BENCH AT STOCKBRIDGE STATION

Stockbridge, MA - An empty bench at Stockbridge Train Station.

BE A LITTER LUGGER

Along the highway in Massachusetts - I guess you are either a litter bug or a litter lugger. That is some expensive trash!

BEACHCOMBING AT LOW TIDE

Stonington, CT - These are two photos that I took in Stonington during low tide. The sandy beach is on the other side of the road.


Beachcombers


Rocky place for a dock.

FARMINGTON RIVER MAPLES - MAPLE SYRUP

Otis, MA - I stopped by this maple sugar house along Rt.8 to get some photos of maple syrup making. Note the vent on the roof which is on all sugarhouses, this is to allow the steam to escape.


This is what it looks like when you have maple syrup fog on your lens. There is a lot of water that has to be evaporated to make a gallon of syrup, I believe 64 gallons of sap make one gallon of syrup.


A small breeze came in enough for me to get this photo, plus wiping off my camera lens. I'm sorry I didn't get his name, I had to get out before my camera was all gummed up. I did find out that he sells his syrup in a store in Great Barrington and you can stop by the sugarhouse to pick some up directly.

STOCKBRIDGE FEED AND GRAIN

Stockbridge, MA - From days gone by.

OTIS COUNTRY FARE BOOKSHOP

Otis, MA - I took a ride up old Rte.8 in Massachusetts looking for interesting things. I've passed this book store many times and this time I decided to stop in.


The inside of the store looks very futuristic with the foil vapor barrier on the ceiling, but very insulated. Here is a quote from his brochure, "We have a large selection of First Editions and out-of-print volumes on many subjects. We concentrate on gathering older books having, literary, historical and informational interest so that our stock represents a wide range of topics." If you are into books, this might be worth you time to stop by. As an added bonus, it is a very scenic ride along the Farmington River.
For more information: call 1-413-269-4047 or 1-800-752-7870


This is Jim MacArthur the proprietor of the Country Fare Bookstore. I spent quite a while talking with him about cameras and books. He informed me that he does a lot of photography work for politicians, so if you are a politician and need some photos, he is the man.

So if you are in the area, stop by and see what Jim has in stock.

NEW ENGLAND SPORTS FANS

Western Massachusetts - I was driving down the road an I saw "Go Red Sox" painted on the side of this garage.


Just down the road, his neighbor was also a sports fan.


His neighbor had the New England Patriots logo painted on his garage also. I must admit it looks a little frighting.

HEALTHY COOKIES AT BERKSHIRE MOUNTAIN BAKERY

Housatonic, MA - On my travels today I stopped in the Berkshire Mountain Bakery, I've posted about this bakery before. I bought a loaf of bread and one of these cookies.



I looked up some of the ingredients to see exactly what they were:

Spelt Grain - Is a subspecies of wheat, a staple from the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages. It is still grown today because it requires fewer fertilizer it is popular with the Organic Farming Movement.

Sucanat - It is a contraction of "Sugar Cane Natural"; Sucanat is basically dried cane juice. It contains the most nutrients of any cane derived sugar. It is not to be confused with Turbinado Sugar which only contains a trace amount of molasses and it is crystalline; Sucanat contains all the molasses and it is grainy instead of crystalline.

Palm Fruit Oil - Not to be confused with Palm Kernal Oil which is the unhealthy variety. It contains many valuable vitamins and is very high in caroteinoids. In fact it has 13 to 15 times more carotenes than carrots.

The cookie was very tasty, sweet and moist. The sunflower seeds and Pinenut seeds gave it a nice texture when you bit into it. Give one a try it is a 100% better than one of those dry gaggy granola bars.

Information from: Science in Africa
and Wikipedia

STONINGTON CEMETERY - STATUES

Stonington, CT - These are some of the statues in the cemetery.


This first one is atop a large gravestone.


This one is beside the one above.

