Snapshots of New England Part 2

Well, this is not quite 'tomorrow' but I'm afraid that life got rather hectic so this is the first chance I've had to do Part 2. The photo above is of Sagamore Creek at the mouth of the Piscataqua River in Portsmouth. A lot of the local places have names taken from the language of the original local Native American tribes and I really like these names even though some are difficult to pronounce - it took me several visits to finally be able to say Piscataqua properly:) I gather that the word 'sagamore' referred to the chief of the area and Piscataqua is from the Abenaki language and means roughly 'where the river divides into 2 or 3 branches and one must decide which one to follow'. This is when you are travelling inland from the coast. The Piscataqua is an impressive river, the third fastest flowing river in the world and full of treacherous currents that can catch even experienced sailors unaware.


This little building on a wooden jetty on Sagamore Creek is decorated with the tails of marlin - it's an original idea!


Yours truly at the entrance to Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts.


I'm really more interested in the lives and culture of the Wampanoag people than the settlers to be honest but the photographs I took were mostly rather poor, partly because the sun was very bright and in the wrong direction and partly because I couldn't get a good view because of all the people. As a result there are far fewer to show you than I would have liked. Above is a Wampanoag house which is called a wetuash - it is a framework of wood covered with birch bark and cattail reed mats.


I didn't get chance to ask what this was but it seemed to be an outdoor living area, there was a fire at one side and the women were cooking and doing various crafts and household tasks. There was a party of high school students on the site and this bascially meant that nobody else got much of a look in either here or on the English Village site.


This is a mishoon(dugout canoe)which is made by burning and scraping an oak, pine or chestnut log. This must have been hard work especially on an oak log which is extremely hard and doesn't burn easily.


A small Wampanoag boy - I love this photo:)


Two of the women with a baby, she was the same age as Kaitlyn and gave me a lovely big smile when I spoke to her. The two photographs with children in are deliberately not showing their faces in spite of the fact that both were delightful.



The fort, built in 1622, which stands at the top of the English Village. This isn't the original of course, Plimoth Plantation is a replica and the original village stood where the modern town of Plymouth now is.


The view from the upper storey of the fort looking down over the village to the sea.



The upper floor of the fort showing the cannon that would be used in case of attack.


The lower part of the fort also doubled as the church!!



One of the window shutters in the fort - the play of light and shadow appealed to me on this photo.


A bread oven at the back of one of the houses.


The interior of one of the houses which were not as sparsely furnished as you might expect. Many of the better off colonists had furniture shipped out from England.


Some of the colonists busy constructing a new building.


I love these pewter dishes and the colours of the earthenware. I have quite a few pieces of replica pottery myself, some bought here in England and some brought back from Plimoth.


Two of the colonists - they make an attractive couple don't they?



Another interior with a lovely baby's high chair and also showing how carpets were used to cover tables rather than floors in the 17th century.


More lovely pottery and wooden plates etc - to me there's something very satisfying about these handmade items. They are simple and practical but still beautiful.



Presumably he's popped in to see whether dinner is ready yet:)



A lovely horn lantern - I can't imagine that it gave a very good light really but it looks nice.


A wood fired kiln............



......and clicking on this photo will tell you more about it than I can.

If you've soldiered on to this point then congratulations! That's enough culture for one day though so more in Part 3 which will be the final push for the finishing line:)