Your wedding flowers could be in your backyard
Many couples are opting for flowers from local farms
By A manda Mc C racken New York Times
When Erin Tobiasz, a children’s librarian in Pittsburgh, was planning her September 2022 wedding with Matt Oas, a lawyer, she thought about the goldenrod growing in the fields outside the library where she led story time in the fall.
“It just looks like Pennsylvania,” said Tobiasz, 37, a youth services manager at C.C. Mellor Memorial Library. She decided to include the yellow flowering plant in her bridal bouquet, along with Jewels of Opar, foraged rose hips, zinnias and Chabaud La France carnations. All were sourced from local flower farmers.
“I had roots in Pennsylvania, but my family did not, so it was a neat way to introduce my family to the area that I’ve been living,” said Tobiasz, who has lived in Pennsylvania for 13 years. Every September when she sees goldenrod, she said, she is reminded of her wedding.
Tobiasz and Oas, 38, are among many couples using locally grown flowers for their weddings. Local growers offer brides and grooms a more sustainable option over imported flowers, often without the use of preservatives or harmful pesticides, while also allowing them to personalize their nuptials by marking a season and a location.
“The level of customization that can happen with local flowers is completely different than ordering from, like, Amazon, these big national and international wholesalers,” said Jessica Stewart, a florist and owner of Bramble & Blossom in Pittsburgh, who worked with Tobiasz and Oas.
Most florists requesting, say, peonies from wholesalers will often have to order the same shade and size in bulk. Buying from several small, local farmers offers florists a variety of sizes and
shades, creating a more dynamic color palette. “Pinterest culture tells couples that luxury comes from replicating a design from someone else’s wedding, but I think the opposite is true,” Stewart said. “Finding a peculiar flower, what others might call a mutant, enriches the design.”
Stewart sources heirloom irises from Sol Patch Garden, in nearby Braddock, Pennsylvania, planted by the owner’s grandfather.
“I’ll buy them all the week that they pop,” she said.
“The specificity of that is like farm-to-table — it’s so unique, and it could literally only be for your wedding.”
Jennie Love, owner of Love ‘n Fresh Flowers, an urban flower farm in Philadelphia, offers a variety of plants and flowers including dappled willow, wild columbine and etched salmon peonies. She likens the use of local blooms to “high fashion.”
“The only way you can have that level of customization and tailored elegance is by using the really good stuff,” she said. “And that comes from the local farms.”
Not only do local growers provide access to more distinctive blooms but the flowers are also likely to be more fragrant.
Helen Skiba, who grows more than 80 varieties of flowers at Artemis Flower Farm in Boulder, Colorado, said that with many imported roses, “a lot of those scent genes have been bred out of them, so you lose this whole sensory dimension of an experience.”
Imports still make up
about 80% of flower sales in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but the domestic flower market has been growing. The most recent USDA floriculture survey reported 10,216 producers in 2023, compared with 8,949 in 2022.
And membership in the Slow Flowers network, which represents local flower farmers and others in the industry, has tripled, to 750 from 250, since the group started in 2014, said Debra Prinzing, the network’s founder and author of “The 50-Mile Bouquet: Seasonal, Local and Sustainable Flowers.”
Fifteen years ago, Prinzing observed the slow food movement in the culinary world, which focuses on sourcing sustainably grown local ingredients, and wondered: Why couldn’t there be a slow flower movement?
“If you really want to live with the seasons, and people are doing it in their diets, why aren’t we doing it in our flowers?” Prinzing said. Prinzing attributes the rising interest in local flora partly to social media, where couples and florists have shared photos of romantic bouquets featuring nonconventional flowers. Among them is Lennie Larkin, owner of B-Side Farm in Portland, Oregon. Her Instagram feed features fields of coral charm peonies and bunches of golden celebration roses. Larkin describes her work with couples as an educational sensory-based process. “We’re encouraging them to think back
about what flowers might be nostalgic for them,” she said. Annaliese Danckers, a 29-year-old Montessori teacher in Longmont, Colorado, reached out to Skiba to source and design the florals for her September 2023 wedding.
“Going with a local farmer was a no-brainer for us,” said Danckers, whose bouquet included sunflow-
ers, dahlias and amaranth. “Being able to work one on one, knowing the care that went into growing and arranging every bouquet, and using our purchasing power to make a little difference in how the wedding industry makes money were all part of our choice.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Helen Skiba, who runs Artemis Flower Farm in Boulder, Colo., places a flower crown on Annaliese Danckers before her wedding last year. Many couples are opting for flowers from local farms as a more sustainable way to customize the look of their weddings. (SHAREE DAVENPORT / NEW YORK TIMES)
One bed, two blankets: putting sleep method to the test
By M ari- Jane Williams
The Washington Post
THERE ARE PLENTY
of Scandinavian exports worth embracing, including saunas, Lego, Dansk tableware, the Billy bookcase, Kransekake, Marimekko. So, when the Scandinavian sleep method started popping up everywhere on social media, I took note.
The idea: Two people share a bed but use separate covers. The promise: a better night’s sleep. The bedding arrangement is popular in other European countwries as well; on a trip to Paris a couple of years ago, our hotel room bed was outfitted with two sets of blankets and top sheets. But does the method work? And how do you make a bed with two blankets? We put it to the test. We gave five couples two twin-size down alternative comforters each and asked them to try the method for a week. Here’s what they had to say.
Tester 1 — Typical sleeping arrangement: Queen-size bed with a flat sheet, blanket and comforter.
Pain points: Tester 1’s husband accuses her of being a chronic sheet stealer, but
she thinks the main issue is that they operate at different temperatures: “I am a nuclear furnace when I sleep, while my husband is a block of ice,” she says. Regardless, it seems like someone is always getting shortchanged on covers, or someone is tossing and turning.
How they carried out the test: They used the separate comforters, no flat sheet or blankets.
The experience: She likes to throw her foot or leg out from under the covers when she gets too hot, and the separate covers allowed her to do this on both sides, instead of just one. Another bonus: Lounging in bed on weekends was better with the extra covers. “It was absolutely luxuriant to take over the whole bed and both comforters and do the crossword puzzle,” she says. Her husband liked that he could roll over and move around in bed without affecting his wife.
The bed-making problem: They don’t typically make their bed, so this wasn’t an issue. “No shade on anyone who is put together enough in the morning to arrange their bedding, but we usually leave it in a chaotic state, and tend to
reassemble the tangle of sheets into something more coherent as we’re going to bed, not when we wake up,” she says.
The verdict: The arrangement worked well for them, and they may implement it in the future. “The only hesitation is that we have so much bedding, buying more almost becomes a storage problem at this point,” she says. “But I
think we slept better and more comfortably, so if I see twin comforters on sale anytime soon, there’s a good chance we will make the switch.”
Tester 2 Typical sleeping arrangement: Queen-size bed with a top sheet and a duvet.
Pain points: Tester 2 and her husband often go to bed
at different times, and many nights one of them has to get up to tend to their toddler, which can be disruptive. There are also issues with sharing covers, she says: “One of us (a.k.a. me) is allegedly a cover hog, which means the other of us sleeps in a defensive crouch with respect to the shared covers as a way to maintain some blanket.”
