating new varieties of the fruit – over 2500, by some count. These breeders even created their own Frankenstein cross between their much-loved gooseberry, and another favorite, the black currant. The result was dubbed a "Jostaberry," and it remains in limited cultivation today.

Egton Bridge Gooseberry Show is one of the last existing Gooseberry Clubs. (Photo: Mike Kipling)

At the height of their popularity, there were over 170 Gooseberry Clubs in Britain, and at least two formal clubs in America. Their meetings and yearly competitions were breathlessly reported in the newspapers of the day. The main purpose of these clubs was a competition for growing the largest, heaviest Gooseberry. While most gooseberries are approximately the size and shape of an average green grape, some of the early prize-winning "monsters" weighed almost an ounce and a half, and were the size of small plums. These contests were held in such importance that the entries were weighed using grains of sand, meted out individually with the use of a feather.

Much secrecy formed around top growers' prize-winning propagation methods. Husbands and wives were allowed to compete against each other, but had to grow their fruit in separate, contained areas of their garden. Growers developed elaborate cultivation  procedures, including plucking all of the unripe berries from a bush except for one, which they hoped would absorb all of the energy of the plant. Other strange rituals took hold, such as placing a saucer of milk directly underneath a ripening berry, so that the blossom end dipped into the liquid, and purportedly sucked up more nutrients. Of course most of these procedures have no scientific merit, but added to the cult-like fever of the competitions.

In 2009 Bryan Nellist smashed the world record for largest Gooseberry. (Photo: ©Middlesbrough Evening Gazette 2009)

The demise of the Gooseberry Craze came swiftly, in 1905, when a mildew disease from American plants was introduced to England, nearly wiping out all of the gooseberries in the country. Perhaps this was a form of karmic payback, since the introduction of new European gooseberry varieties to America around 1900 brought a deadly fungus to these shores. That fungal blight, dubbed White Pine Blister Rust, was hosted on ribe plants, and began killing swaths of America's valuable pine forests. As a result, the propagation of many ribes were outlawed, and it's still illegal to ship gooseberries and other ribe plants to Idaho, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Vermont and Washington.

But probably what most diminished interest in gooseberries was their popularity itself. Like all fads, the Gooseberry Craze was a victim of it's own popularity. After World War I and through the 1920′s, when the world began embracing all things "modern," the fusty idea of gardeners competing for prizes with an old-fashioned fruit seemed hopelessly passe. Gooseberries were stricken from chic menus, and with the advent of better food distribution systems, more exotic fruits from around the world supplanted the familiar native gooseberry on grocer's shelves.  Only a handful of all the thousands of gooseberry varieties developed during the 19th century remain in cultivation today, and almost none of them commercially. There are no Gooseberry Clubs extant in America and only two left in England, the oldest of which, Eton Bridge, was founded in 1801 – one year before William Beekman built his mansion and farm.

Maybe that's why gooseberry bushes were among the first crops we planted at the Beekman 1802 Farm. Like "taking the waters" in Sharon Springs, the gooseberry lost its popularity with the advent of modern ideas, and we think it's a shame to desert an old favorite dessert simply because it's no longer fashionable. So let's all start the Gooseberry Craze of the 21st Century.

You in?

Try our modern twist on one of the oldest recorded European desserts, "Gooseberry Fool."

Don't have gooseberries for sale near you? Buy red or green varieties them frozen from Northwest Wild Foods.

Rather plant your own? We bought ours from Indiana Berry Company

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Bringin' em back!

Goat Cheese Gooseberry Fool

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The Beekman 1802 take on the historic Gooseberry Fool recipe

The Fool (or in Old English, "Foole,") is one of the earliest recorded English desserts, dating back to the Elizabethan era. While some suggest the name derives from the French word foule, or "to crush," other etymologists claim that the name means pretty much what you think it does -something silly and unimportant. Earliest written recipes for Fools lump them together with two other simple desserts, Trifles and Syllabubs. Since desserts at the time were really not necessary for survival, it's easy to see why the earliest versions would have been given names synonymous with triviality.

The most classic of Fools is a Gooseberry Fool. Not only popular in its home country of England, it was also a favorite of the American President, John Adams. Gooseberries have a long and curious history. And because we at Beekman 1802 are experts at silly, unimportant, and curious things, we thought we'd share not only a classic version of this storied dessert, but also our modern take on it.

