Last day off but it was a pretty good one!

August 25 – Our last day off and no where to go!  Really we could have done another road trip but it is exhausting.  We slept as late as we wanted and after breakfast Bill went out and put our extra chairs away and did some re-organizing of the compartments.  I straightened up inside, did a load of laundry, swept, and at least got my photos downloaded and resized.

The actual mill room

We left for the post office then to Still River Mill.  It was not a half mile from the post office.  The lady there had a mill shop in the back where she and her 3 employees make yarns for knitting, crocheting and weaving from all natural fibers.  They use natural dyes too.  They use mink, sheep, dog, bison. alpaca and musk ox fibers.  It was amazing!  There were other animals too but I don’t remember them all.  The yarn is pricy but no fake stuff that balls up at the elbows.  She has samples made from each yarn and you can feel how nice it will be on.  I got some lime green to make a hat, so that will be my project when I get home.

Bill wanted to pick more peaches so we did.  They moved the picking to a different field and they must be a different variety of peach as they were all big ones.  Most were still hard as rocks but we managed to find a few riper ones further into the grove to top off our bag.  Bill said this was the best fruit summer we’ve had and he’s right!

Our next adventure was to visit Wolf Den State Park.  This guy, Israel Putnam, tracked a wolf to

The Wolf

its lair and killed it.   The wolf killed 80 of his sheep and had been killing many farmers in the area’s sheep.  The den was pretty narrow and he could only crawl in and took a knife.  The wolf backed away and he crawled back out and got a gun and went back in and shot it.  Well, Bill wanted to see the den.  We stopped at the ranger station and she gave us a map and said the road was mostly gravel and rough.  We went a ways but Bill didn’t like the road so we turned around and left.  In looking the map over I found we could go on less gravel road from the other side of the park.  We drove around to the other side and eventually found the gravel road.  There was only one bad spot and then into the little picnic area.  We parked and it was a decent walk downhill to the den.  There were trail markers along the way or you’d think you were just walking in a rain wash.  The den opening was big enough to get into if you wanted but we settled for photos on the outside of it.

Israel Putnam

Then Bill wanted to go into Brooklyn to find the burial plot of Israel.  We got to the corner of what we figured was the original center of town and went right, but nothing.  We went the other direction but nothing.  There was only one more direction and there it was, a huge monument of him on a horse.  He was also a General in the French and Indian War and the American Revolution.  On one end of the monument was a wolf head.

Time to head home for lunch!  Bill wanted to eat out but we had plans for the evening to go out with Ron and Barbara.  After lunch we both read until it was time to get ready to leave.  We picked them up at 6 and we went to The Lake Tavern in Dayville.  None of us had been there but heard good things about it.  One thing for sure you don’t leave hungry!  The portions were huge and everyone was very pleased with their meals.  Three of us brought leftovers home.

Ron and Barbara invited us over for dessert, Chocolate Lasagna!  Yum!  She had told me about the recipe and she and her sister made a batch in 2 smaller pans so she had one to bring home.  I really need to get that recipe, great cool dessert with no cooking!  We enjoyed more chatting and she showed me her Swedish weaving.  Another craft I will need to try my hand at.  We both read when we got home but I was fading really fast so went to bed first for a change.