Pot Pourri

From Yesterday's Blog: There is no Revolutionary War Memorial or is there? There is a marker at Militia Park at Friend's Crossing off Lincoln Street that reads: "Dedicated to the several militia companies of Easton who were ready for their country's call." The militia was the colonial military organization that included all men between the ages of 16 and 60 except the town minister and severely handicapped men. The militia met once or twice a year to train-ours at the now militia park, and Training Day became something of a holiday. In many towns there was more drinking than training on that day. In one nearby town, the men kept firing at the feet of their officers to make them dance until someone aimed too high and severed a femoral artery killing the captain of the company. With this level of training when crunch time came, the colonial legislature decided to form the Minutemen. Created in 1774, the Minutemen were younger militia members who promised to drill weekly and be ready to respond to a call-out on a moment's notice. On April 19th when the call did come, however, all of the East and West militia marched up Bay Road to Boston not just the Minutemen. However, the militia was the National Guard of its time, and a number of Easton men enlisted in the regular army so there is no official memorial to all who served to found this country. There is also a bronze marker at the Old Bay Road Cemetery that mentions the Revolutionary War, but I'll save the story of that mysterious cemetery for another day.

With Spring officially here. We'll all be working in our gardens soon. The ASPCA has a garden guide available for making your garden safe for pets. I was surprised to learn that cocoa mulch which many people are starting to use because of its rich brown color and sweet, chocolaty odor can be fatal to dogs and cats because it contains the same chemical that makes chocolate candy potentially danger for pets. The ASPCA website also has a list of poisonous plants. The list is long and detailed-the best I've seen with many surprises; it also includes non-toxic plants to help you plan your garden.

Thanks to Uma Hiremath and Madeline Miele Holt at the library who will soon be adding a link to this blog on the library's website. This is another exciting year at the library with many programs celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Italian Gardens. For those of us who like historical novels Madeline recommends All Other Nights by Dara Horn. It's a story of northern and southern Jews during the Civil War.

Bob and Carole Misiewicz visited the Kate's Butter website and found the following recipe there:

Thanks to all for following this blog!