A very berry time of year
How
to prepare your plants for next
year’s crop
THIS TIME OF YEAR, berries make it harder to get things done around here. Not because they are so much trouble to grow, but because I’ve planted them here, there, and everywhere. Wherever I walk I seem to come upon a berry bush. Who can resist stopping to graze?
I can’t even walk to my mailbox without being confronted. First, there are lowbush blueberries hanging ripe for the picking over the stone wall bordering the path from the front door. The wall supports the bed of them planted along with lingonberries, mountain laurels, and rhododendrons.
These plants are grouped together because they are in the Heath Family, Ericaceae, all of which demand similar and rather unique soil conditions. That is, high acidity (pH 4 to 5.5), consistent moisture, good aeration, low fertility, and an abundance of soil organic matter. The small blueberries send me back to many summers ago in Maine when a very young me hiked in the White Mountains and picked these berries from plants growing amongst sundrenched boulders.
Care needed: mulching in
autumn and cutting a portion of the planting to the ground with a hedge trimmer every second or third winter.
A few feet further the path ends, and I come to the driveway, and here’s a 50-foot-long hedge of Nanking cherries (berry size, but a drupe fruit, not a berry), whose season is almost over. For weeks the stems are so solidly clothed in cherries that you can hardly see the branches. The cherries have a very refreshing flavor on the spectrum between that of sweet and tart cherries.
Care needed: winter pruning — very non-exacting — only to keep the bushes from growing too large.
Perhaps later, once back in the house, I’ve got to walk out the back door to the compost pile. Hmmm. Gooseberry plants then entice me with their stems that are arching to the ground under their weight of berries. Can’t pick a little from just one plant. I’ve
got to eat a few of each of the over dozen varieties. My favorites? Hinnonmaki Yellow, Poorman, Black Satin, Red Jacket, and Captivator. It’s a funny thing about gooseberries. If I pick a bowl of the berries and then bring them indoors to eat, they don’t taste as good as the one’s eaten bush side. It’s not just me; Edward Bunyard, in his 1929 book “The Anatomy of Dessert,” wrote that the “Gooseberry is of course the fruit par excellence for ambulant consumption.”
Care needed: winter pruning to get rid of the very oldest stems and make way for younger ones; reduce the number of newest stems if they are overly abundant. Okay, I finally make it to the compost pile. Time to check what’s going on in the greenhouse. Uh oh, I have to walk past black currants, one of my favorite fruits and at their peak flavor. Their flavor is
GARDEN NOTES
STOCKBRIDGE
Upcoming programs at Berkshire Botanical Garden
Berkshire Botanical Garden presents the following upcoming programs. Music Mondays continue on July 8 with Wanda Houston and her blend of 1940s through 1960s R&B and jazz. Performances run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Food trucks will be available at selected performances. Cost is $15 members, $20 nonmembers; Thursday, July 11, and Friday, July 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., “Botanical Oil Painting.” Join Casey Krawczyk for a summer class and delve into selected botanicals with a comprehensive study of their intricate color, form and shape while creating a unique and beautiful oil painting. Cost $235 members, $255 nonmembers; Thursday, July 11, “Sunset Yoga in the Garden.” This drop-in, outdoor program, held on the Great Lawn, is appropriate for all skill levels. Classes are held Thursdays from July 11 to September 12, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., and are led by Kathi Cafiero, a Kripalu-certified yoga instructor who has been teaching the physical and mental benefits of yoga for over 25 years.
Please bring a yoga mat and any props you may need. No bathroom facilities are
available. Free to all members and non-members, and no registration is required. Drop-ins welcome; Saturday, July 13, “Wild Edibles,” 1 to 3:30 p.m. Join Russ Cohen at River Walk, a project of Great Barrington Land Conservancy for a walk focusing on edible native plant species, including species that you might like to plant in your yard. Cohen will share some samples of foraged treats, made from wild edible plants, to taste at the beginning or end of the walk. No transportation will be provided for this class. Please meet at River Walk, 7 Cottage Street, Great Barrington. Cost is $40 members, $65 nonmembers. To register or for more information, visit www. berkshirebotanical.org. Berkshire Botanical Garden is located at 5 West Stockbridge Road.
HAMPDEN
Annual pond tour
The Pioneer Valley Water Garden and Koi Club presents their 29th annual Pond Tour on Saturday, July 13, and Sunday, July 14, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., rain or shine. Visit beautiful ponds and gardens in Hampshire and Hampden Counties in Mass. All tickets must be purchased online. Go to pioneervalleykoipond. club or call 413-594-9318 for more information. Tickets are $20 per family or carload.
Send items for Garden Notes to pmastriano@repub.com two weeks prior to publication.
Lee reich | In the Garden
Just a few of the many varieties of gooseberry — varying in color, size, and flavor, from sweet to tart — are displayed on this bench. (LEE REICH PHOTO)
terry and kim kovel | Antiques & Collecting
Lightship basket or friendship basket?
Baskets
originally crafted by crews on
floating lighthouses near Nantucket
WHAT’S THE DIFference between a lightship basket and a friendship basket? You may have seen both terms applied to the famous wood and rattan woven baskets made in Nantucket.
Lightship baskets, the original name given to this distinctive style, were originally made by the crews of lightships, which were essentially floating lighthouses, in the late 1800s. The work left the crew with long stretches of time with little to do, so they turned their attention to making baskets in the time-honored tradition of sailors making crafts to pass the time at sea.
“Friendship basket” is a 20th-century term, first used to describe the lidded baskets that artist Jose Formoso Reyes started making in the 1940s to sell as purses. They quickly proved to be extremely popular with the people of Nantucket and tourists. According to the Nantucket Historical Association, the name may have come from the friendships that developed between people around the world recognizing each other’s Nantucket baskets.
This heart-shaped basket purse with a woven leather strap sold at Eldred’s auction house, itself a well-known Massachusetts institution, for $640. The artist has not been identified. Baskets made by Reyes can sell for thousands of dollars. Lightship baskets from the 19th century with known makers are worth even more.
Q. Can you help me identify vintage cordial glasses? They don’t have the name of the manufacturer on them.
From lightship to friendship, Nantucket baskets have come a long way. Their sturdy construction and skilled craftsmanship can be seen even in a decorative shape like this one.
(ELDRED’S PHOTO)
A.Identifying vintage glass without a maker’s name can be tricky. Cordial glasses were in use by the 18th century. They were extremely popular in the 19th century, which was also the age of art glass in many colors and decorative styles. If your glasses have a raised design or pattern, this will provide a lot of information. Is it cut glass (sparkling, sharp edges), etched (very thin outlines) or a pressed pattern?
Some patterns can be matched to certain companies but remember that some were made by multiple companies and some old patterns have been copied more recently. Check your library for publications. The books “Pressed Glass in America: Encyclopedia of the First Hundred Years, 18251925” by John Welker and Elizabeth Welker and the “Encyclopedia of American Cut & Engraved Glass” by Albert Christian Revi are excellent resources. Glass collectors’ clubs often have resources to help identify glassware. The National American Glass Club (glassclub.org) is a good starting point.
Q. I have a collection of Wee Forest Folk, without boxes, that I need to sell. Is there any interest out there for these little mice figurines?