Fools are very simple to make. (There wasn't a lot of time for TomFoolery in the medieval kitchen. Ba dum dum.) Here is a recipe from the 1658 book, The Compleat Cook:

Take your Gooseberries, and put them in a pot, and set it in a skillet of

boiling water, and when they are coddled enough strain them. Reheat them

and when they are scalding hot, beat them very well with a good piece of

fresh butter, rose-water and sugar, and put in the yolks of two or three

eggs; you may put rose-water into them, and so mix it altogether, and serve

it cold.

Later Fool recipes became even simpler – consisting of  fruit, cream and sugar. The fruit was stewed and pureed with the sugar, folded in with the heavy (sometimes whipped) cream, and served chilled. Some food historians consider Fools to be the precursor to ice cream.

We thought about how to create our own version of a Fool, and took into consideration that the heavy cream used in the Elizabethan era was actually a little more like sour cream. It often took several days for enough heavy cream to rise to the top of fresh milk (without refrigeration,) so by the time it was skimmed for use, the cream was already a little bit sour. And since we're a goat farm, we wanted to incorporate a little of our own special ingredients. So we made our version with the addition of a soft goat cheese, which we thought might give it some of the tang of the original Fools.

Beekman 1802 Goat Cheese Gooseberry Fool

2 pints fresh or frozen gooseberries

1/2 C honey

1 C soft, fresh goat cheese

3 C heavy whipping cream

In a heavy skillet, heat the gooseberries and 1/4C of the honey over medium heat until the berries have burst and softened. (Approx 4 minutes.) Either mash mixture with fork, or puree. Let cool, and chill in refrigerator.

In stand mixer bowl, beat goat cheese with remaining 1/4C honey on medium speed until whipped and softened. Spoon mixture into separate medium mixing bowl. Pour heavy cream to the empty stand mixer bowl, and whip until barely thickened. (Don't whip until stiff, as one would traditional whipped cream.) Gently fold the whipped cream into the goat cheese honey mixture, and allow to chill thoroughly.

To serve, spoon gooseberry mixture into decorative stemmed glasses until about 1/3 full. Top with cream, honey and goat cheese mixture. Garnish with raw gooseberry, or its cousin – red or black currants.

 

 

Music in the Air

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Summer Sounds

 

Upon returning from our excursion to China last year, I sent a gift to Brent that I knew he would enjoy.  Natalie Merchant had recently released the album Leave Your Sleep, and I sent it over to the Beekman in hopes it would keep him in peaceful mood as he caught up on the mountain of work that had piled up while we were away. With most of his hours now spent at the shop, Brent made the album the first soundtrack that played softly in the background as customers happily made their way through the Mercantile. But after a few weeks, it was clear the Mercantile could not survive on Natalie Merchant alone, and Brent asked me to put together a playlist for the shop. I've kept this updated every time I was back in Sharon Springs for filming, including making a swinging holiday playlist. But this summer called for a new set of tracks and I recently shipped off a mix to the shop. Brent loves the banjo (Magnet, Freelance Whales) and I love soothing vocal harmonies (Fleet Foxes, The Head and the Heart) and Megan & Maria (aka the Beekman Blonds), well, they just wanted something new. Below is a selection from the Mercantile Summer Mix. Download from iTunes and have the sounds of the Beekman to enjoy all summer long.

 

Song                                                                    Artist

Belong                                                                 Cary Brothers

(You're So Square) Baby, I Don't Care              Cee Lo Green

Poison & Wine                                                    The Civil Wars

Paper Ships                                                          Dead Man's Bones

Red And Purple                                                   The Dodos

Everyday                                                              Fiona Apple

Montezuma                                                          Fleet Foxes

Generator (First Floor)                                         Freelance Whales

Rivers and Roads                                                 The Head And The Heart

Knock Yourself Out                                             Jon Brion

Rollercoaster                                                         M. Ward

The Gospel Song                                                  Magnet

Relator                                                                  Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson

The Garden You Planted                                      Sea Wolf

Oh Boy!                                                                She & Him

What's that Smell?

 

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One of the first things we hear when people enter the Mercantile is "I can smell your store from half-way down the street."

It's true.  With over 200 essential oils at use in our various products, the eau de Beekman 1802 is enticing.

But essential oils are more than just olfactory thrills.  They can have health benefits, too.

