Getting Away From It All?

     I have been sort of on vacation this past week.  I didn’t go on a big trip, I just took a little time off from work to get some projects done at home.  I did find some time to have fun though, as I visited a few local spots.  Too many times the local attractions get put on the list to visit later, and then “later” never happens!  So, one afternoon we took the short drive over to Jefferson, Maryland to tour the Distillery Lane Ciderworks.  I wasn’t expecting to be reminded of work there, but I was definitely surprised at the connections I found.

I should have known better.  Apples and cider were definitely around during the Civil War, so that was the first connection.

     The Distillery Lane Ciderworks has a self-guided tour through the orchard and farm.  It was a beautiful day to walk and take in the scenery.  Afterwards you can taste some of their ciders, but let’s take a look at our walk through the orchard first.

The farmhouse has a Civil War connection as well!  It was used at the Quartermaster's house and held weapons for the Union troops which camped at a nearby creek.  This property was chosen because it was just out of range of the Confederate cannons in the mountains at Crampton's Gap. 

And you know if the house was used in the Civil War, the barn was used as well!  This foundation is all that remains of the farm's bank barn.  It is believed to have been used as a field hospital.  Hmm, it’s starting to sound a lot like the Pry house and barn!

     Partway through the orchard, I read a sign with a familiar term - Integrated Pest Management.  It’s a concept used at most museums to prevent infestations of pests which can damage the artifacts.  You can see a previous post I wrote about dealing with insects in the museum here.  It turns out that many of the methods used at the orchard are very similar to what I use at the museum. 

This “sticky apple” traps insects, and is used to monitor for the types of pests found in the orchard.  I have similar sticky traps throughout the museum, though they don't look like apples!

  

This is a pheromone trap, which lures a specific type of insect to it.  This one wasn’t marked for which type of insect it lures, but at the museum traps similar to this one are typically used for moths.

 

     They utilized a couple of different methods too.

We don’t have much need for scarecrows at the main museum, though I suppose we could put one in the garden out at the Pry House.

The bat house on this silo counts as pest control too, since bats eat insects.  I don’t think this is something I should try at the museum though!

     My family and I enjoyed our tour of the orchard, as well as the chance to sample the ciders made there.  I’m glad we didn’t keep this trip on our “later” list!