A. Wee Forest Folk is a small business run by the Petersen family in Carlisle, Massachusetts. They sell handmade ceramic figurines, mostly of mice and other forest animals. Because they are handmade, they are expensive to buy new. There is a collectors’ club (weeforestfolkclub.org) that has resources for valuing and selling. If you use social media, check sites like Facebook or Craigslist for collectors’ or buy/sell groups. Used Wee Forest Folk figurines without boxes have recently sold on eBay for prices ranging from $20 to $300, depending on age, condition and rarity. Most appear to sell for under $100.
Q. Does Kovel’s have an appraisal service? What are the fees?
A. We do not have an
appraisal service. If you need a formal appraisal for insurance or tax purposes, selling a collection, or if you have something especially valuable, look for an accredited appraiser. The American Society of Appraisers ( appraisers.org ), International Society of Appraisers ( isa-appraisers.org ) or Appraisers Association of America ( appraisersassociation.org ) are good places to start. You can also find appraisers listed in the Kovels Business Directory. Appraisals can be expensive, so be sure to check the reviews of an appraiser before you use their services.
Be cautious of antique dealers offering free appraisals; they are often trying to buy items at the lowest price possible. In-person appraisals are always more accurate than remote.
If you do not need a formal appraisal and are simply looking for more information about an antique out of curiosity, we can provide information and approximate values for the type of antique at no cost. Write to Kovels, The Republican, King Features Syndicate, 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803 or email us at kovels@aimmedia.com. Please include photos and as much information about your item as possible.
TIP: Splint baskets should have an occasional light shower. Shake off the excess water. Dry the basket in a shady spot.
Terry Kovel and Kim Kovel answer readers’ questions sent to the column. Send a letter with one question describing the size, material (glass, pottery) and what you know about the item. Include only two pictures, the object and a closeup of any marks or damage. Be sure your name and return address are included. By sending a question, you give full permission for use in any Kovel product. Names, addresses or email addresses will not be published. We do
CURRENT PRICES
Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.
Fishing, minnow bucket, Min-OLife, green, yellow shield graphic, Kansas City, Mo., 9 inches, $70.
World’s Fair, textile, U.S. Centennial, Fairmount Park Exhibition, Philadelphia, exhibition buildings, eagle and shield crest, red border, linen, 1876, 24 1/2 x 25 1/2 inches, $120.
Delft, plate, blue and white, scenic, boat on water, bridge, trees, houses, figures, stylized flowers and leaves around rim, marked, Joost Thooft & Labouchere, 15 inches, $155.
Toy, playset, Apollo Lunar Station, two spring-loaded launching pads, rockets, figures, vehicles, missiles, box, Multiple Toymakers, 1967, $215.
Waterford, lamp, hurricane, Pompeii, glass shade, flared, brass base, black marble plinth, square stepped foot, electric, 17 inches, pair, $305.
Furniture, chair, hardwood, carved, pierced back, scenic cartouche, dragon’s head arms, stretcher base, three-lobe paw feet, Chinese, 19th century, 43 inches, pair, $345.
Chalkware, flag holder, figural, Uncle Sam, hat in hand, round base, painted, 29 inches, $440. Carousel, horse, jumper, painted, black, red saddle, gilt trim, carved mane, outside row, braces on front feet, 38 x 52 inches, $535.
Textile, wall hanging, embroidery, Murre on Tundra, black and white bird, standing, multicolor background, Ruth Qaulluaryuk, Canada, 40 x 28 inches, $1,875.
Silver-Persian, tray, multicolor enamel, turquoise field, flowers, gilt trim, hallmarked, 10 x 14 inches, $2,810.
not guarantee the return of photographs, but if a stamped envelope is included, we will try. Questions that are answered will appear in Kovels Publications. Write to Kovels, The Republican, King Features Syndicate, 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803 or email us at collectorsgallery@kovels.com.
Average rate on a 30-year mortgage climbs to just under 7%
Rate rises for first time since May
By A lex Veiga Associated Press
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage rose last week, pushing up borrowing costs on a home loan for the first time since late May.
The rate rose to 6.95% from 6.86% the previous week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Wednesday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.81%.
The uptick follows a four-week pullback in the average rate, which has
Deeds
AGAWAM
Hillside Development Corp., to Mark C. Watson, trustee, Marsha H. Watson, trustee, and Mark C. Watson Living Trust, trustee of, 122 Nicole Terrace, $671,000.
Kimberly Jeanne Hayes to Samantha L. Morin and Frank J. Wynglarz, 260 Elm St., $260,000.
Sheena M. McConal to Jiali Huang, 3 Castle Hills Road, Unit G, $305,000.
SM Real Estate Investments LLC, to Mohammad Imran Asif and Nida Zaheer, 2D Sabrina Way, Unit 2D, $430,000.
Thomas D. Sharpe and Rosemarie Sharpe to James Ottino and Christine Ottino, 69 Parkedge Drive, $470,000.
AMHERST
Carlos Santiago and Mary Santiago to Celia Fei Huang and Xiaowei Chen, 14 Nutting Ave., $740,000.
Wayne A. Johnson, Wayne A. Johnson, personal representative, David Edwin LaSalle, estate, and David LaSalle, estate, to Jennifer J. Meyer and Paul G. Meyer, 117 Chestnut St., $475,000.
Sabine H. Cray, trustee, and Revocable Indenture of Trust of Sabine H. Cray to Danielle Amanda Bochneak and Zachary Andrew Zenk, 41 Shays St., $850,000.
Christopher L. Price and Sarah E. Price to Michael Lee, Yong Suk Lee and Jai Young Lee, 319 West St., $415,000.
Mary O. Longsworth and Charles R. Longsworth to Ping Huang and Yinfeng Wang, 3 Russett Lane, $348,000.
Karen Li Ching and Jackie Ching to
mostly hovered around 7% this year.
When rates rise they can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers. The elevated mortgage rates have been a major drag on home sales, which remain in a slump dating back to 2022.
Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also rose this week, pushing the average rate to 6.25% from 6.16% last week. A year ago, it averaged 6.24%, Freddie Mac said.
Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, including how the bond
Charles Dana and Ruoqi Zhong, 10 Hitching Post Road, $535,000.
Wendy Stayman to YG Jeffery Lane LLC, 15 Jeffrey Lane, $435,000.
ASHFIELD
Burning Sensation LLC, to Loch Laurel LLC, 143A, 143B & 143C Buckland Road, $395,000.
Lakeside Park LLC, to Loch Laurel LLC, 141 Buckland Road, $625,000.
Irene Gionti Branson and J. Edward Branson to Johanna Gluck and Michael J. Schunke, 634 Bellus Road, $335,000.
Marilyn Ouimet and Stephen Ouimet to Christopher Bousquet, Frederick Gutierrez and Gloria Pacosa, 86 South St., $650,000.
Lynne A. Fifield to Jennifer Nascimento, 544 Spruce Corner Road, $410,000.
Alana Daviann Traub to Arnold W. Hunnewell Jr., trustee of the Spruce Corner Preserve Realty Trust, Spruce Corner Road, $70,000.
BELCHERTOWN
Patrick S. Fitzgerald and Amy V. Fitzgerald to Yandle Kuo and Xuecheng Zhang, 70 Aldrich St., $438,000.
William J. Sordillo and Jacquelin R. Sordillo to Kam Chow Lau and Nan Lau, 163 Ware Road, $650,000.