Essential oils are concentrated oils that are captured mainly by extraction or steam distillation of the flower, stem, bark, bud, leaf or root of the plant. It is the "blueprint" of the plant containing all of the protective and plant-sustaining properties that help it to survive and thrive.

Aromatherapy is the therapeutic use of these essential oils. Research has shown that oils contain a variety of benefits for the skin, mind, and general physical health. Some benefits reported include pain relief, immune support and mood enhancement.  A few very popular oils you may already be familiar with are peppermint oil, which can be helpful with headaches, eucalyptus oil for clearing of the respiratory passages, and chamomile oil for its calming effect on the mind.

Essential oils enter and affect the body and mind by two main routes.  These are the olfactory system (inhalation) and integumentary system (skin) via massage or application.

To receive the whole health benefit of the essential oils, care and consideration must be taken to ensure the quality and production of the oils.  Just like fine wine, high quality essential oils originate from optimal growing regions known around the world. Climate, altitude and proximity to the sea all influence the growth of the plants as well as the condition of the soil in which it is cultivated to produce the purest product possible.

The mineral-rich waters of Sharon Springs made the village a center of health and well-being beginning with the Native Americans and extending into the modern era.  Cheryl Rosen, a registered nurse and licensed massage therapist who has worked at the prestigious Mandarin Oriental, has recently opened the first spa to grace Sharon Springs Main Street in over 50 years.

[image error]At the Spring House Spa you can receive a personal consultation and customized aromatherapy blend prepared just for you using essential oils made with organic or wild-crafted ingredients that do not contain artificial fragrances, dyes, parabens or colors and are not tested on animals.

Click here for more details

Living With Chickens

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You've overcome all of the myths about chickens and decided to take the plunge and start your own backyard brood. Once the chicks are a month old or so, they are ready to move to their permanent home. So, what are you going to do for a chicken house? There have been entire books written on the subject of chicken houses, and you can find lots of plans online, so how do you figure out what's right for you and your yard?

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There are some distinct advantages and disadvantages of various housing options. The option that requires the least amount of work is a bottomless pen that is moved to fresh grass daily. The chickens fertilize the grass for you while also mowing the area where they spend the day. To learn more about how we built this movable pen for our daughter who has a tiny backyard in the city, click here.

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Richard McGinnis built this coop with attached run, which the chickens enter through a hole in the floor of the coop.

 

If you want a chicken house that will add to the beauty of your yard, then a permanent structure might be more to your liking, but your coop will need to be cleaned out regularly, especially if it has a wood floor. If you don't have a fenced yard, you will need to also create a run for your chickens, so they don't get hit by a car or killed by predators. Richard McGinnis, publisher of Chicago's Mindful Metropolis, built the above chicken house for his hens with with an attached run. You can check out this post for more details on Richard's coop.

Feeding layers

Commercial layer feeds are available in local feed stores, and because chickens are omnivores, you can give them just about anything as a treat. Stale bread or crackers tend to be a favorite, as flour is made from wheat. But you should never give them anything moldy.

Health

Backyard hens tend to be the healthiest animals on any homestead. We've had a flock of about 50 hens for nine years, and I can count on one hand the number of hens that have died of natural causes. (I don't count coyotes as a natural cause.) And we've never vaccinated or used medicated feed.

Older hens

If you only have a few hens and see them as pets, you may be able to afford feeding them for their entire natural life, even though their egg laying will slow down considerably after they're two years old. Three or four hens will will cost much less to feed than a medium sized dog. If you have a larger flock, however, you may decide to butcher the hens after a couple years. Although chicken and dumplings is an old-fashioned favorite for stew hens, there are plenty of other great ways to use them in cooking, which I'll talk about in my next post!

Deborah Niemann dragged her professor husband and three children to 32 acres on a creek in the middle of nowhere in 2002 to start raising their own food organically. She blogs regularly at Antiquity Oaks, and her book, Homegrown and Handmade, comes out this fall.

Harvest Festival 2011

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When we started the Sharon Springs Harvest Festival two years ago, we dreamed it to be an occasion to celebrate the harvest from our local farmers and a day to bring the community together.   The first we were thrilled when 500 people showed up to the one day event.  Last year, imagine our surprise when over 5000 people over two days came to visit our little village.  Why?  No other reason than it's a weekend to acknowledge what is good about small town America.  We want you to come by and say 'hi' to everyone.

