Mushrooms in Delaware
I took these pictures ages ago on my phone while going for a walk last August in Delaware. And then I forgot completely about them.
Anyway, this patch of monster mushrooms were growing on somebody’s front lawn, and all I can think of is how good they would taste lightly fried with olive oil and fresh garlic. That is of course assuming they don’t kill me in the process! I have no idea what mushrooms you can or cannot eat, so then only mushrooms that I eat come wrapped straight from the shelves of the supermarket.
I took these shots about 2 days before Hurricane Irene, so I hope the little folk living underneath them survived the storm!
Posted in Daily Photo, Delaware, Flora, Food and Drink, Places | 
delaware, Irene, mushrooms | 
Leave a commentAt the market
Markets are always great places for photos, especially when there is great food. And when you goto a market in an Afrikaans area, you are assured of plenty of great food shooting opportunities.
This particular market was in the park directly across the road from our holiday house in Langebaan. Langebaan is a small seaside holiday village on the West coast about an hour from Cape Town. Like most small town markets, it had an eclectic collection of great food, lovely hand-crafts and rubbish. It amazes me how you can see wonderful food and beautiful carvings right next to miscellaneous junk from somebody’s recently cleaned up house. And I am not talking about old antiques. No, this is just junk that nobody wants, but is still for sale on the off-chance that somebody might buy it. And have you noticed how all markets have at least one junk stall?
Anyway, lets straight past the junk to the good stuff.
Big yellow blocks of Boere-kaas (farm cheese)
Handmade dark chocolate cupcakes
Handmade pepper grinders
These pepper grinders are hand made from tree branches, resulting in grinders that have a natural variation in shape and size. If you examine the quality of these grinders, and the hard work that went into the turning and varnishing of them, it is difficult to really put a fair price on them. They are truly beautiful.
These samosas were a little unexpected at an Afrikaans market (especially vegetarian samosas), but nevertheless they were freshly made, crispy and excellent.
Like most small markets you can walk through and see everything in about 1/2 an hour. Will you life be unfulfilled if you miss it? No. Will you have an enjoyable 1/2 hour delay if you are driving past? Yes, worth the visit, but don’t stay too long.
Go hungry!
African statue
This lovely yet somewhat strange statue was in the garden of the conference venue where we had our recent Toastmasters conference, in Vanderbijlpark just South of Johannesburg. While this type of status is very typical of African art, I still find such large and lifelike statues somewhat intimidating, almost as if they are watching your every move. Having said that, the detail is amazing, and it is a true craftsman that can carve this face out of a solid piece of wood.
Bu the way, no HDR here in case you were wondering.
Flying High in a DA40
This is the last of the current batch of USA shots.
One of the highlights (excuse the pun) of our time in Delaware was our flight in Marc’s aeroplane. He is the proud owner of a Diamond Air DA40 aeroplane, which is incredibly cute! We took off from Wilmington Airport, and took a 40 minute trip over Delaware Bay.
DA-40 during the pre-flight check
A technical aside, for those of you that say the iPad is just a toy, the flight plan was logged using an iPad, and maps of the airport, runways and flight were on the iPad during the flight (in addition to the Garmin flight deck stuff in the aircraft).
Ready to go – (Photo by Lois Strachan)
The trip was great fun an uneventful (which is a good thing), two days later we were braced down for Huricane Irene, so it was a good interlude with the wonderful weather.
HDR shot of the aircraft, a copy is now on the wall in Marc’s study :-)
Coming in to land on runway 19 (ie 190 degrees on the map).
While the runway looked very short, it can easily land a 737, it is over 2km long. The trip was fantastic, and definitely a highlight of our trip. Thanks to Marc for taking us on the trip, and a huge thanks to both Marc and Patti for looking after us so well during our (extended) trip. Hope to do more flying soon.
Last shot, just before takeoff
Posted in Cape Town, Daily Photo, Delaware, HDR | aeroplanes, dc40, de, HDR, Travel, wilmington | 4 CommentsDogfish Head Brewery
I first read about Dogfish Head Brewery, Milton, DE in Smithsonian Magazine. So when we arrived in Delaware and discovered that it was just an hours drive away, or course we had to go for a visit.
The first thing you notice when you arrive is the strange treehouse outside the main doors. This 8 ton treehouse was originally created for the Burning Man festival, and apparently was bought by the brewery for $1, and it cost a few thousand dollars to move it (at least according to the tour guide).
The brewery is home to some unusual but yummy beers (but at 12%, be careful. Some of these beers will knock you down). My favourite was Midas Touch, which according to their website is made to a recipe which
“…is the actual oldest-known fermented beverage in the world! It is an ancient Turkish recipe using the original ingredients from the 2700 year old drinking vessels discovered in the tomb of King Midas. Somewhere between wine & mead”
At 9%, Midas touch is quite a light beer (by their standards). Smooth with a lovely honey taste (but not sweet), a very refreshing drink. The brewery offer a free short guided tour, followed by a tasting of four of their beers (it is best to book for the tour well in advance – we were lucky to get on the tour at the last minute).
Some of the beer is fermented in these huge wooden tanks, made from a really heavy and hard wood (you need diamond blades to cut it), and the tanks last for 10 years.
About 20 minutes drive from the brewery is their restaurant, where you can (again) drink their beers along with a selection of pub meals. A very civilised way to spend the day. If I could get their beer in South Africa, I would be stocking up.
Finally, thanks to much to the waitress that gave me a free pack of beer coasters for my braai room, much appreciated and they are safe in their new home.
To find out more or to contact them, call 1-888-8dogfish.
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