" CONNEMARA " Home of Carl Sandburg

FOR THE 100th POST of THE WRITERS PORCH BLOG

A VISIT TO CONNEMARA in FLAT ROCK , NORTH CAROLINA

CARL SANDBURG 1878-1967

He was a Poet/Novelist/Minstrel/Biographer/Public Speaker

In 1945, Carl and Lillian Sandburg were in search of a new
home. A place where he could write and a place where she
could continue to raise her expanding herd of champion goats.
They found it in Flat Rock, NC at a place called Connemara.

July 22, 1967, Carl Sandburg died in a downstairs bedroom

at Connemara with his family around him. His funeral was

held at St. John In The Wilderness
Church near Connemara.

In 1968, Congress authorized the Carl Sandburg Home
National

Historic Site , making it the first national park to honor a poet.

The house was left exactly like it was the day he died. All contents

are still there, including the paper in his his workroom wastebasket.

I assume it is the first to also honor a herd of goats.......
Champion


Goats that is.......................

In 1940, Carl Sandburg was awarded the Pulitzer Prize

for his 4

vol. biography of Abe Lincoln titled " The War Years"

In 1951, he was again awarded the Pulitzer Prize

for "

Sandburg's Complete Poem's "

His workroom at Connemara is two small, west

facing rooms on

the top floor.......................

From the Flame Azaleas that greet you in the

parking lot

to the multiple Rhododendrons that surround the

grounds, beauty is everywhere.

Now this is a Sun Room.....................

With a view of gorgeous flora and fauna

The walking path to the dairy barns is a walk

through
nature......like this Hummingbird Vine

Wonderful farm buildings along the

path.....................

What an inspiring place to write!

The garden is still planted, tended and watched over by the scarecrow

Carl's wife Lillian was as famous for her herd of

prize

winning, champion goats as he for his writing........

The dairy house is still as it was......

I've forgotten the

name of this machine......

This was the cooler where the milk, butter and

cheese made at

Connemara Dairy was kept...

This was the cream separator , I think.....

The Sandburg's farm equipment and vehicles are still

here in

this garage on the left.................

This is the entrance

to the dairy.....

The herd of goats still at Connemara, are descendants of

the

original herd raised by the Sandburg's..................

This

is the sister.............

Of these two little guys.......a set of triplets !

These guys and girls " have it made in the shade "

Connemara has it's own Chickens and Eggs too......

I want to thank all of you for sharing mine and Sherry Austin's tour of Connemara and for being such great commenters and wonderful friends for the past 99 posts.

"Creations From The Harvest "

Yesterday you saw that we are harvesting from our garden.
I cooked supper last night using some of that harvest.


Fried Green Tomatoes/ Shrimp& Creole Sauce....

Garden Harvest Salad................



Supper's On !




I'm going to start with the shrimp and sauce as you can
make it, cover and set aside. This picture should have come
after the next one. You can cook your own shrimp or use
the bought cooked, which is what these are. (med.size)


Creole Sauce......................................................................

1 Tabl. liquid crab boil
2 Tabl. butter
1 pound Shrimp(peeled,deveined & tail less)
1 cup heavy cream
1 Tabl. creole seasoning (I use Tony Chachere's )
1 Tabl. Worcestershire sauce
1 teas. paprika

We like it a little spicy and this is but if you want it
hotter add hot sauce to taste.

Saute shrimp in crab boil and butter till pink.................

( if you're using already cooked, till good and hot)

Remove shrimp from pan and set aside.(prev.picture)

Add the remaining ingredients to crab boil & butter.

Reduce by half over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

When reduced to half, add shrimp, cover and set aside.

This is two med/large green tomatoes sliced.................

Take 1 cup of buttermilk and 1 egg, salt and pepper to taste

and whisk together in a bowl. I let my tomatoes sit in this

while I make the Shrimp Sauce.

For your breading you can use 3/1 flour or cornmeal.