You can check back to this page as we add details about this year's event.  If you are interested in becoming a vendor at this year's festival, visit enjoysharonsprings.com to submit a vendor application

 

Friday, Sept 23

4:30pm-6:00pm– Brent & Josh  will be signing copies of the Beekman 1802 Heirloom Recipe Cookbook at The American Hotel where you can wait and mingle with a refreshing beverage in your hand.   *Since the official release date of the book is not until Oct 4, Barnes & Noble will only be on-site selling books during scheduled signing events

6:00pm-10:00pm–Harvest Feast featuring all locally sourced ingredients (SOLD OUT)

 

Saturday, Sept 24

10:00-4:00pm–Harvest Festival in the Village of Sharon Springs. With over a hundred craftsmen, farmers, artisanal food and displays

10:00-4:00pm–Tour of Beekman Farm (SOLD OUT).  To eliminate issues with parking, there is a shuttle to and from the farm that picks up and drops off at the steps of The Mercantile.

4:30pm-6:00pm– Brent & Josh  will be signing copies of the Beekman 1802 Heirloom Recipe Cookbook at The American Hotel where you can wait and mingle with a refreshing beverage in your hand.   *Since the official release date of the book is not until Oct 4, Barnes & Noble will only be on-site selling books during scheduled signing events

6:00pm-10:00pm–Harvest Feast featuring all locally sourced ingredients (SOLD OUT)

7:00-11:00pm–The Harvest Hop at historic Clausen Ridge Farm featuring dancing and local musicians.  Check back here for information on tickets soon

 

Saturday, Sept 24

10:00-4:00pm–Harvest Festival in the Village of Sharon Springs. With over a hundred craftsmen, farmers, artisanal food and displays

10:00-4:00pm–Tour of Beekman Farm (SOLD OUT).  To eliminate issues with parking, there is a shuttle to and from the farm that picks up and drops off at the steps of The Mercantile.

4:30pm-6:00pm– Brent & Josh  will be signing copies of the Beekman 1802 Heirloom Recipe Cookbook at The American Hotel where you can wait and mingle with a refreshing beverage in your hand.   *Since the official release date of the book is not until Oct 4, Barnes & Noble will only be on-site selling books during scheduled signing events

6:00pm-10:00pm–Harvest Feast featuring all locally sourced ingredients (SOLD OUT)

 

A rotating shuttle bus will operate continuously on both days between parking lots and festival destinations on Main Street.

 

Other things to do in Sharon Springs during  your visit

Visit Howe Caverns, one of the most magnificent cavern systems in the world just 12 miles from Sharon Springs.  Mention "Beekman Boys" and get 20% off of your admission

Take a tour of historic Clausen Ridge and see one of the most amazing views in all of Sharon Springs.  Click here to reserve a spot.

 

 

 

 

Art of Farming 2011

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Last year Brent worked with Sotheby's and a dedicated team of chairpersons to create the first-ever auction of heirloom vegetables on the floor of an elite auction house.  The event raised half-a-million dollars to support local farms and educational programs.

On Tuesday, September 27, 2011, Sotheby's Auction House will host the second annual Art of Farming event to celebrate edible heirlooms and the art involved in their creation. Just in time for the harvest season, this special evening provides a unique platform for local farmers, purveyors, celebrity chefs, food industry experts and philanthropists to join together for a shared interest in supporting local agriculture and sustainable food practices for all New Yorkers. The highlight of the night will be a live auction of incredible food and drink experiences led by a Sotheby's auctioneer. All proceeds from the event will benefit GrowNYC New Farmers Development Project a program that identifies and educates immigrants with agricultural experience to become local producers and establish farms in the region and The Sylvia Center at Katchkie Farm, a program that inspires and teaches children to eat well through hands-on experiences.

"We are thrilled to host The Art of Farming at Sotheby's again this year," says Amy Todd Middleton, SVP Director of Worldwide Marketing for Sotheby's.  "Sustainable farming and preservation of heirloom varietals is a true art form.  We are proud to support our local farmers by integrating the food and art communities with this exciting auction and dinner."

