Finneran: August Prime
Tom Finneran, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™
Finneran: August Prime
Let’s start with food. Locally grown corn on the cob anyone? A little butter and salt on those sweet kernels is heaven on earth. Try it with a side of sliced homegrown tomatoes. Great for lunch. Great for dinner too.
I grabbed a few peaches at the farmer’s market last week. Wow. Is there anything in the world better than fresh peaches? That sweet juice running down your chin tells the story. And the memory of a good peach cobbler is something to carry you through several blizzards.
A favorite Cape restaurant ran an “eggplant stack” as an August special the past few years. Eggplant and tomatoes, grown in the backyard of the restaurant, baked to perfection and loaded with Nature’s best flavors. It’s a dish to die for.
Speaking of the Cape, I love the bounty of the local waters. Fried clams (whole belly of course), broiled or fried scallops, oysters, and mussels cannot be beaten. Our lobster is legend. New England seafood is the best in the world. It’s not even close. What a treasure.
One gripe. Once upon a fairly recent time, striped bass could be caught in all our coastal waters. They are now a rarity. Fresh striped bass is an absolutely fabulous dish. I’m not happy about losing the bass to those fat, foul, far too fertile seals which have moved into our waters. The seals are dirty and they are voracious. They poop a lot too. I’m rooting for a) the great white sharks to seriously up their feast and b) some sensible culling of the growing seal herd. Is there not room for the return of the stripers?
Ice cream and August were made for each other. If you’re in Orleans, Eastham, or Wellfleet on the Cape try the Nauset Ice Cream Shop. Maple walnut? Yes. Chocolate chip? Yes. Waffle sugar cone? Yes. If you’re in Boston, particularly Dorchester or Mattapan, try the Ice Creamsmith on Dorchester Avenue. Heaven in the city.................
The nasty greenhead flies are gone by early August, making each beach day a delight. Those greenheads can take a nasty bite, making mid-to-late July something less than perfect. One good thing about greenheads---they’re heavy, slow, and really stupid, giving you a good chance to wipe some of them off the face of the earth. Thirty or more dead flies is a good day’s work in July and the fish in the local pond love to snack on their lifeless bodies. That’s two good deeds with one well-timed slap.
Speaking of beaches, any day spent with children or grandchildren at the beach is a delight. They’re better swimmers now, given all the opportunities which June and July provide. Thus August becomes the “hey watch me” month when they try out new things---dives, cannonballs, handstands, body surfing, etc.
August brings pennant races into clearer view. That’s one of the great features of the oh-so-long baseball season. One hundred sixty two games, from April to October, is a daily grind. And although mathematics informs us that a win in April or May is the same as a win in September, real fans understand the pressure of the late-season stage. August sets that stage and we pay closer attention. Turn that radio on.
Finally, I’ve done some homework for romantic readers as well as for those who marvel at the wonders of our world. Mark August 18th as a special day and make a special effort to find some open space to watch the show. A clear view to the East and West will delight you. So pray for clear evening skies. You can catch the sunset in the West at 7:40 that evening, always, in its great variety, an awesome celestial show. And as sunset’s colors glow and slowly fade, turn and face the East for the rise of the full moon. It’s called the Sturgeon Moon and it will begin to emerge at 7:51 PM. It seems that God is speaking between 7:00 and 8:00 that evening. Talk about primetime family viewing.............
I try to never lose the capacity for awe and Nature usually finds a way to make you marvel at her wonders. We are blessed by her bounty. Enjoy August Prime.
