A Morning Tea at the Belmont Carriage House

The Howard County Conservancy held their annual Volunteer Tea yesterday at the Belmont Carriage House in Elkridge, MD.

I packed up two books to swap, some Zentangle tiles to give away as book marks, and Dark Chocolate Pudding (made with an avocado, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla) as a sweet indulgence among the scones and egg salad sandwiches. I have a picture of one table at the set up….and then about half way through. There was a lot of friendly conversation and enjoyment of food. I intended to come home with fewer books that I took…but there were so many books (many people brought more than 2!) that I came home with three…and have already read the one about Montezuma Castle (I got it because I enjoyed walking around the place during an Arizona visit – see the post here).

On the short walk back to my car, I took a picture of the barn built from stone found in the area; it could be used for a geology lecture!

I’d forgotten about the crocus bulbs that seem to have planted in the lawn around Belmont. They’ll done by the time the grounds need to be mowed.

The front of the Manor House still seems too open without the large English Elm that had to be removed because of Dutch Elm disease.

I’m still savoring the look of my new car (the red Prius Prime!).