The Art of Farming evening will begin with a cocktail reception with local hors d'oeuvres by renowned restaurant Rouge Tomate. Cocktails will be followed by a seated dinner with guests at long family style farm tables. Dinner will be served buffet style with a groaning board incorporating dishes reflecting the bounty of the season. Featured dishes will be created by a line-up of prominent NYC and tri-state area chefs and restaurants, known for their pride in farm-to-table cuisine including Dan Kluger of ABC Kitchen, Alexandra Guarnaschelli of Butter, Ralph Kuettel of Trestle on Tenth, Jeremy Bearman of Rouge Tomate, Todd English of Plaza Food Hall, Cesare Casella of Salumeria Rosi Parmacotto, Ryan Jaronik of Benchmark, Mark Meyer of Cookshop, Daniel Eardley of Chestnut, Sisha Ortuzar of Riverpark, Gabriel Stulman of Joseph Leonard, Bill Telepan of Telepan, Johanna Kolodny of Print Lounge, Ryan Angulo of Buttermilk Channel, Orwasher's, Jimmy's 43, Co., Clinton Street Baking Company, Magnolia Bakery, Northern Spy Food Co., Murray's Cheese, Great Performances, Watty and Meg, and more.

The evening's live auction will feature incredible food and drink experiences such as summer farm internships for students, field trips for school classes, celebrity chef dinners, farm-to-table dinners, wine country getaways, and unique farm photography and artwork.

The Beekman 1802 live auction will feature a signed copy of the Heirloom Recipe Cookbook, a piece of original artwork from the cookbook photographer Paulette Tavoramina, and a lunch for two with us on the porch of the Beekman Farm in Sharon Springs, NY

Also on the block will be ten crates of delicious heirloom vegetables that will be auctioned for $1,000 each.  All the produce from this lot will be donated to community food programs in the city.

The heirloom vegetables grown especially for the dinner and auction will be sourced from more than 25 local farmers from the tri-state area, including Bill Maxwell of Maxwell's Farm, Michael Robertson of Grady's Farm, Ben Flanner of The Grange, Jeff Bialas of B & A Farms, Ray Bradley of Bradley Farm, Brian Gajeski of Gajeski Produce, Sergio Nolasco of Nolasco's Farm, David Rowley of Monkshood Nursery, John Schmid of Muddy River Farm, Sue Dare Cherry Lane Farm, Nevia No of Bodhitree Farm, Franca Tantillo of Berried Treasures, Kennon Kay of Queens County Farm Museum, Kevin Smith of Sycamore Farm, John Adams of Hudson Valley Organic, Tim Stark of Eckerton Hill Farm, Keith Steward of Keith's Organic Farm, Betsy Ryder of Ryder Farm Cottage, John Gorzynski of Gorzynski Ornery Farms, Vinny D'Attalico of D'Attalico Organics, and Ben Shaw of Garden of Spices. All seeds for the produce used and on sale have been donated to the farmers by the Hudson Valley Seed Library.

"The Art of Farming auction and dinner at Sotheby's represents a new level of commitment to sustainable agriculture and good earth practices while supporting and celebrating local flavors," says Liz Neumark, Founder and CEO of Great Performances. "The Art of Farming is a true celebration of the farmers, chefs, and food makers who feed us, and we are thrilled to have Sotheby's as an ally in supporting food diversity from the farm fields to our kitchens."

Leading up to the event, there will be a weekly community greenmarket operated by Grow NYC Youthmarket outside Sotheby's New York every Tuesday, beginning September 6th through September 27th. Youthmarket is a network of urban farm stands managed by neighborhood youth, supplied by local farmers, and designed to bring fresh fruits and vegetables to communities throughout New York City. Youthmarket seeks to overcome the problem of inaccessibility of affordable fresh fruits and vegetables by linking regional farmers with underserved consumers in New York City.

For more information on The Art of Farming or to purchase tickets, visit www.artoffarming.org

 

Mary and Blackcaps

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Mary Beekman is a four-year-old ghost who resides in The Beekman Mansion, and considers Brent and Josh her "imaginary friends." Follow Mary Beekman's Diary each week to learn what it's like to be a young child in early 19th century America

Step, step, march, march, in and out, up and down.  I am trying very heard to sew in the tiniest of stitches………all across one side of the handkerchief.  Mother says my stitches are still too large.  So I am pretending my needle is taking fairy steps across the fabric.  If I prick my finger, a tiny drop of red appears on the white fabric and the bigger girls wag their heads at me. Now Mother will have to soak the cloth in cold water to take the red out.  Brent and Josh are tired of waiting for me. I hope they are outside picking berries.  That is what I want to do.