We like cornmeal so I use 3/4 cup cornmeal 1/4 c. flour.

Add salt, pepper (to taste) and 1/2 teas. garlic powder

to mixture and stir.

I use a black iron skillet and 1 cup EV Olive Oil...........

Dredge tomatoes in dry mix and put into HOT oil.....

Should take about 2 minutes on each side............

They should look like this when done........................

When ready to serve...spoon Shrimp and Sauce on top.

I serve it with Garlic Cheese Toast.............

This salad is my own creation......................

1 good size Yellow Squash ( I use two smaller)

1 good size Zucchini Squash

1 large ripe Tomato or 1/2 cup of Cherry Tomatoes

1/4 cup of grated Red Onion( I process mine in dressing)

1 cup sliced Strawberries

Dressing.....................

1/2 cup Ken's Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette dressing

2 Tables. Creole or Dijon mustard

2 tables. Balsamic Vinegar

1/4 cup EV Olive Oil

salt and pepper to taste

puree in food processor or blender

pour over salad mixture......refrigerate

doing several hours ahead makes it better

This is a different way to enjoy the garden harvest!

After this wonderful supper last evening....................

I took pictures of the sunset................

These clouds seemed so close to the tree tops..............

HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERYONE !

TOMORROW IS MY 100 th POST !

We're going to visit CARL SANBURG 'S HOME !

" Moments of Pleasure "

I thought I'd post today about things that give me pleasure


For the past two or three months, I'm not sure just how
long I have been watching episodes of the awesome BBC
series, The House of Elliott. It ran for three seasons for a
total of 31 episodes. I got it through Netflix and so it was
spread out over a period of weeks. I LOVED this series!!
The ONLY thing I didn't like was that season 3 ended in
a cliff hanger that will never be resolved.......





Beatrice ( Stella Gonet ) and Evie ( Louise Lombard ) Elliott
are sisters left penniless upon their father's death who use
their talent for designing and making clothes to start their
own London Couture Clothing Establishment! The clothes
and hats they wear, will leave you breathless!!

I dream of having Beatrice's hair style..........

Another wonderful arrival from Netflix...........

"Fireproof " starring Kirk Cameron

This is a Christian based movie about the work

it takes to make marriage successful. It is a really

wonderful love story...............

These are the books I've managed to read in May.....

Two wonderful reads by NC author, Louise Howe Bailey.....

Reading is ALWAYS a pleasure.....

Two fabulous mystery reads by Mississippi's Ruth White

"Poe " a collection of 19 new tales inspired by Edgar Allan Poe

and "The Legend of Nance Dude"by Maurice Stanley......

I'm told this book was inspired by Gary Carden's play of

the same title..........This story is a sad but tragic tale of

a NC woman who was convicted of murdering her own

granddaughter.............

Watching the mist on the pond in early morning................

Today was a Misty Mississippi Morning................

Gathering the morning harvest from the gardens...........

Washing Collard Greens harvested from a friends garden

Getting them in the cast iron pot to cook.......

Keeping tabs on their progress till their done................

Seeing what new blooms await my morning stroll.....

Like this beautiful Yellow Hibiscus...........

What a pleasure to see the Trumpet Vine @ the Pond House Blooming

I was given this gorgeous Day lily by a friend a few weeks ago

and stuck it in with the Elephant Ears till I could replant it...

It just continues to give me a bloom a day.....

It was a pleasure to get my Mystery Plant,( it is

a mystery to me and everyone else it seems, just

what this lovely is) planted in a basket where it can

bloom profusely.....

Wathcing our first batch of baby birds get ready to

fly the ledge...........

All 5 of them..................

I love watching this guy feed.......

A male Red-Winged Blackbird..........

The female isn't as pretty as he is

They have a really good time in the new feeder Hubby built

And it's a pleasure to watch................

Have A Great Weekend Everyone !!!!!