Saturday, 15-Mar-2014

My Aunt is a gardener, and a lecturer.  I’m sure that I’ve mentioned that in this blog before, but it can’t be overstated – she’s an excellent lecturer.

So when I get a chance to sit in?  I make sure to attend; this time that meant driving up to Manchester NH on a perfectly clear and warm Saturday morning.  At least, it started out clear, though by the time I arrived at the parking garage I was kind of wishing that I’d worn an extra layer or two… it had been 55 Deg.F in Boston when I put the top down and headed onto the highway… but it was down to 35 when I arrived at my destination… climate does change as you go North.

A quick fun story from the drive up – I chased a gorgeous 2014 Shelby Mustang for a few exits, before it headed off on its own route.  Was fun, getting to follow behind and taking the effort to keep up with him.

Anyways, the lecture was at a semi-small expo called the Old House and Barn Expo.  An expo named very similarly to the title of this post, it was focused on heritage and restoration of historic buildings and lands – a perfect place for a lecture on garden conservation.  So here’s the bullet points:

• Fun drive up, especially due to chasing the Shelby
• I got to meet a whole group of my Aunt’s friends who live in the area – very cool people, and we chatted and I listened to stories and it was excellent
• Walked around the expo a bit before the lecture started – it was really cool, though the vendors were impressively diverse: there was a solar power company literally right next to a whole group of Amish folk building the framing for a barn.  Old and New, I guess.
• I’ve actually heard this lecture before, but it was quite nice to hear it again.  Especially since this time was for a much more technically-inclined audience, so I got to hear more specific advice and scientific terminology.  It really got me excited about the possibility of playing in my own garden this year.
• Fully exploring the show with my Aunt afterward, we got to see the rest of the vendors.
• Dinner was had just the two of us at the hotel restaurant – they had an extremely good Reuben with Clam Chowder… which was extremely good.  So good I had to say that twice.  And now I want another Reuben.
• The drive back was simple and easy… with the exception of a highlander which kept trying to cut in front of me when there clearly wasn’t enough room for him to cut in front of me.

Link: http://www.nhpreservation.org/news-a-events/signature-events/old-house-and-barn-expo.html