Father is home today.  He is helping the farmer with the livestock.  If he would come in for just a moment, I know he would see me and IF I looked up with a sad face; he would say, "Mary, I need you outside…………….."  I hear his footsteps in the hallway.  It happened!!  I am outside!!  I went around the  corner of the barn to the brambles to pick some blackcaps.  They grow wild there. Josh and Brent must be gone because even I cannot see them.  The biggest berries seem to always grow in the middle of the dead canes.  I only want to pick enough to eat right now.  I stretch and reach inside the branches.

One of the higher canes caught my cap and tugged it off and another cane is tangled in my hair. I took a step forward and a branch jumped up and scratched my leg.  But my hair is still caught.  I leaned first to one side and then the other and found that my apron is now snagged.  I shall bend backwards.  My cap fell down but  I cannot reach it and my hair is still being pulled.  I called for Josh and Brent.  They were not too far away because they came quickly.  Josh said "Let me assess the problem."  He seems to be more patient than Brent.   Brent wanted to crash right through the bushes and pull my hair free.  I could feel the wind begin to blow just as Josh reached in to free first my hair and then my apron.  I was able to pick enough berries to fill one hand and they were so good.

Josh told me about a pie his mother would make.  I wonder if Mother would make one.

1  1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup lemon juice

1  1/2 cup blackcaps

1 baked pastry shell

whipped cream

Mix sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice together until thick.

Fold in 1 cup of blackcaps – chill

Top with whipped cream and remaining blackcaps.

Bee-ginning and End

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I heard a fly buzz when I died;

The stillness round my form

Was like the stillness in the air

Between the heaves of storm.

 

In high school, when first introduced to Emily Dickenson, I remember thinking how sad that the end-sum of an entire life, no matter how graceful or fulfilled, was a solitary, annoying fly.

But teenagers, like Emily, are prone to bouts of melancholia (and these profound depths of angst and sorrow are important to explore before the full brunt of life's responsibilities really hit you)

As much as young adulthood is about finding direction, the 30's are about finding purpose.

I know.  I know.

Oprah and Eckhart having been trying to explain this idea for  years, but I was always WORKING at 4 o'clock in the afternoon and never had the chance to watch those particular episodes.

This is why it took me to the age of 38 and a truckload of new arrivals at Beekman Farm to truly understand a purpose-driven life.

In the spring of this year, 42 honeybee hives were delivered to the farm, and within minutes of being settled at the foot of Slate Hill, their inhabitants could be seen exploring the clover blossoms scattered throughout the pasture.

Bees are single-minded.  They venture out to find flowers as far away as 8 miles, gather their nectar and pollen and then beeline it home. The life span of the worker bee is short—from birth to death in about 6 weeks, so there's not much time to gather ye rose buds.  However, the brevity of their natural existence does not deter them from their responsibilities.

 

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The bee population at Beekman 1802 peaks in mid-July when a queen can lay thousands of eggs a day--which is how a colony of a few hundred can swell to over 10,000 in a couple of weeks.

 

Honey is the distilled nectar of flowers.  To make a pound of it, the 50,000 bees in a typical hive will travel over 55,000  miles and visit more than 2 million flowers (as many as a hundred flowers a day), and with each visit, they are spreading bits of pollen carried on their bodies, legs and wings, inadvertently contributing to the future.

Honeybees are attracted by the fragrance of the nectar that the blossoms emit.    The nectar lies deep at the base of the petals. Each trip out for foraging, she (yes, the women do all the work) returns with nectar and by ingesting and regurgitating the nectar multiple times uses her digestive enzymes to break down the complex sugars into simple sugars.  The sugars are then placed in the cells of the honeycomb where other worker bees (in the purest example of teamwork) fan their wings until the excess water has evaporated and honey is the result. The average honeybee will produce about 1/12 of a teaspoon of this amber elixir in its lifetime.

The best time to view the hives is at the hottest point of a sunny day.  The bees are so focused on the tasks at hand that they cannot be bothered by my voyeurism.

It's amazing to watch their determination and their efficiency, and it makes me think how wonderful it would be to live in a community in which everyone is working together with purpose.  To have an endless supply of delicious food that you created yourself.  And to be able to sit in something as all together beautiful as the base of a flower petal.

Wait a second.

I already have all of those things.

 

One clover, and a bee

And Revery.

