Let’s Go: Mothers. Shad. Botany. Bulldogs.
“No matter how far we come, our parents are always in us.”
– Brad Meltzer
Time together is such a gift.
To understand your parents' love you must raise children yourself. – Chinese proverb
Connect your children to real life matters.
Mother's Day 2014 is Sunday, May 11.
Take your mother (if you are fortunate enough to have this opportunity) for a drive along the beautiful Connecticut River and look at the spring color. Shadbush (or shadblow) is a very pretty native shrub covered in blooms about the same time the fish swim up the river to spawn. 
The shad museum in Higganum is fascinating – this image is linked to a video about the history and heritage of this migrating fish and a unique boat to catch this seasonal (and bony) delicacy.
The Haddam Shad Museum is a gem of a place about local history and culture – and the only museum in the country “dedicated to the preservation of shad fishing history in the Connecticut River Valley” – usually (but call first) open Sundays, 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. through mid-June – or by appointment. Located at 212 Saybrook Rd., Higganum; (860) 267-0388.
Plants and shrubs, hanging baskets and more – proceeds support the Meigs Point Nature Center – and its expansion.
Or take a ride to the shoreline. Along the way, a great place to pick up a growing gift – and support a natural wonder – is at the Friends of Hammonasset 14th annual plant and shrub sale at Hammonasset Beach State Park, which is in progress and keeps going until all plants have sold – usually early June. Funds raised support Meigs Point Nature Center – and a newly-proposed center expansion. The sale is held near the entrance to the park and next to the Shoreline Greenway Trails new parking lot. The public can support the sale by bringing in potted perennials or shrubbery from their own gardens, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, 7 days a week. For information (or to volunteer), go to hammonasset.org or call (203) 245-9192. Wander the Boston Post Road to Bishop's Orchard & Farm Store in Guilford visit. Great selection of take-home gourmet to comfort foods, fruits, vegetables, cheeses – and fresh bakery goods made on the premises. Award-winning wines too. And you can feed the llamas, alpacas and goats and take in the views of the apple orchards from the parking area.
Family outing and fresh air meeting the goat at Bishop's in Guilford.
Coventry Regional Farmers’ Market is doing a pop up market Sunday, May 11 for Mother's Day at Topmost Herb Farm. Spring vegetables, garden seedlings, heirloom tomato plants, flowers, free massages for moms, mimosas, card making.
Editor's note: For something different, a story on bulldogs and tenacity – and why agriculture is life and an economic factor in your world.
Or take a quiet day together and plan for an alternate day (and a stop for a fresh donut with hot coffee) together.
Meet a Percheron draft horse foal born in March this year Mother's Day at Charmingfare Farm in New Hampshire on Saturday, May 10 and Sunday, May 11, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., 774 High St., Candia, NH. Moms get free admission if tickets are purchased in advance; $17. Call (603) 483-5623 for information.
Della's colt is bigger now. Image is linked about visiting the farm. Admission; special this weekend – get tickets in advance and mom gets in free.
Moms will like the more than 100 crafters, artisans, and artists are part of the family-oriented festival on Saturday, May 10, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Windsor at the town green. Sponsored by the Windsor Lions Club. The spring event also celebrates the return of the shad to the Connecticut and Farmington rivers. By the way, the American shad is Connecticut's official state fish and annually migrate up the river to freshwater spawning grounds.
For inspiration on botanical splendor, take the Connecticut College Arboretum tour of the campus landscape with trees and shrubs in bloom, Saturday, May 10, 10 a.m., Mohegan Avenue, New London. Including the campus, the arboretum is about 750 acres of preserved open space in southeastern Connecticut which was once a farm surrounded by woodlands. Free. More than 200 different species and varieties from all over the world; views of the Thames River and Long Island Sound. The 25-acre native plant collection is located on Williams Street and offers easy walking paths, 300-plus kinds of woody plants, and a pond. Daily, dawn to dusk. Free public tours on Sundays at 2 p.m.
Plants hold many useful secrets if humans know how to harness them and unlock the power contained within. For example, foxglove is a plant that not only has beautiful blooms, it also self-sows. The leaves contain digitalis, a potent heart medicine, and so is considered poisonous.