Scenes from the Wye Colonial May Fair Demo

We had a lovely time at the Wye Colonial May Fair.   As Jeff described it so well afterwards, "It feels like we are demo'ing for family!"  We were very much looking forward to this demo and it lived up to our desires.  We'd been moving at a non-stop pace the week before, even to the point of Jeff flying home from business travel the night before the demo and us on the road to Wye parish in the wee hours of the morning, so it was very, very nice to have a demo that blessed us as much as we tried to bless others.  

The primary reasons we demonstrate blacksmithing are to teach and inspire, and the Wye fair is a wonderful venue for those purposes.  The fair is a community event, filled with folks who have come out to enjoy their community and each other.  The fair offers a concert, wagon rides, a May Pole dance, colonial demonstrators, tours of the historic church, kids' activities, a silent auction, a petting zoo, and plenty of great food.  I ate better at the fair than I had all the past week!

Since attendees seem to be there to spend the day, they have time to visit with us and learn a bit about blacksmithing..... and we get to learn all sorts of things as well.   I have plenty of notes to investigate further (i.e. CHOW, Londontown and "A Taste of History" to name a few).  The kids even got to make char cloth -- how cool is that?!  I was especially interested in char cloth since I'd learned about it during outdoor cooking demonstrations working as an interpreter at Mount Vernon.  I didn't make the char cloth with the kids, since I was busy interpreting for Jeff, but I did find time to discover that starting a fire with flint and steel is much harder than the pros make it look!

We were even able to take our dog along with us.  It was Xander's first demo, and he took the opportunity to be blessed at the Blessing of the Animals service.   He needed it, since he ate my phone earlier in the week! He was great at the demo, though, although he wasn't thrilled at his first experience with a fife and drums band.  

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Jeff demonstrated making a variety of pieces, such as leaves on hooks, trivets, colonial-style nails, and candle holders.  We also brought along a child-sized anvil and hammer, along with aluminum, so visitors could experience hammering without the heat.

   

  
We are looking forward to the first Saturday in May next year.  Please mark your calenders now!

Demo at the Wye Colonial May Fair This Saturday

We thoroughly enjoyed this fair last year.  Wonderful people and a lovely event.  We are very much looking forward to sharing blacksmithing with them again.  Please come out and see us!  

Getting Ready for a Busy Week (With a Sense of Humor!)

Jeff snapped this photo of me yesterday as I was dressed for an outdoor workday, ready to mow the lawn, trying to iron clothes for an all-day shift at Mount Vernon that I worked today, as I sorted through clothes for the whole family  for next weekend's demo in Wye, Maryland. Oh, and I was trying on new hats and caps for other upcoming demos!   Busy times, indeed!

Tulips

 

The sign of a good photography workshop is that I picked up the camera more often this week.

 

 

 

 

 

Creativity with Light - National Geographic Photography Seminar

I had the privilege to spend this past Sunday at a photography seminar at National Geographic's headquarters in D.C.  Nevada Wier and Jay Dickman presented some amazing material on using light to create magical photographs.  I was inspired and overwhelmed, probably the sign of a good workshop!

I have tons of notes, of course, but the one page that sums up my experience is headed: "Things to Figure Out" and includes infrared photography (what Nevada is doing with infrared is amazing -- I would love to convert an older DSLR and try this out -- please let me know if you have a DSLR available!), shooting in RAW versus JPG (so far, I think JPG makes more sense for me), mirrorless cameras (I think it probably makes sense to wait a bit for this, but the light-weight systems seem great -- Olympus was getting rave reviews at the seminar for their mirrorless cameras), using flash to pop color in nature photography, and much more.  The big items on the list are more for research than anything I'll do in the near future, but maybe a Nikon wide-angle lens or the Composer lens from Lensbaby could be manageable?

I've been wanting to try some new things creatively this year....maybe this is a start.  And, even if I don't get any new lenses or gear, just thinking in these ways will spark something....

Important Notice - Saturday Demo at AHS Cancelled

Please note that the Saturday afternoon demo at AHS has been cancelled.  Several vendors complained of smoke from Jeff's fire, so we were asked to dismantle.  We are so sorry for any inconvenience this causes.  We know that folks follow the website and come out to see us, and we would never want to let anyone down.  Luckily, we were able to visit with some people as we were packing the trailer, at least!  The next local event is the 3rd weekend in May at Claude Moore for their Market Fair, where we guarantee that no one will complain about smoke!

The Demo Season Has Begun!

When the trailer arrives back in front of our house, you can tell that the demo season has officially begun!
Jeff is at the American Horticultural Society today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.for their annual plant sale, which also offers demonstrations by Jeff and others.   Please come on out and visit!

Beginnings....

Blacksmithing Demo at the American Horticultural Society Next Friday and Saturday

Check out this page from the latest issue of the American Gardener magazine -- there's nothing like flipping through a magazine and stumbling on a photo of your spouse!

Jeff will be demo'ing at the annual Plant Sale for the American Horticultural Society -- it'll be the 1st demo of the season and he is looking forward to it. The current plan is for Jeff to demo Friday 9-6 and Saturday 9-4.  He will not demo on Thursday  We volunteer our time at this demo to show our support for a wonderful organization, headed up by some wonderful people!

If you are interested in blacksmithing, this is a great opportunity to learn -- it's not a crowded venue and Jeff will have plenty of time to answer questions.  Plus, you can buy some amazing plants for your garden!
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Hope to see you!

Walking with Washington in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia

Recently, we spent a couple of hours studying up on George Washington in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.  With both Jeff and I working at Mount Vernon, we spend a fair amount of time reading up on our colonial history, but this time we decided to take a self-guided walking tour of some of the historic sites related to Washington in Old Town....and there are plenty!

