Chesapeake Summer

The sound of cicadas outside buzzes loud and steady. It is so humid that breathing is heavy. The end of the summer in Maryland is here. This  year flew past with no trips to any interesting places outside of Maryland, so we made the best of what Maryland has to offer.

We took day trips to cute towns on the coast, visited traditional rural farm fairs with plenty of animals, ate way too many crab cakes, went kayaking to see the blue crabs swim in the Chesapeake Bay and enjoyed strolling in Maryland museums with friends. I loved wearing bright colored sundresses and reacquainting myself with my old neighborhood in Baltimore where the locals speak with a strong Baltimorean accent. Below are some pictures of our little trips and adventures:


A day at St. Michaels, Maryland:

Taking in the view.

A little bit of spice on the boat! A traditional Annapolis summer treat!

Signalling to get our boat out of the dock.

Blue crabs on the bay. This one is fake but is still very pretty.

All tied up in knots. Mary, untier of knots, pray for us...

 At home I have been making crabby dishes to fit with the summer:

Getting ready to pull the meat

Imagine this claw grabbing you! Ouch!

Pasta with tuna, avacado and olives. Delicious!

The best crabcakes in Maryland are at the Captain's restaurant in  Baltimore. The restaurant is in the shape of a boat and in the middle of the street. 

A day at the Hardford County Fair.

Bacon, Ham, Sausage, and Pork Chop all sleeping innocently and peacefully before the auction. 

Wilbur

A beautiful heifer. Her owner, a little 10 year old boy, was quite proud of having grown her. 

The auction of the fair farm animals. The lady with the ponytail was incredibly excited to bid on a nice brown cow. She paced back and forth till she won. It almost made me want to bid on a cow and see how it felt to purchase a bovine animal!

Next in line for the auction! I was amazed at the serious nature of the farm children who intended to auction the animals they raised. I would be a bucket of tears clinging onto the neck of any animal knowing steak and potatoes would be its fate. 

 In less rural moments, I enjoyed cultivating my mind with a dear friend at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Among my favorite pieces were:

"Plantation" by Elizabeth Talford Scott, 1980. This quilt exemplifies escape quilts used by slaves to plan their route following the stars on the quilt as a map guide. 

This quilt had rocks and was multidementional showing how certain objects give us comfort. Aldo by Elizabeth Scott, a native Baltimorean artist. 

I love this hall in the gallery.

Summer exhibition by Oletha Devane  held in the wellhouse, where slaves used to live and work. She had fascinating sculptures embellished with buttons, sparkles and more. 

And lastly, the cats: Fatty is still doing thankfully well and is maintaining his love for food, and all things tasty. He seems to have forgotten his near death experience. We can hardly believe it is the same cat who was dying 3 months ago when he is easily dashing around the house and hopping onto places where cats should never go...

Bentley continues being sweet and wonderful, except for the other day when he attacked my foot. This is the first summer in 10 years where I decided that they were too old for summer haircuts. I think their fur has changed and it is just better to help them prune themselves than to wrestle with old cats and end up crabby for a full day.