Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, which is every dog’s dream holiday! For some wonderful reason, people who carve the turkey always have some turkey drop on the floor. We woofs are right on the job and do the clean-up so that others don’t have to. Piper and I are experts on this topic as you can see from the photo of us with Aunt Ilene and Uncle Jeff. Hope your pickings are delicious!
Thanksgiving goes to the dogs.
Randy, Quinn, Piper, Phoebe, and Susan
I have made some new and very special new furry friends in the past few months, but Phoebe (and her mom and dad, of course) is a special one. She really feels at home at Birchwood Inn and knows where the toys. Phoebe especially loves hikes in Kennedy Park, window-shopping in Lenox village, and perhaps most of all the inn’s porch at the end of a grueling day!
Says Quinn, “There is nothing that can compare to fall in the Berkshires! There are crunchy piles of colorful leaves to roll in, and the earthy scents of autumn are heady. Inside, Piper and I salivate over the apples baking in pies and cakes, French toasts and omelets. From experience, we can tell you that the pear cranapple crumble is worth waiting in the kitchen for a tasty morsel to find its way to the floor.”
Filling:
2-3 apples, sliced (leave peel on)
2-3 ripe pears, sliced (leave peel on)
1 cup cranberries (fresh or frozen)
1/4 to 1/2 cup liquid honey
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup quick oats
6 tablespoons butter
Fresh nutmeg
Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 6-cup deep baking dish. Place apples, pears, and cranberries in the dish. Squeeze the lemon juice over the fruit. Drizzle honey over the fruit.
Combine the brown sugar, flour, and butter in a food processor. Spoon the mixture into a bowl and add the oats.
Spoon the topping over the fruit. Grate nutmeg on top of the topping. Bake for 45 minutes or until firm is tender but not mushy. Serve warm.
Serves 8.
Posted by Quinn: Sorry that I haven’t posted in a while but I am so busy in the summer entertaining the guests, both human and canine; going to concerts and plays; and lunching on the patio at Church Street Cafe. Of the concerts at Tanglewood, Carole King won paws down! And I never miss the Boston Symphony’s final summer concert, Beethoven’s Ninth. I love sitting on the grass, under a shady pine, salivating at all of the picnics. (I am proud to say that I realize Tanglewood is sacred ground and over 10 summers of concerts, I have never mistaken Tanglewood lawns for bathrooms!) Concluding with Ode to Joy is a celebration of the summer. Sorry if you missed it!
Photo: Dog Day Afternoon. Beloved guest dog Phoebe joins Quinn (center) and Piper (right) on the porch for afternoon tea. Please click to enlarge.
Quinn, Piper, and guest dog Phoebe (left) enjoy afternoon tea on the porch.
Quinn says… I’m not good with dates so I was surprised this morning when Ellen wished me a happy birthday, my 11th! I LOVE birthdays! I put on my Birthday Dog scarf and started my day. I made the rounds of the dining room, thinking that people would sneak me some food because it is my birthday after all. No such luck but at least they tolerated me staring at them.
And presents! Dog treats and toys from guests and staff. It’s great! And we are about to celebrate this occasion with Frosty Paws, wonderful dog ice cream, which I woof down, while the guests get lemon squares.
We are celebrating Piper’s birthday this weekend, too. Although Piper looks and acts like a puppy, she is actually 13! She has presents, too.
What I would really like for my birthday is to be able to roll in smelly dirt. Don’t think that’s going to happen. But just wait until you see my puppy pictures. I was adorable!
Quinn says: Wow! We have had some terrific canine visitors recently! There was Gretchen, the dog-shy English Bulldog, who wasn’t wild about having to walk. During Gretchen’s visit, we had five-year-old Welsh Terrier Cory, who was adorable and very well-behaved. A sweet little Yorkie named Phoebe, a real mama’s girl! And lastly, the Prince, a Cavalier, who wagged his tail so hard that his legs would sprawl out beneath him, causing him to slide all over the floor. His big brown eyes were entrancing. I am so glad that we can accommodate four-legged furry tail- waggers at Birchwood Inn! Piper and I get to make new friends all the time!
I love Carriage Rides. Cool! You sit and trot at a leisurely pace while folks on the sidewalks wave. I know because I’ve been on two rides, as you can see in the photo.
And you’ll have a chance to enjoy a Carriage Ride through historic Lee on Memorial Day Weekend. If this is successful, there will be Carriage Rides throughout the summer and maybe fall. Only in the Berkshires!
http://berkshires.org/Carriage rides.pdf
Quinn’s Observations: Piper and I love our mom but we don’t know how to tell her on Mother’s Day. Sometime a wag and a lick just isn’t enough. This year we had a little help from our friend Lynnette in Ithaca, NY. She helped us buy a card (with me on the front!) and used mom’s address as the return address. It was mailed from Rochester, quite a distance from Ithaca. Mom was enchanted as well as mystified. Who could have mailed this? She did think about Lynnette, who is always doing superspecial things for friend. But Rochester? For a moment she even thought that we had become the dogs in the Subaru commercials. Piper and I had fun watching our mom try to figure this out. Woof!
According to Quinn: Nothing smells better than spring in the Berkshires so my finely honed sense of smell is in heaven!
The copious lilacs and blankets of lilies-of-the-valley. Freshly cut grass. That spring earthiness of tulips and daffs. All combined with the clean mountain air is a most heady, intoxicating experience.
Come up and smell for yourselves!
Please note that this message is being sent from under Ellen’s desk, where Piper and I are cowering because of a sudden thunderstorm.
Birchwood Inn | P.O. Box 2020 | 7 Hubbard Street Lenox, Massachusetts (MA) 01240
(413) 637-2600 | (800) 524-1646 | (413) 637-4604 fax innkeeper@birchwood-inn.com www.birchwood-inn.com
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Carole King Rocks!
Quinn writes: Summer has begun on an upbeat note with Carole King in concert with James Taylor on the 4th of July! It was hot and so was Carole. I just couldn’t sit still when she sang, “I Feel the Earth Move Under My Feet.” Just wagged my tail in time with the music.
And the heat continues BUT it’s 10 degrees cooler in Lenox and the Berkshires than New York, New Jersey, and Maryland! So come up and cool off!