Our friends at Brown & Hopkins Country Store

Guests at our private lakefront retreat often ask us, 'What's there to do in the area?' A destination we always recommend is Brown & Hopkins Country Store, which is located in the center of Chepachet Village. We were so honored recently when Liz mentioned us at Blueberry Pointe on the Lake in her daily blog.

http://webmail.aol.com/43524/aol/en-us/Suite.aspx

[How do you find the time, Liz, to blog daily? We give you so much credit!].

We love Brown & Hopkins. It has a wonderful array of primitive and colonial reproductions; Rhode Island souveniers; jams and relishes; candles and lighting fixtures; crafts and quilts; and, of course, the famous 'penny' candy counter. Moreover, the store is designed so artistically, carefully, and creatively. It is always a soothing sensory experience to walk through Brown & Hopkins and to savor the atmosphere.

But, if you don't want to take our word for it, why don't you read the article below? Published in the February 15, 2009 issue of the Boston Globe, the article by Paul Kandarian was titled, "R.I. Landmark Stocks Old Memories but also Rings in New Sales."

http://www.boston.com/travel/explorene/rhodeisland/articles/2009/02/15/ri_landmark_stocks_old_memories_but_also_rings_in_new_sales/

We're so lucky to have one of the oldest continually running general stores, Brown & Hopkins Country Store, in our town of Chepachet, RI. Congratulations on your 200th anniversary! And we look forward to many more years of your contributions to our community.

Carolyn and Steve

What are 'free-range eggs?'

Often, our guests are curious about the eggs we serve at Blueberry Pointe on the Lake, which we call 'free-range.' In a recent month's edition of Martha Stewart Living, the 'Ask Martha' column offered a section to help readers demystify the labels on egg cartons. I thought that language was helpful, and I'd like to share it with you.

"If an egg carton bears a U.S. Department of Agriculture (UDSA) shield, the producer is audited annually and the labels hold true. Claims on carton without a shield are not guaranteed to be accurate. 'Cage-free,' as defined by the USDA, means the hens are not confined in cages and have a constant supply of food and water, but they can't necessarily go outside. 'Free-rage' chickens live by the above standards and have access to the outdoors.'

We purchase our eggs from Stamp Egg Farms, 816 Greenville Avenue, Johnston, RI (map), (401) 949-3600, Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri: 9-5 pm (closed 12-1 for lunch)Sat: 9-3 pm,Wed, Sun, holidays: 9-noon. Edible Rhody published an article about Stamp Farms which you can read by clicking the url below.

http://http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.farmfresh.org/img/farms/94_2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.farmfresh.org/food/farm.php%3Ffarm%3D94&usg=__g8b21P8R_7VJ-b_HfP5sOKSMUPU=&h=182&w=250&sz=28&hl=en&start=3&tbnid=-KJQw3Z4P8rg0M:&tbnh=81&tbnw=111&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dri%2Bchickens%2Bstamp%2Bfarms%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

Welcome to the 'Blueberry Pointe on the Lake' Blog

Hello all,

Welcome to our new blog from Carolyn and Steve at Blueberry Pointe on the Lake. Because so many of our guests contact us periodically with questions about the season and recreational opportunities here on the lakefront island, we've decided to create a blog where we can post periodic items of interest.

You can access our website at http://www.blueberrypointe.com/

As some of you already know, we are situated on a peninsula of land that juts out into a freshwater lake. Our property looks across the lake to long tracts of Nature Conservancy land, and, so, we have our own movies out the windows of wildlife and waterfowl. For example, although today is March 1 and we are still entrenched in winter's clutches --- with snow flying around us as we write --- we've seen the first signs of spring. Yesterday, two Canada geese flew in and landed on the open water edges of the ice. Over the years, we've figured out that Canada geese send an advance team to locate open water, hence, lake bottom feeding opportunities. All through the late afternoon, we could hear their honks back and forth from the far shore and the three season spring that is fed by melting snows and rainfall. We're unsure if their fact-finding for good feeding was successful, as tomorrow's temperature forecast is for single digits.

Today, when Max and I were retrieving the suet cage from the lawn --- we have a never-ending battle with the yard squirrel, and it usually wins by unhitching the cage from its hanger --- we disturbed a flock of mergansers from the edge of our property by the dock. They shrieked all the way to the next cove in a real frenzy, with the winds and snow swirling as they took flight. By the time I returned inside and grabbed the binoculars, they were out of sight. They, however, were another small sign of the oncoming joy of longer days and increasing sunshine.

This weekend, in the juxtaposition of winter and spring, of frozen land and new lives entering our periphery, we took hope. Nature reminded us that the long New England winter will end and that our love of the warm outdoors and green nature will soon be rewarded.

We'll keep you posted on other signs of spring as they emerge. Please feel free to forward the link to this blog to others who might be interested in learning about the seasons and happenings at Blueberry Pointe on the Lake.