Robert J. Carroll and Carol Ann Carroll to Yunjung Seo and Jungfil Seo, 19 Old Amherst Road, $390,000.
Melissa A. Madden to Timothy Drost and Anna Drost, 41 Oasis Drive, $662,500.
Jackson Brothers Property Management LLC, to Mark Jackson and Brenda Jackson, 61 Federal St., $100,000.
market reacts to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy and the moves in the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.
The yield, which topped 4.7% in late April, has been generally declining since then on hopes that inflation is slowing enough to get the Fed to lower its main interest rate from the highest level in more than two decades.
Fed officials have said that inflation has moved closer to the Fed’s target level of 2% in recent months and signaled that they expect to cut the central bank’s benchmark rate once this year.
Yuk Sing Chan and Li Ai Wu to George William Braid and Diane Braid, 24 West St., $480,000.
BRIMFIELD
Elizabeth Ann Hinckley to Michael J. Placella III, and Laurie Placella, 44 Third St., $791,400.
SRV Properties LLC, to Joseph B. Finnegan and Molly Finnegan, 119 Sturbridge Road, $369,900.
Steven Hin and Ji Y Su to Gabriell Michael Marquez and Carly Marie Marquez, 102 Wales Road, $350,000.
CHESTER
Heidi J. Kellogg, representative, Siegfried Hoppe, estate, and Siegfired Hoppe, estate, to Jane J. White, 400 US Route 20, $300,000.
Thibaud Etienne D. Oultremont and Elizabeth A. Augustin to Tai Schutz, 0 Goss Hill Road, $84,000.
CHICOPEE
Adrienne Nietupski and Michelle Winofker to Keys Upgrade LLC, 139 Beauregard Terrace, $228,000.
Brett M. Salamon to Michael Rohrbacher and Suzanne Rohrbacher, 48 Clairmont Ave., $312,500.
Cassidy Carpenter to Stephanie R. Pacinella, 130 Delaney Ave., $340,000.
Debra B. P. Haapanen to Debra B. P. Haapanen and Brian J. Haapanen, 5 Parkwood Drive, $100.
Erin L. Barrett to Alfredo Lopez and Rubidia Orozco Lopez, 189-191 Montgomery St., $230,000.
Frederick Joseph Gagnon Jr., and Tempyl R. Gagnon to Benjamin O. Cowden, 281 Langevin St., $280,000.
Kyle Robert and Tracy Robert to
But until the Fed begins lowering its short-term rate, long-term mortgage rates are unlikely to budge from where they are now.
Most economists think the Fed’s first rate cut will occur in September, with potentially another cut by year’s end. But mortgage rates could begin easing in coming weeks, if bond yields move lower in anticipation of a Fed rate cut, said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS.
“While today’s report is not what homebuyers were hoping for, we may actually start to see rates fall sooner than expected,” she said.
Jennifer A. Krok, 47 Davenport St., $294,175.
Lindsey M. Kubacki and Lindsey M. Aickelin to Ellen F. Breau, 2220 Pendleton Ave., Unit 6227-B, $205,000.
Lydia M. Drouillard to Jose Padilla, 65 Mathieu Drive, $370,000.
Monique D. Gregory to David R. Neveu, 115 South St., Unit 16, $121,500.
Nancy Usher, representative, and Ann Marie Hilton, estate, to Analeh Kisol and Rakim Sani, 32 Carter Drive, $355,000.
Paul A. Teta and Diane L. Teta to Epoch Ambulance LLC, 640 Springfield St., $610,000.
Roger Strange, Elaine Keane, Thomas Strange, Ann Wheelock and Ann Strange to Elizabeth F. Ortiz, 78 Narragansett Boulevard, $271,000.
Roger W. Raymond and Suzanne R. Raymond to Abdullah Karam, 626 East Main St., $330,000.
Stephanie S. Crews to Long Huynh and Elsangelee Irizarry, 1697 Memorial Drive, $250,000.
CONWAY
Deborah Wilkes, trustee of the Deborah Wilkes Investment Trust, and Deborah Wilkes, trustee of the Peter S. Buck Investment Trust, to Laurie Farkas and Sandor Farkas, 576 Shelburne Falls Road, $675,000.
Marcia P. Lewis, personal representative of the Estate of Thomas H. Lewis, and as trustee of the Thomas H. Lewis Testamentary Trust, Brian H. Lewis, “aka” Brian Lewis, Connor D. Lewis, “aka” Connor Lewis, and Ellie P. Lewis, “aka” Ellie Lewis, to Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Cricket Hill Road, $170,000.
DEERFIELD
Suzanne Nowak to Daniel F. Graves and Thomas A. Graves, 337 Greenfield Road, $240,000.
ARPC LLC, to Bement School Inc., 594 Greenfield Road, $305,000.
Gina L. O’Brien and Liam O’Brien to Christine Grimaldi and Alison Wilson-Pierce, 57 Sugarloaf St., $525,000.
EAST LONGMEADOW
D. R. Chestnut LLC, to David S. Drobner and Judith B. Drobner, 21 Clover Lane, $722,950.
James T. White and Kathleen B. White to Derek A. Johnson and Mary A. Chamberlain, 44 East Village Road, $450,000.
Thomas G. Bedard and Laurie A. Bedard to Lauren McDonough, Andrew F. McQuade and Andrew R. McQuade, 115 Franconia Circle, $375,000.
Timothy Giguere and Elizabeth Giguere to Katherine Burke and Geoffrey Mulock, 41 Rural Lane, $550,000.
Vamshi Thandra and Alexa L. Foley to Sonia Riyaz, 7 Fairway Lane, $730,000.
EASTHAMPTON
Lisa A. Darragh to Matthew S. Gardner, 4 East Greene St., $400,000.
Wendy Kirby to Melaine Conklin, 265 Loudville Road, $375,400.
Marci Katz and Shannon Doyle to Elizabeth Dietrick and Jesse Dietrick, 131 Strong St., $411,000.
GRANBY
Leo E. Fugler Jr., to Scott Matthew Dufour and Lisa Kristine Butler, 39 North St., $497,000.
Deeds
GREENFIELD
Jeffrey P. Klein to Michael Audet, 58 Cleveland St., $235,000.
EDS Enterprises LLC, to Daniel Bear Davis and Alexis Angeline Zaccarello-Grimes, 46-48 Church St., $540,000.
Andrew B. Conant, Donna M. Conant, Melanie J. Conant and Tara Spencer, “ f/k/a” Tara Conant Keane, to Julia Della Croce, 24 Myers Farm Lane, Unit 24 Myers Farm Condominium, $320,000.
Robert A. Depalma to LCS Realty LLC, 41-43 Woodleigh Ave., $430,000.
Carol Wheeler Conrad, Kevin Conrad, Howard Gregory and Kathleen Lenore Gregory to Jennifer Diane Ladner, 175 Cleveland St., $198,000.
Parody Builders & Sons LLC, to Sarah Madison and Mark Phillips, 24 Davenport Way, $85,000.
270 Main Greenfield LLC, to Jaduke Real Estate Holdings LLC, 270 Main St., $655,000.
Jessica Bryant to Elena Penfield and Mitchell Penfield, 3 Village Green, $350,000.