STONINGTON CEMETERY - BILLINGS MAUSOLEUM

Stonington, CT - Stonington Cemetery was Incorporated in 1849. Local leaders got together and designed a, "significant horticultural and aesthetic landscape site responding to the "rural" or "garden" movement of the time". This movement transformed churchyards into cultural destinations.
The Stonington Cemetery erected a receiving tomb to be used for funeral ceremonies but is overshadowed by the large Gothic Billings Mausoleum designed by and showcasing the art glass of the J&R Lambs studios.
The windows appeared to be boarded up from the outside so I didn't see the glass.

Information from Stonington Cemetery pamphlet I picked up at the cemetery.

NEW APARTMENTS FROM OLD BUILDING

Stonington, CT - This building looked like it could have been a municipal building at one time. Now it is an apartment building or condos. Nice recycling job!

STONINGTON CT - OCEAN VIEW

Stonington, CT - This is the view of the ocean from Stonington, CT.

WATER STREET CAFE

Stonington, CT - This is the Water Street Cafe, I did not go inside but I did notice it was in many of the Stonington Guides.


What I really liked was the Mackerel sign out front. It was hard to get the right angle because of the lights, but you get a good idea what it looks like from this angle.

HOLY CRAP!

All I have to say is, WHY? Why is the price of diesel so high? I must preface with, I have a diesel car. When I bought the car diesel was the lowest prices fuel, now it is 65 cents higher than premium gas...why? The disparity is all year round not just a seasonal thing. Now remember, #2 fuel oil, which is the same as diesel fuel, is what most people in New England heat their houses with. I feel sorry for the people on a fixed income who can't afford to heat their houses at these prices. And by the way, the lion's share of trucks that haul everything you own and eat, are diesel so we all are paying for diesel fuel. So can anyone tell me why diesel fuel is so expensive, inquiring minds want to know.

HOLLAND MA - MAIN STREET

Holland, MA - This is another one of my Main Street photos. The town office building is to the left and the school to the right.

HAND FLOWERS

Holland, MA - This is some handwork of Holland Preschool, hand flowers, which are always in bloom. These flowers are in front of the library.

STONINGTON STREET

Stonington, CT - This is a typical street in downtown Stonington; lined with 18th and early 19th century homes.

CAPT. AMOS PALMER HOUSE

Stonington, CT - The Whistler family lived here at least for a while. Mr. Whistler was a great railroad builder. (I wrote about him when I posted about "Chester On Track"). And yes his wife was THE "Whistler's Mother".

I also notice on the Smithsonian website there was mention of this house having a fantastic garden which was not visible from my vantage point.

FAMILY TRAGEDY

Stonington, CT - I saw these grave stones which are all siblings from the same family. Notice the broken flower carved into the gravestones. All these children died before they were two, all but one before they were one. Illness inherited from the parents? Hard life in 1800's? Were there any children that lived?

I noticed today that the right two stones have a different mother, so the mother must have died also.

STONINGTON LOBSTER BOATS

Stonington, CT - Lobster boats are docked in Stonington.


Wire lobster pots(traps)are sitting next to the dock waiting to be set out.

HOUSE ON THE POINT

Stonington, CT - I saw this house out on the point and I could imagine a sea captain's wife looking out the window waiting for her husband to come back from sea. I wonder if she thinks, "I can't wait to see my true love" or "I wonder what he brought me, silver from Spain, pearls from the Orient; I hope not more spices."

WAITING FOR HIS MASTER

Stonington, CT - This dog is patiently waiting for his master to come out of the coffee shop.

My wife cannot resist a dog that needs petting.

TOM'S NEWS AND GENERAL STORE

Stonington, CT - I saw Tom's News and General Store and I just had to go in, it was a general store.



The inside was packed with all kinds of stuff, the papers were from Norwich, CT, Hartford, Providence, New York, and Washington DC. The woman behind the counter was not keen on getting her photo taken, it was not like I was going to post it on the Internet or something...oh, never mind.


The sign out front...cool squirrel

FOX TRACKS?

I was out walking the dogs and I noticed these tracks which had crossed the road. Judging from the size and they way they looped around, farther in the woods, I figured they were fox tracks. It looks like he was looking for mice in the snow.