While I usually discourse on Halloween, I have been noticing
the many amazing displays that celebrate the wearing of the green and bring
out the Celtic in all of us.
Maybe it is the cold snowy March driving people to visions
of rainbows or the stress of tax time that has people thinking green, but this
year has been a particularly active one for St. Patty’s Day decorators.
Here are some highlights:
We start our tour of St. Patrick’s Day décor with this
reveling mailbox holder. I can’t put a
finger on why this out-of-place-in-NJ sea cow holding a mailbox amuses me. However, when its stewards dress it for
holidays it is taken to the next level and I cannot help but smile. The only thing that could make this more
engaging is an accompanying flock of yard geese in complimentary attire.
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| photo by: R.D. Brookes |
Bear with me; I am sliding toward the sublime.
Cruising through the neighborhoods of Hunterdon County I
spotted a number of other honorable mentions.
These include the house for all holidays on Sandhill with green plywood cutouts
of Shamrocks and Leprechauns on the lawn (a future column in this blog will
feature this lawn’s Halloween extravaganza).
Another sight, and inspiration for this blog, was found in
Frenchtown where a cast iron kettle hanging from a tripod—the kind that will
soon have spring flowers growing in it-has been adorned to look like a pot of
gold.
However, the grand dame of St. Patrick’s Day displays is
found indoors and comes from a Grand Dame.
Mitchell’s Café in Lambertville is a distinguished place located at 11 ½ Church
Street. It has been a bar since the 1860’s
and came to be in the hands of the Bishop family about 100 years after its
opening. Mitchell’s is a timeless space that
could transport you to an Irish public house any night of the year, but March
is a special time when the Leprechauns are let out to play by the barkeep,
Carol Bishop.
The impressive display of eclectic decorations run the gamut
from Byers' Choice dolls to wreaths filled with Shamrocks. It is enough to make all eyes smile, Irish or
not. Here are some favorites.
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| Frosty bedecked with beads |
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| Byers' Choice Dolls |
What could improve such a scene? Just one thing a Guinness
Stout poured into the perfect glass by Carol Bishop.
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| One of a number of wreaths |
If Mitchell’s Café sounds enticing you can learn more about
it from, dear friend, Chris Poh at the Pub Talk blog: https://aphr.wordpress.com/2018/03/17/mind-your-manners-lads-theres-a-lady-in-the-house/
Mitchell’s is also home to one of the longest running Irish
Sessions in the U.S. check out the American Public House Review article here: http://americanpublichousereview.com/2007.10/mitchells_cafe_lambertville_nj/index.html
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| A moving tribute |
It is time to bid you adieu so that I might attend to the visions
of bunnies hopping in my head. Until next time, Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! Erin
go Bragh!
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| Wearing the green |