Kevin M. Sweeney and Margaret M. Sweeney to Pamela Glass and Patrick Glass, 9 Orchard St., $495,500.
HATFIELD
Cascade Funding Mortgage Trust, PHH Mortgage Corp., attorney-in-fact, and PHH Mortgage Services, attorney-in-fact, to Chenevert Properties LLC, 8 Molloy Ave., $237,500.
HEATH
Colleen C. Johnson and Donald W. Johnson to Delores Ann Schnarr and Frederick Allen Schnarr, 116 Number Nine Road, $360,000.
HOLLAND
Brian Scully and Ellen Scully to Aimee R. Kelly and Thomas E. Kelly, 33 Lee Ave., $810,000.
Caitlin Marquis and Sean Calhoun to Jessica Johnson, 12 Pinehurst Road, $347,000.
Charles R. Hausmann and Lisa Nugent to Laura Mary Ferriter, 35 Downing Ave., $250,000.
Corey Ross Nimmer and Lilly Rae Nimmer to Benjamin Young and Rachel Quimby, 146 Allyn St., $366,500.
James Kuzeja, Thomas M. Kuzeja, William J. Kuzeja, Helen Kuzeja and
James E. Kuzeja to Emmett Higley and Sarah G. Lamotte, 79 Mountain Road, $393,000.
John A. Herbert, trustee, Mary K. Herbert, trustee, and Herbert Family Trust, trustee of, to Austin Choquette and Austin James Choquette, 35-41 James St., $450,000.
Robert W. Simpson to Matthew A. Still and Meghan R. Still, 191 Southampton Road, $150,000.
Schmidt Family Real Estate LLC, to Jonathan D. Schuetze, 8 Arbor Way, Unit 8D, $163,000.
William J. O’Brien, Mary O’Brien, Daniel P. O’Brien, Therese F. O’Brien-Bailly and Joan O’Brien Smith to Marianne Grace Oleary, 193 Bemis Road, $375,000.
HUNTINGTON
David P. Baillargeon, Lori Baillargeon, Kurt Burkhart and Ronald Burkhart to David P. Baillargeon and Lori Baillargeon, Thomas Road Off, $150,000.
David P. Baillargeon and Lori Baillargeon to Dwayne Amstutz, trustee, and Thomas Road Land Trust, Thomas Road, $150,000.
Gordon M. Richardson, trustee, and Richardson Nominee Trust to Gordon M. Richardson, Kayla Bresnahan, Bentley Bresnahan and Life Estate, 121 County Road, $150,000.
LONGMEADOW
Bradley S. Gaynor, trustee, Kim R. Malkin, trustee, Susan E. Gaynor Irrevocable Trust, trustee of, and Bradley S. Ganor, trustee, to Samer Moustafa Tahoun, trustee, Ehdaa Ali Tahoun, trustee, and Al-Tahoun Trust, trustee of, 196 Coventry Lane, $475,000.
CKJ Realty LLC, to Kurtis Robert Brown and Danielle Vallortigara, 41 Longmeadow St., $600,000.
Jennifer M. Mathews to Anthony Vitiello and Ciara Vitiello, 203 Ellington Road, $1,002,500.
Lisa M. Ross to Douglas C. Ratner and Samantha L. Ratner, 154 Deep Woods Drive, $497,500.
Quercus Properties LLC, to Nicholas Huanca and Julie Huanca, 12 White Oak Drive, $589,900.
Sarah M. Maniaci to Vijayakumar Paramasivam and Vidya Bharathi Ramasamy, 70 Williamsburg Drive, $782,500.
Victor I. Shinsky and Yevgeniya Shinsky to Moochul Shin and Haemin Lee, 319 Merriweather Drive, $570,000.
LUDLOW
Debora Primo Barreto and Debora B. Carreira to Manuel A. Carreira, 572 Lyon St., $195,000.
Kevin Dowling and Libby Dowling to Olivia Martins, 195 Woodland Circle,
$431,000.
Scott Falconer to Jia Zheng, 405 Fuller St., $370,000.
Stephen W. Ricardi and Maura J. Ricardi to Stephanie Taylor and Charles Evan Kelliher, 721 Moore St., $440,000.
Susan A. Theriault and Patricia A. O’Leary to Emily Stulgis and Brett Salamon, 8 Daisy Lane, $535,000.
Zachary P. Button and Hui Hao to David J. Del Tatto, 217 Cady St., $252,000.
MONSON
Hannah R. Guertin, representative, Hannah G. Guertin, representative, and Richard Ernest Guertin, estate, to Christopher Bruce and Kesley Bruce, 20 Upper Hampden Road, $475,000.
Lachlan Higgins to Jason Leaming and Kadence Verge, Town Farm Road, Lot 10, $45,000.
MONTAGUE
Marsha Potyrala and Nancy A. L. Stafford to Carolyn Murray, 23 Old Sunderland Road, $179,000.
NORTHAMPTON
Thomas Sadoski to Leah Varsano and Jason Schwartz, 119 Bridge Road, $594,475.
Chester C. Golec and Donna W. Golec to Donna W. Golec, 402 Spring St., $100.
Rachel Gugler and Ingrid Rachel Gugler to Kellie Lamoreau Rodriguez and Patricia Marcela Rodriguez, 90 Pomeroy Terrace, $358,000.
Equity Trust Co., custodian, and Armando Roman to Ingrid Rachel Gugler, 11 Valley St., $640,000.
Patricia H. Schumann and Thomas K. Schumann to Patricia H. Schumann, trustee, Thomas K. Schumann, trustee, Patricia H. Schumann Living Trust and Thomas K. Schumann Living Trust, 57 Hinckley St., $100.
Laura Wright, personal representative, Brian William Smith, estate, and Brian Smith, estate, to Dominique Thiebaut, 89A Bridge St., $817,500.
Deevia C. Patel to Georgia N. Crump and Robert J. Ratcliffe, 111 Prospect St., $1,075,000.
Elliot M. Fratkin, trustee, and Elliot Fratkin Revocable Trust to Pamela Rosen and Andrew Kloosterman, 24 Massasoit St., $915,000.
Veronica J. Dragon to Pioneer Development LLC, 230-234 North St., $1,000,000.
Christopher A. Grobe and Michaela F. Bronstein to Lisa Darragh, 64B Hawley St., $420,000.
Janet A. Gralinski to Janet A. Gralinski, trustee, and Janet A. Gralinski
Living Trust, 80 Damon Road, $100.
Richard Wagner and Ruth Folchman to William Fogel and Rebecca E. Gallagher, 48 Lyman Road, $1,200,000.
Reliance Holdings Corp., to River Valley Rest Home LLC, 159 Pine St., $1,300,000.
NORTHFIELD
Allison Ramuno to Miguel Periche Escalona and Euphema Molina Periche, 140 Coller Cemetery Road, $98,000.
Kathryn M. Hartshorne and Jonathan Sliva to Cynthia Jane Graves, 33 Main St., $570,000.
Tracey J. Kuklewicz and Gary M. Weber to Hailee Belden and Matthew T. Belden, 15 South Mountain Road, $345,100.
ORANGE
Orange Technology Center Inc, “f/k/a” The Pump Shop Inc., to Triangle Works LLC, 48 East River St., $500,000.
