In which I have a day filled with adventures and give an account of marvelous things

Soon after we met on the Summer Solstice in 1992 and became a couple, Brian and I began to explore our surroundings. We were living in Washington, D.C. at the time which meant that we could explore the city on foot or using the Metro, and we could also venture further afield into Maryland and Virginia. 

   After we got married in June of 1993, Brian and I moved to a small apartment in Old Town, Virginia. Many Saturdays we walked from our apartment to the town center to get fresh bagels or to see what was on offer at the farmer’s market. However, several times a month we would get into the car and head off into the unknown to have an adventure.

  In the twelfth century the word adventure came into being and was defined as "that which happens by chance, fortune, luck." The word’s meaning changed over time, which is a very common occurrence. After all, words, like all living things, evolve over time. In the 1300s the word adventure came to mean "a wonder, a miracle; accounts of marvelous things,” and by the 1560’s the word was defined as a "novel or exciting incident, remarkable occurrence in one's life.”

   Today we tend to think that an adventure requires a long journey on a plane, train, bus, or car. Or perhaps, for those of us who are outdoorspeople, it requires hiking books, walking poles, and a loaded down backpack.

   Thanks to our day trips into Virginia and Maryland, which we had throughout the fourteen years that we lived in Virginia, I know that adventures, or 'Expotitions,' as we like to call them, come in many flavors. Some adventures are grand, like our thirtieth wedding anniversary trip to France in 2023, which was truly an adventure that I shall never forget. However, there are many other adventures to be had that are much smaller in scope, and yet they are still capable of bringing me joy and excitement, and they expose me to things that are completely new to me. 

Allow me to show you what I mean.

   Last Saturday I began my day with a new domestic adventure; making a seafood pie. When we were in Dublin last spring I had a delicious seafood pie for lunch one day and last week I decided to make my own. I poached cod, prawns, and bay scallops in homemade shrimp stock and some hard cider until just cooked, and then made mashed potatoes in my usual way. Finally I made a sauce for the pie by making a roux to which I added the poaching liquid. In the evening I put the seafood in a baking dish, poured the creamy sauce over it, and topped it with the mashed potatoes. Half an hour or so in the oven and we had a fabulous meal. 

   After my dinner prep was complete, Brian and I drove to the Jackson County Expo where two events were taking place that we were interested in. One was the Barnstormers Vintage Fair, and the other the Master Gardener’s Spring Fair. 

   The vendors at the Barnstormer’s event were selling a peculiar mix of vintage, upcycled, crafty, and artsy items. Creations that were shabby chic or cowgirl chic were popular, as were jewelry pieces that were made using everything from watch parts to the glass from vintage electrical wire insulators. How do people come up with these creative ideas? I was delighted to come across a vendor who just happened to have a bowl full of lovely brass insects. Please remember, dear friends, that this writer is also a long-time naturalist who has a soft spot for insects. I walked away with a beautifully crafted bee and a beetle.  

On our way over to the garden fair we noticed that something was going on in two of the animal sheds. These are large buildings where farm animals are shown during the State Fair and at 4H and FFA events. On Saturday young people from all over the state were participating in the Southern Oregon Junior Classic. This is an event where young people in teams of three compete in showmanship competitions. Showmanship is the art of feeding, training, fitting, grooming and showing animals to bring out their best characteristics in competitive exhibitions. This includes showing off the animal’s training, and the appearance and abilities of the showperson in a public arena.

   In the swine building there was a ring where young people were showing off their animals, using long wands to control their pigs. Large animal transport vehicles were backed up to face into the building and nearby we saw youngsters diligently grooming their animals. They had all kinds of brushes, slickers, sprays and unguents that they were using to beautify their pigs. I had never seen anything like it; it was like a watching a pitch crew working on a race car, expect in this case the pit crew members were working on a pig. And what pigs they were too. The animals we saw were not the massive, pink breed that we are all familiar with. Instead, these were smaller durocs and other breeds which were a dusky grey, a chocolaty brown, or spotted. 

  In the nearby building young people were ‘fitting,’ (beautifying) their cows. These animals were also smaller than the angus and Holstein breeds that we see in local fields. The pit crews for the cows had an additional tool in their arsenal, a generator which they used to run hair dryers and clippers. The cows they were showing were the most elegant bovines I had ever seen.

   I was fascinated by this part of farming culture that I didn’t even know existed, and was so impressed by the diligence and hard work of the youngsters who were participating in the competition.     

   The gardener’s fair was full of vendors selling gorgeous plants but because of the unfortunate situation with my “cell phone arms,” gardening is not on the menu for me for the foreseeable future. We therefore sadly walked past the lovely shrubs and perennials and instead looked at the house plant offerings. I did get two scented pelargoniums though, which I love and can put in pots to live outside in the warmer months and indoors in fall and winter. The two species I got, chocolate and nutmeg, are new to me. Brian purchased a pair of very spikey cacti that are also new to us. I’m going to have to get out the kitchen tongs and chopsticks when I pot them up! 

   While we were out I got a notification from Etsy that a monstera rooting that I had purchased had arrived. When we got home I eagerly began to unpack it. I have never in my life encountered a packing job like this one. The seller had made his own box so that three layers of enthusiastically taped cardboard surrounded the plant, which was also wrapped in bubble wrap. The soil in the little plastic pot was kept in place with damp kitchen tissue, a neatly cut round of thick plastic, and a more tape. After battling my way through this virtuoso packing job, the plant emerged in pristine condition. I was beyond delighted with this ‘marvelous thing’ that further brightened a day that had been filled with new, exciting, and lucky experiences. 

Photos:

My two new pelargoniums, or scented geraniums

One of the participants at the Southern Oregon Junior Classic with her elegant cow

Our new monstera plant with my brass insects