  

 

 We had previously visited Gadsby's Tavern, Christ Church and the fascinating Stabler Leadbeater Apothecary Museum....we knew about Washington's Townhouse (but wanted to see it again).  

This time, however, we wanted to go deeper and check out where Sally Fairfax's house was located....and where the doctor who was a  friend of Washington's and was present at Washington's death lived, and other tidbits from the late 1700s.   To do all this, we followed a wonderful walking tour by Robert Madison.  We had a great time, and it was amazing how seeing the places where these figures lived and walked (and danced!) made the history come alive.

Plus, who doesn't love seeing the cobblestone streets?!

Happy Easter!

 

A Beautiful Snow

At first glance, this post might seem way out of chronological order....but I promise that it is not so!  We were fortunate enough to be able to spend a few days at our cabin, Chestnut Oak Lodge, in the Shenandoah Valley this past week....and got to experience the most snow of our entire winter....in late MARCH!.  Our kids had gone fishing the day before in the local lake.... The snow was a beautiful surprise.  

 

Planning Our 2013 Demo Season

On the first official day of spring, it seems appropriate to map out our upcoming demo season.  It's actually not far away and we are so looking forward to it.  We love getting the chance to visit with you!

This is how the schedule currently looks, although it will likely change a bit.  And, if you'd like us to demo at your event, please just call or email.   We'd love to hear from you!

April 18-20 - American Horticulture Society, Alexandria, VA.  This is the AHS annual plant sale, and we demo here because we volunteer at the AHS and it's a nice way to give back to a wonderful organization.  They sell Jeff's ironwork and my photography in their gift shop, as well.  This is also a great location for a demo because it is beautiful and generally not crowded.  We will not be in colonial attire, but it is a great choice if you'd like to visit and get all your questions answered.  We won't be here all the hours of the plant sale, so we'll update the site when those hours are finalized (Jeff is likely to be there Thursday afternoon and all-day Saturday, with a morning demo on Friday for all the school kids I want to bring to see him!).  

May 4 - Wye Colonial Fair, Wye Mills, MD.  This was one of our favorite events last year!  Lovely fair and lovely people.

May 18-19 - Claude Moore Colonial Market Fair, McLean, VA.  If you peruse our site, you'll see that we are very loyal to Claude Moore.  We demo at every Market Fair and have a wonderful time!  The Market Fairs are tremendously kid-friendly and have great food.  Plus, the craftspeople are amazing.  It's truly a wonderful place to go for a fun afternoon and a chance to see some top-notch artisans   

May 24-25 - Stratford Hall Blacksmithing Weekend, Westmoreland, VA.  The home of the Lees becomes a major center of blacksmithing for a weekend.  This is a HUGE event for anyone interested in how iron ore turns into iron and then is fashioned into an ax.  Our friends will be demonstrating that aspect (which is rarely seen, hence the excitement), another friend will be demonstrating his farrier skills, and our family will be demonstrating the colonial aspect of blacksmithing.  We can't wait! 

Memorial Day weekend (probably Saturday) - Mount Vernon Park Demo, Alexandria, VA (private demo - open to members of MVPA only) 

July 21-22 - Claude Moore Colonial Market Fair, McLean, VA

August 31- September 1 - The Scottish Games.  For this event, we become McPherson's Forge in honor of our ancestor Alexander McPherson.  We have attended these games for years, and it's a special treat to be able to demo here.  What's not to love about blacksmithing next to the bag-piping competition and in view of the athletic games?  Plus, the food is amazing!

September 28 - 1812 Fair and Reenactment, Jefferson Patterson Park Museum, St. Leonard, MD.  I've got an 1812-appropriate dress just for this occasion and we are totally looking forward to the crab cakes! 

September/October Dates TBD - Historical Trades Fair, Prince William Forest Park, Woodbridge, VA.  Last year, Jeff loved this event for the bluegrass music! 

October 5  - Handsell/Nanticoke Historic Preservation Society, Dorchester County, MD.  Last year, we were blown away by the dedication of the the folks who are trying to preserve Handsell.  They were truly amazing and we were blessed to get to know them.  We can't wait to see them again! 

October 20-21 -  Claude Moore Colonial Market Fair, McLean, VA

Field Trip to the U.S. Capitol

The other day, I had the opportunity to visit the U.S. Capitol through one of my jobs as an assistant teacher for a group of 6-9 year-old children.  We have a lot of fun together, and this field trip was no exception. My focus was much more on keeping track of the children than photography opportunities, so I didn't even take my good camera equipment.  Instead, I wore sensible shoes and had my emergency contact list at the ready.

Plus, our family still jokes about the time I toured the British Parliament many years ago and had a buckeye in my pocket for some odd, unknown reason -- security viewed the nut as a threat and removed it!  I've learned my lesson and am rather cautious about taking anything extraneous on these types of trips!

But, I couldn't help myself from taking a few photos with my phone.  The lines and lighting were amazing in places.....

And, the allure of history was too much to avoid like the location of Abraham Lincoln's desk or George Washington's portrait painted on the dome mural.

Next time, I just might take the better equipment!

The Postal Service Definitely Knows Jeff is a Blacksmith!

Here's a bit of humor from our week.....the Postal Service (particularly our carrier!) knows that Jeff is a blacksmith.  Sledgehammer, anyone?!  Actually, Jeff has his own sledgehammer and will deliver this one to Mount Vernon. He'll take it the rest of the way, though, and will give the mail carrier a break!