John A. Gostan and Lucymay Gostan to Trevor Standring and Ashley Thiboutot, 42 Butterworth Road, $280,000.
Amy Greene to Christopher James Malm, 19 Howe St., $246,030.
PALMER
Deborah J. Galinski and Dorothy J. Sikorski to George Hirtle and Chantal Hirtle, 14 Sasur St., $390,000.
John L. Sasur Jr., and Heather G. Sasur to Palmer Town, Off Barker Street, $96,000.
Sergio Dacruz to Chloe Laduke, 4209-4215 High St., $440,000.
RUSSELL
Francis J. Zak Jr., and Sheri Johnson to Francis J. Zak Jr., Route 23, $110,000.
SHUTESBURY
Catherine Moss and Robert Moss to Claire Dutton and Nicholas Tower Hargreaves-Heald, 64 Pratt Corner Road, $505,000.
SOUTH HADLEY
Sarah G. Ritchie to Quentin Samuel Amrani and Nicole Amrani, 21 Yale St., $291,000.
Jane Golob, personal representative, Michael J. Dubuc and Michael James Dubuc to Edwin Quiles and Luisa Quiles, 11 Wildwood Lane, $470,000.
Ronald E. Zissell and Lois P. Zissell to Jason P. Donovan, 161 North Main St., $345,000.
Heidi J. Milbier to Heidi J. Milbier and Wayne A. Petri, 37 West Summit
St., $100.
SOUTHAMPTON
Mark E. Challet Sr., and Sarah A. Challet to Gary L. Parks and Teresa J. Parks, 6 Laurie Drive, $585,000. Truehart Inc., to Yellowbrick Property LLC, and Gillikin LLC, 23 College Highway, $975,000.
Scott Cebula and Lori Cebula to Holyoke Water Works, Fomer Road, $160,000.
SOUTHWICK
John Drude and Taylor Drude to Robert Solitario, 17 Fernwood Road, $280,000.
Kathleen R. Dziura and Bruce Dziura to Darryl M. Grafton, trustee, Debra L. Grafton, trustee, and Grafton Living Trust, trustee of, 0 Lakeview Street, $750,000.
SPRINGFIELD
69-71 Ardmore Street LLC, to Aguasvivas Realty LLC, 69-71 Ardmore St., $325,000.
Carrie Cabey to Michael Cabey, 49 Edendale St., $100.
Dorothy M. Besaw-Woodall and Dorothy M. Besaw to Jaida Gresham, 21 Amherst St., $190,000.
Edwin O. Quiles, Luisa N. Camacho and Luisa N. Quiles to Navjot Singh, 111 Lakevilla Ave., $290,000.
First Landing Investments Llc to Pah Properties Llc, 110 Kensington Ave, $147,775.
Alternative Holdings LLC, Olit 2024HB1 to Janusz Lecko, 19 Quincy St., $60,000.
Jairo M. Rodriguez and Perla Gonzalez to Kimberly Camilo-Santos, 65 Wellington St., $290,000.
Jason W. Brierley to Skyspec LLC, 69 Brandon Ave., $177,500.
Jennifer M. Ribeiro and Jennifer M. Dougherty to Northeast Capital LLC, 80-82 Corona St., $275,000.
JJJ17 LLC, to Kadisha Velasquez, 23 Brooks St., $440,000.
Joel Wall and Charmaine L. Wall to Dalia M. Wurszt and Christopher E. Wurszt, 186-188 Goodwin St., $240,000.
John Ashmore to Steven Aguasvivas, 84-86 Rittenhouse Terrace, $363,000.
Jose Orlando Reyes-santiago and Jose Orlando Reyes Santiago to Jake M Ollmann, 336 Eastern Ave, $290,000.
Judith P. James and Judith Patrice Londyn Anderson-James to Fabert Joseph and Ascay Dardompre, 71 Mountainview St., $335,000.
Karen Edwards to Victoria Guzman, 2171 Page Boulevard, $249,000.
HOLYOKE
Keep your tea kettle whistling all year round
Here are tips for growing your own tea plants
By Jessica Damiano Associated Press
THE TYPICAL BACKYARD
food grower is familiar with planting greens, tomatoes, peppers, squash, herbs, berries and other staples, plus perhaps a few exotic crops that are difficult to find at the grocery store. Beverages, however, aren’t usually at the top of their lists.
I’ve written about growing coffee indoors, but that’s more for sport than supply, as an average houseplant can be expected to produce only enough beans for a single cup. Growing tea plants in the garden, however, can provide enough leaves to keep your kettle whistling year-round.
Camellia sinensis var. sinensis, a cold-hardy variety native to China, is a multi-branched shrub best for grow-
Deeds
Kmak LLC, and Ryan Randall LLC to Wilkins J. Franco Zorrilla, 290 Quincy St., $200,000.
La Rhetta Bradley, representative, Arnold Christopher Hall, estate, Arnold C. Hall, estate, Lois Maxine Hall and Lois M. Hall to NRES LLC, 42 Fenwick St., $150,000.
Laura-Jo Goguen, representative, Jill W. Doe, estate, and Jill M. Doe, estate, to Meka Projects LLC, 18 Bamforth St., $175,000.
Leon Lamont Woods and Leon L. Woods to Lotcus LLC, 63-65 Wilmont St., $100.
Leon Woods to Victoria B. Chance and Ashlyn Patridge, 70 Buckingham St., $293,500.
LMO Realty LLC, to First Landing Investments LLC, 110 Kensington Ave., $120,000.
Nathaly Pujols to Maher H. Abbood, 28-30 Glenham St., $410,000.
New Man Ventures LLC, and New Man Ventures to Matthew Rasetta, W S School St., $2,070,000.
No Limit Assets LLC, to Cliff A. Paredes and Susana Gonzalez, 111 Magnolia Terrace, $400,000.
Noel Yavier Soto and Adela M. Soto to Pedro Rosado and Annette Rosado Borrero, 137 Feltham Road, $285,000.
ing in U.S. hardiness zones 7 and 8, although it may survive winters in zone 6b with protection. Camelia sinensis var. assamica, which leans more tree than shrub, is native to India and only recommended for zones 8 and up. Some other cultivars may push those boundaries.
These evergreen plants are easy to grow in deep shade to full sun (although part sun or light shade are ideal), requiring only well-draining soil with a slightly acidic pH.
Young plants will take roughly two years to produce enough leaves for a sufficient harvest. In five years, a single plant should provide enough to supply a moderate tea drinker. Need more? Plant more.
White, green, black and oolong teas all come from the same plant, but their differences are due to harvesting practices and post-harvest leaf-oxidation treatments.
For white tea, pluck the buds from
NRES LLC, to Mercedes Dunkelly-Taylor, 29 Brickett St., $285,000.
Pennymac Loan Services LLC, and Robert S. Decoteau to RM Blerman LLC, 393 Newbury St., $144,000.
Phantom Holdings LLC, to Jennifer Hernandez, 20 Goldenrod St., $278,000.
RMO PRA Inc., to Jaime Welch, 41 Tyler St., $186,000.
Roberto Flores and Ana Flores to Chianta Mack, 170 Eddy St., $280,000.
Santiago Ramos Oliva to Marie Hans-Love Danestan, 824 Sumner Ave., $375,000.