The Revery alone will do

If bees are few

 

But Emily was wrong.

What a fitting final thought:  a bee buzzing by on the way to her next blossom.

Purpose, promise and perpetuity.

 

R.I.B.

Rest in Bees

 

 

Hyde Hall

 

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This 1833 portrait by Samuel F.B. Morse depicts Clarke with Hyde Hall in the background

Since childhood I've been obsessed with historic houses, whether modest or magnificent. Much of this passion has to do with the intriguing stories old houses have to tell—after all, one can swoon over a building's architectural style but the narrative behind its creation is what gives it life. Which explains why I fell madly in love with Hyde Hall in Springfield, New York, ten years ago, not long after I moved to nearby Sharon Springs, and why I'm a passionate member of its board of trustees. The story of the house—located about eight miles from Cooperstown—is as varied.  (It was saved from the wrecking ball in the 1960s by a group of determined local preservationists.)

Constructed in stages between 1817 and 1834, Hyde Hall is one of the three or four greatest buildings in America of its time. But don't take my word for it. That was the opinion of Brendan Gill, architecture critic and longtime columnist for The New Yorker, and he made that observation with good reason. Hyde Hall sits on a wooded promontory overlooking Otsego Lake—an indescribably lovely body of water that James Fenimore Cooper lyrically called Glimmerglass—like an ancient Greek temple wrought in pale gray limestone, with broad, shallow steps leading to a portico supported by towering fluted columns. It is rugged, powerful, even imperious, characteristics that also could be applied to its builder, George Clarke (1768-1835), heir to a British colonial governor who amassed 120,000 American acres to complement the family's extensive estates in England and Jamaica.

That international network of landholdings required an appropriate centerpiece, so Clarke commissioned Albany's most fashionable architect, Philip Hooker (1766-1836), to design a residence that would be named for his family seat in England. What began as a somewhat modest country cottage with a welcoming veranda, however, grew into a 50-room mansion outfitted with the finest furnishings money could buy. Clarke hired Albany's leading upholsterer, Peter Morange, to dress its grand rooms in ruby-red damask and lemon-yellow silk and bought scores of Grecian-style mahogany chairs, tables, and beds from cabinetmaker John Meads. He ordered services of handpainted Old Paris porcelain for dining and purchased one of the most important paintings of the day, Samuel F.B. Morse's enormous "Gallery of the Louvre." Clarke, who was born in France and counted leading Bordeaux merchants among his cousins, also stocked his wine cellar with impressive French vintages and ordered choice ingredients from Europe and the Caribbean for the kitchen.

These costly acquisitions, and many more, bolstered George Clarke's reputation as a man of the world. They also established Hyde Hall as central New York State's most glamorous residence, a paradise of style in what was then a virtual wilderness. But in addition to its contents, the mansion was home to five generations of fascinating Clarkes, among them George the Builder (who also happened to be a bigamist), George the Landowner (his lust for acreage bankrupted the family fortune), and George the Gentleman Farmer (whose rich mother-in-law saved the house and much of its original contents). Four Titanic survivors and a co-founder of the Girl Scouts perch on branches of the family tree too. Though the Clarkes gave up their spectacular estate in the 1960s—few fortunes last forever—the house their ancestor built endures. While the restoration of its interiors is still in a work in progress, Hyde Hall represents today what it did for much of the 19th century: an unexpected embodiment of British country living in the heart of the Empire State.

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During its annual fundraising dinner-dance on Saturday, 6 August 2011, Hyde Hall and its board of trustees will present the first Anne Hyde Clarke Logan Cultural Preservation Award to Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Brent Ridge for their efforts in preserving, promoting, and supporting the traditions of country life. For information about the French-theme gala and to order tickets ($175 each).  Click here for details

Mithchell Owens is the special projects editor of Architectural Digest and author of "In House" (Rizzoli, 2009) and co-author of "Charlotte Moss Decorates" (Rizzoli, 2010) . He and his husband, Matthew Zwissler, and their daughter, Catherine, divide their time between an apartment in Cooperstown and an 1801 Federal farmhouse in Sharon Springs, where they have four cats, two dogs, 20 chickens, two turkeys, three guinea hens, and a pair of skunks who have taken up residence beneath the hen house.  He also leads the historic village tours of Sharon Springs during the Garden Party Festival in the Spring and the Harvest Festival in September.

 

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