Breakwater Vineyards

Posted on June 27, 2012June 27, 2012 by Dusty Roads

Leaving the wine casks behind we returned to see what Jeanne had in mind to show us. She led us to another barn where we could see a small chicken coop and some fencing.

She began calling and suddenly a head popped up, and then another and then some goats came into view followed closely by the rambunctious kids.

Oh they were sooo cute.

One of the mama goats climbed up the fence and tried to eat my shirt sleeve. After some sweet talking and ear scratching she seemed to “zone out” and released the clothing, content to just stand there while I cooed and scratched. Goat Whispering! 🙂

Jeanne explained that Breakwater Vineyards was committed to being environmentally conscious. She envisioned a time when she would be able to make goat cheese to offer for sale along with her wines.

The chickens seemed happy next to the goats and Jeanne confirmed that they were good egg producing hens.

The animals are all part of the goal to be closer to the natural world and utilize the land’s resources more effectively.

The Vineyard is about 5 minutes from downtown Rockland, Me. The name Breakwater Vineyards comes from the mile long barrier that protects the harbor called a breakwater. A portion of the profits of the vineyard are donated to help the restoration efforts of the historic lighthouse.

More than 3000 grapevines grow on the 32 acres of farmland that make up the winery. It is well worth the stop if you’re in the Owl’s Head area.

If you are a oenophile (wine connoisseur) I’m sure you will be interested to know that there is a Maine Wine Trail for Maine Vineyards just as there is a Coastal Wine Trail of New England covering southern Massachusetts.

There are 19 wineries on the Maine Wine Trail. They offer wines that range from Fruit Wines to Distilled spirits.

If you are interested in more information you can check out www.mainewinetrail.com

and don’t forget the winery that introduced us to all of this. www.breakwatervineyard.com

As much as we enjoyed this little visit, the afternoon was passing quickly and we still had quite a drive ahead of us. It was time to say goodbye and hit the road again.

I’m Baaaaack!

Posted on June 21, 2012June 21, 2012 by Dusty Roads

Sorry I didn’t follow my usual custom of updating all of you when I’m traveling. This little jaunt was to Bar Harbor in Maine and it was only 4 days. What that means is that 2 days are spent driving to get to and from there and 2 days are crammed full trying to squeeze everything in. Bottom line is that every night when I got back to our motel, I collapsed into bed too tired to even think. 🙂

But I promise I will fill you in on everything from “Goat Whispering”

to having a “Zen” moment at the top of Cadillac Mountain.

It’s not often I become the photo subject!

I didn’t travel alone so these pictures are courtesy of my traveling companion and fellow Photog, JR. and it’s just a taste of what’s to come.

Spring Exuberance

Posted on May 11, 2012May 11, 2012 by Dusty Roads

While we were enjoying our soft serve and the flowers at Ward’s Berry Farm we decided to check out the 4H buildings. Ward’s supports the 4H Clubs of America by allowing them to have some of their livestock there. We’ve seen the little lambs in the past and the miniature horses but today the goats stole the show.

The first one we saw was the old guy. 🙂 I don’t know his real name but I called him Billy Goat Gruff.

Give him a good scratch and he just about falls asleep. Can’t you just hear the contented sigh?

Next to him was another pen where a Mama goat was resting. We didn’t spot the kids until we went around to the back of the shed. That’s when we got the springtime show!