SH Properties LLC, to Savanna Charow, 1208 Berkshire Ave., $260,000.
Stephanie L. Taylor to Gretchen R. Drane, 106 Weymouth St., $270,000.
Tascon Homes LLC, to Aldo Properties LLC, 184 Gardens Drive, $167,000.
Tm Properties Inc., receiver, Richard Hill, Camilla Holmes, Michael Begley, U S A Housing & Urban Development, Nationstar Mortgage LLC, and Springfield City to Nationstar Mortgage LLC, 92 Cornell St., $204,000.
Troy Norrington to Isaiah Polk and Jacon Fellion, 76 Westford Ave., $140,000.
Zachary A. Van Dyk to Kayla Decaro and Nickoulas J. Almodovar, 338
each stem tip before they fully open. Heat in a pan over low heat, stirring constantly for about 10 minutes, then cool and store in an airtight container. For green, black and oolong tea, pluck two or three of the youngest leaves from each stem, along with the leaf bud from each stem tip, every 10-12 days as new shoots develop. Then proceed as follows for the type of tea desired.
Green tea
Briefly steam leaves over boiling water, then spread on a dish towel and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Roll the leaves up in the towel and squeeze very gently to absorb excess moisture. Remove from the towel, separate leaves and place on a cookie sheet.
Parkerview St., $300,000.
SUNDERLAND
Neal N. Slocombe to Stephanie N. Marcotte and Taylor B. Marcotte, 19 Ledgewood Drive, $410,000.
TOLLAND
Linda Cardaropoli, representative, Jeriann Bachta, representative, and Bruce F. Bachta, estate, to Melissa K. Long and Michelle I. Gawlik, 7 Stones Throw Road, $159,900.
Peter Scrivener and Bonnie Scrivener to Brian Zakrzwski and Jenny Zakrzwski, 231 Thicket Road, $412,000.
WARE
Scott Michael Fortin and Jennifer Fortin to Crystal Brown, 72 West St., $270,000.
Depina & Saintil Investment LLC, to ADCC100 LLC, 32-34 South St., $300,000.
Cun Shun Chen and Michelle Chan to Yaojun Liu, 123 Bacon St., $265,000.
Pauline M. Lemon to PLH Vineyard Sky LLC, Monson Turnpike Road, $15,000.
WENDELL
Mary Jo Connelly and Jeffrey L. Texeira to Kelsey Perrett, Locke Hill
Road, $69,000.
WEST SPRINGFIELD
Amjad Real Estate LLC, to Arshad Mehmood and Amna Bibi, 54-56 Elm Circle, $379,000.
Joseph E. Brown Jr., and Sabrina N. Morales to Noel Vazquez Martinez and Rose Roman Ortiz, 89 Silver St., $310,000.
Joseph Switzler and Joshua Gadbois to Mark E. Gehring and Diana M. Borys, 10 Elizabeth St., $309,000.
Mahendra Bhattarai and Saraswati Bhattarai to Krishna Kharel and Madbu Kharel, 108-110 New Bridge St., $285,000.
Reinaldo Rivera and Maria Rivera to Emil Lachinov, 35-37 East School St., $292,000.
WESTFIELD
Alec F. Leavitt to Marilyn Morales, 1 Park St., $256,000.
Flipping Best LLC, to Katherine Montovani, 16 Malone Ave., $355,000.
Joseph J. Garlo to Brandon David Fraichard, 289 City View Boulevard, $491,000.
Louis J. Siano to Evghenii Covileac and Alexander Maerko, 27 East Bartlett St., $325,000.
Scot W. Brzoska to Kevin Cloonan and Alyssa Cloonan, 295 Valley
View Drive, $340,000.
William F. Reed, trustee, and William F. Reed Family Nominee Trust, trustee of, to Cindy Sklarski, 0 Montgomery Road, $5,000.
WHATELY
Ellen Brown, “f/k/a” Ellen J. Stewart, and Darcy J. Tozier to Ellen Brown, Darcy J. Tozier, Elizabeth Tozier and Harlan Tozier, 265 River Road, $220,000.
Barbara K. Pomeroy to Jason Judge, Mountain Road, $600,000.
WILBRAHAM
Anne G. Jacque and Anne Jacque to Ethan J. Eady, 424 Soule Road, $205,000.
Burt H. Fahy and Safha Fahy to Haroon Balwa and Parwana Balwa, 26 Carla Lane, $730,000.
Daniel E. Shea and Janet L. Shea to Xiongyun Zhou and Xiufeng Lin, 27 West Colonial Road, $605,000.
Santosh Puri and Purushotam L. Puri to David M. Blumenstiel and Molly B. Blumenstiel, 21 Bittersweet Lane, $690,000.
WORTHINGTON
Leslie Figiela, trustee, Jeffrey W. Fisk, trustee, and Fisk Family Realty Trust to Sarah A. Challet and Mark E. Challet Sr., 153 Kinne Brook Road, $729,000.
This image provided by the Missouri Botanical Garden shows a Camellia sinensis flower blooming on a plant. The plant’s leaves are used to make white, green, black and oolong teas. (MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN VIA AP)
Heat in an oven or toaster oven set to 300 degrees for 1015 minutes or until dehydrated. Brew immediately or cool and store in an airtight container for future use.
Oolong tea
Spread leaves in a single layer on a cookie sheet or tray and allow to wilt in a sunny outdoor spot. After 30-60 minutes, move the tray into the shade and toss the leaves every hour for 8-10 hours. Next, place in a wide pan and cook over low heat for 15 minutes, tossing gently as needed to prevent scorching. Cool, then roll each leaf individually to preserve its oils and flavors. Allow to dry completely before storing in an airtight container.
Black tea
Place leaves on a baking sheet set in the sun for 10-12 hours to remove only 50% to
Garden
CONTINUES FROM PAGE F4
intense, intensely delicious to me. I grow mostly the variety Belaruskaja, which has just the right amount of sweetness to balance its almost resin-y flavor.
Care needed: annual winter lopping to the ground of all two-year-old and some one-year-old stems.
Right next to the black currants are black raspberries, also at their peak flavor. The heavy crop of berries is arching some of the longest stems within reach of our ducks.
I can share a few berries with them. Black raspberries grow wild all over the place in much of this part of the country.
Wild ones are good. I prefer the named variety, Niwot, because it is one of two varieties that can bear two crops each season. For fruit size, flavor, and abundance, it’s worth growing even for just its summer crop.
Care needed: summer pinching of tips of new stems
A small Camellia sinensis plant’s leaves are used to make white, green, black and oolong teas. (MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN VIA AP)
75% of their moisture, then cut into strips and roll into small balls.
Ferment by placing the balls in a humid, 78- to 80-degree room until they turn coppery-black, then dry in an oven set at 200°F for 5 minutes.
Lower heat to 140°F and continue drying for an additional hour. Cool and store in an airtight container.
to induce branching; winter pruning to cut away all twoyear-old stems and thin out one-year-old stems, and to shorten branches to 18 inches; and tying stems to posts to hold them up.
Finally, I make it to the greenhouse. Leaving it, I’m confronted with two mulberry trees, the variety Illinois Everbearing and the variety Oscar (what a funny name for a fruit tree).
