Wildlife we encountered in the Cove:
- Squirrels
Wildlife we've encountered in our new house:
- Turkeys (a flock of 15 or so who usually visit twice a day)
- Coyotes (at least three; generally very quiet, and it was only thanks to a few very warm nights in October with the windows open that I could hear them padding around in the leaves)
- Bobcat (sighted on his way past the pond)
- Groundhog (living under the shed)
- Turtles and frogs (in the pond)
- Ducks (one pair, though the male seems to be on his own lately)
- Red fox (spotted trotting in general direction of turkeys on Thanksgiving morning)
- Skunk (observed rustling around in yard just last night)
- White-tailed deer (spotted nibbling in neighbor's yard this morning)
- Squirrels (ironically fewer than in the Cove, though that didn't stop the little bastards from massacring one of my pumpkins)
What's wild is that it's not like we moved into the country like Sara and Zach! We just moved eight miles away to another shoreline town. But it feels like a world of difference. Part of that is because our neighborhood backs up onto part of the Branford Land Trust that includes the Saltonstall Mountain. Even though "mountain" is a relative term, as a coastal dweller it was surprising to be hiking up quite so far, and to be able to look down across Route 80 into North Branford from the peak.
So, we freaking love this place. Although it was definitely sad not to have DiMarzo Thanksgiving at my aunt's (though we did have a family-wide Zoom and learned my cousin Sara, who is moving to the Branford/East Haven line, is pregnant!), the silver lining was that we got to celebrate our first holiday in our own home, but without the pressure of being the hosts. Sean decided to take advantage of the situation to make a duck, instead of a turkey, and it was so, so good:
Although those look like grill marks, that was just the effect from scoring the skin, both to allow the fat to render and to rub in the paprika-based mix on the surface. Additionally, the meal featured both Linda's chestnut stuffing and DiMarzo-favored Pepperidge Farm, Sean's homemade cranberry sauce, and the brussel sprouts dish. Chopped brussel sprouts, sauteed in bacon fat, and mixed with a honey-balsamic sauce (which went with the honey-balsamic glaze later applied to the duck). My husband is an artist:
And because there wasn't any pressure on us, when the meal was ready and it was suddenly 65 degrees and sunny outside after a morning of rain, we went for a walk before we came back and ate! It was awesome. Later in the evening, we poached pears in red wine and ate them with ice cream (inspired by a common Academy dessert, but it should have been gelato).
As Sean says, now we know we can do it, logistically, even without the second oven and fridge which are on his long-term wish list. Next Thanksgiving, God willing, we'll be back at my aunt's - with a new baby cousin! - but Christmas 2021? Hosting! And for Christmas 2020, the centerpiece will be rabbit, probably with polenta if we're doing it North Italian style. It turns out that if you want these things you have to get on the list in advance, as we discovered in trying to obtain the duck just a few days before Thanksgiving (we got it, but it was more expensive than it needed to be). We'll have to do something more traditional when we actually have family members here (Sean's brother and my sister, both picky eaters), but in the interim, we might as well experiment.