One more enticement, one of the best, before going back indoors — Fallgold raspberry. This variety, carrying genes of some species of Asian raspberry, has a sweet, delicate flavor unlike any other variety. Physically, the berries are similarly sweet and delicate, a pale, pinkish yellow. Their fragility makes them a poor commercial fruit, so you won’t see them for sale. Grow them.
Any gardening questions? Email them to me at garden@ leereich.com and I’ll try answering them directly or in this column. Come visit my garden at www.leereich.com/blog.
Sleep
How they carried out the test: They started with the two twin-size down alternative duvets provided, but her husband didn’t like the texture, so he swapped his out for a twin-size quilt they had. And she realized she preferred a bigger blanket, so she swapped in a queen-size quilt. They kept their queen-size flat sheet.
The experience: The test went well for this couple. Even the difference of opinions on the blankets ended up working in their favor. “The idea that we could each seek out a blanket with our preferred texture and warmth level was an improvement on sharing one quilt,” she says. “It was great to each have our own quilt and made for more restful sleeping.”
The bed-making problem: They don’t make the bed daily but like to do it when time allows. Settling on one twin quilt for him and a queen-size quilt for her helped here. During the day, they made the bed with the queen-size cover and folded the twin cover across the bottom of the bed.
The verdict: They said the arrangement was a big improvement on their previous blanket-sharing situation and plan to continue to use it.
Tester 3 — Typical sleeping arrangement: Queensize bed with a top sheet and comforter.
Pain points: Tester 3 says her husband is an occasional cover-stealer, and she’s a light sleeper who wakes easily if he is tossing and turning.
How they carried out the test: They used the twin comforters and skipped the flat sheet.
The experience: Her husband tossed and turned a good bit one night and got up to use the bathroom several times on another night, but it didn’t disturb her. She says, though, that she’s so used to his restlessness that she might not have been disturbed even while sharing covers. She liked being able to
stick her leg out from under the covers on either side. But there were also drawbacks, including getting overheated.
“I think during the night, the excess parts of our blankets would overlap on one person or the other,” she says.
The bed-making problem: They folded the twin comforters lengthwise and placed them side by side to give the bed a neat appearance.
The verdict: They plan to keep their original bedding configuration. “I don’t think we saw enough of a positive impact to switch to two blankets,” she says. She also likes having a neatly made bed, which was another strike against the Scandinavian method.
Tester 4 — Typical sleeping arrangement: King-size bed with a flat sheet, blanket and duvet.
Pain points: Tester 4 likes to have covers tucked snugly around her, while her husband struggles to keep his side tucked. Sometimes that leads to uneven distribution of blankets. She maintains that because his covers are untucked, they bunch up at the bottom, creating the impression that she’s stolen them when, in fact, she has not. He admits this possibility: “I think I kick covers off and then overcompensate when trying to recover (ha),” he says. “Then the groggy tug-of-war begins.”
How they carried out the test: They used the two twin duvets provided and dragged out old twin-size top sheets from when their kids were little, giving them completely separate covers.
The experience: The test took cover-stealing out of the equation, and she reports that she was less aware of when her husband got in and out of bed (he goes to bed later and gets up earlier than she does). “Something has to go pretty wrong for you to end up with the other person’s covers,” her husband says. “I don’t really see a downside to it. It’s the happy medium between the freedom of separate beds and the traditional way that just doesn’t work for many people.” It didn’t solve his issues with keeping his
covers in order; sometimes he woke up with just the duvet and couldn’t find the top sheet. She liked the fact that he couldn’t blame her for this problem anymore. Overall, it improved their quality of sleep.
The bed-making problem: They typically don’t make their bed, so this wasn’t an issue.
The verdict: They have returned to their usual sleeping arrangements for now but may switch at some point in the future if they find bedding they like.
Tester 5 — Typical sleeping arrangement: A queen bed with a flat sheet, blanket and comforter.
Pain points: Tester 5 says she and her partner’s covers come untucked at times, but overall, they don’t have issues with sharing. She sleeps “warm,” so prefers a cool room with a fan pointing at her, and often wakes up under just the sheet.
How they carried out the test: They started with just the separate comforters but missed having a top sheet, so after a week, they brought back a shared queen-size sheet.
The experience: While they slept well during the test, they didn’t notice much of a difference between sharing a comforter or having separate ones. “We already have a comforter we like enough, and both of us prefer to have a flat sheet between the comforter and ourselves,” she says. After a few nights, they added a sheet and blanket for her partner, who sleeps cooler. And after a week, they brought back the queen-size top sheet. Overall, they didn’t notice much of a difference sleeping with two duvets, possibly because they don’t struggle with sharing covers.
The bed-making problem: It’s easier to make the bed with fewer covers, she says, but it definitely looked less tidy. When her parents came to visit, they tossed their regular comforter over the bed for a neater appearance.
The verdict: They felt pretty neutral about the test and have gone back to their regular sleeping arrangement.
PUBLIC AUCTION
PUBLIC AUCTION
MORTGAGEE’S SALE OF REAL ESTATE AT PUBLIC AUCTION
Thursday, July 11, 2024
11:00 AM - HOLYOKE
76 Nonotuck Street
sgl fam, 2,613 sf liv area, 0.19 ac lot, 12 rm, 6 bdrm, 2 bth, Hampden: Bk 7925, Pg 33 12:00 PM - HOLYOKE
44 Washington Avenue
sgl fam, 1,550 sf liv area, 0.09 ac lot, 6 rm, 2 bdrm, 1.5 bth, Hampden: Bk 15268, Pg 502 1:00 PM - SPRINGFIELD 23 Eldert Street
sgl fam, 1,217 sf liv area, 0.11 ac lot, 6 rm, 3 bdrm, 1 bth, Hampden: Bk 25031, Pg 531
NORTH CHELMSFORD (978) 251-1150 www.baystateauction.com
MAAU#: 1029, 2624, 3039, 116, 2484, 2919, 3092, 3107, 0100030, 3099
Bengal Kittens for sale, 1m&f,10weeksold,1st shots&dewormed,$800 each,Call802-323-2538 for details
MaineCoonmixkittens, 1m&1f,1readynow,otheratendofJuly.$50/ kitten, call 413-575-1389
SweetOrangeLonghair Kitten,$200,Call413-2447901
2Chihuahuatinypuppies, 1Mtricolor&1Fwhite, $500,readytogonow, call 413-426-0636 or 413-786-0957
EnglishSpringerSpaniels, AKCregisteredpuppies, b&w,1stshot,vetchecked,8wksold, $1200-1500 413-596-8190
Husky Puppies, 10 weeks old, black/gray & white, 2 females, 1 male, $450/ each. Please call or text 413-658-5862
(BREAKINGOUTINACOLDSWEAT)
OtherHeartAttackSymptomstoWatchOutFor: Chestpain,discomfort,pressureorsqueezing,likethere’satonofweighton you•Shortnessofbreath•Nausea•Light-headednessorsuddendizziness •Unusualupperbodypain,ordiscomfortinoneorbotharms,back,shoulder, neck,jaworupperpartofthestomach•Unusualfatigue
Ifyouexperienceanyoneofthesesymptoms,don’tmake excusesforthem.MaketheCall.Don’tMissaBeat.
Tolearnmore,visitWomensHealth.gov/HeartAttack