Sheep to Shawl

I can't take credit for the cute name of the little sheep festival that took place on Sheep Hill in Williamstown this past weekend. What a lovely spring day it was! It was a mini version of the last sheep festival I enjoyed in Waltham.

Mostly, it made me feel like we need to have a baby -- and not just because the little kids wouldn't give up the baby ducks for a minute so I could pet them. Really.



Hard workin' sheep dog:


Sheep-shearing the old way -- with hand-crank shears:


A shocked, sheared sheep:

Flourless Torte

There has been very little 'making' going on here lately. (My mom remains in the hospital, where she is getting a little stronger each day.) The combination of take-out sandwiches and pizza I've eaten for the past 3 weeks recently had me yearning for something of more substance, and I jetted over to the newly opened The Dancing Vegan in Pittsfield. I wanted to give it a plug, as I will be going back. It seemed particularly appropriate to explore this new take-out vegan restaurant, as one of its founders beat cancer — after being told she had three months to live — by following a macrobiotic diet (learned at the Kushi Institute in Becket). I will be looking into this very soon.

Completely unrelated and un-vegan... I confess that this favorite torte of mine should have been posted in December when it was baked, but I wanted to post something. The written recipe makes this look more complicated than it is -- trust me.



Ingredients
unsweetened cocoa
2 8-ounce packages semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup butter
5 large eggs, separated
1 TBS vanilla
confectioner's sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 250. Grease a 9" by 2 1/2" springform pan; dust with cocoa. Line pan bottom with parchment or waxed paper.

In 2-quart saucepan over low heat melt chocolate with butter.

In large bowl with wire whisk or fork beat egg yolks with vanilla. Slowly beat warm chocolate mixture into yolks until blended.

In small bowl with mixer at high speed, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in 1/4 cup confectioners until sugar dissolves and whites stand in stiff peaks. Fold beaten whites into chocolate one-third at a time.

Spoon batter into pan, spreading evenly. Bake 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Cool in pan.

When cool, remove the sides of the pan, then remove torte from pan bottom. Discard parchment.

Cut into 12 wedges. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar.

Eat!

Ice Storm

John and I left early Saturday morning for a weekend trip to Boston. As we packed our little suitcase, our conversation went something like this:

Him: I was thinking of taking the Pike to Boston and Route 2 home from Boston. [You see, we're very tired of the turnpike...to the point where it sucks the life out of us. Er, me.]

Me: Well, it's a beautiful driving day today, and we don't know what tomorrow is going to be like...[clearly]...so we should take Route 2 today. It'll be fun!

Him: OK.
___

So, yeah...we have a small pile of unopened newspapers from the latter part of last week, and once we saw that John had school on Friday, we thought that the storm forecasters had really gotten it wrong.

They didn't. The storm just happened to miss us, and for that we are very lucky and grateful. Below are some photos from the early part of our trip on Route 116 through Cheshire, Savoy, and Windsor, Massachusetts. Absolutely everything was encased in glass-like ice, weighing down trees, powerlines, signs, and even blades of grass.





(Even apart from the storm, this was the worst route yet that we have taken across the state!)

Natural Bridge State Park

On a beautiful mid-October day, my friend Laura and I set out to find the Natural Bridge State Park somewhere off Route 8 in North Adams. We had a hard time. Our GPS could find neither the street nor the park, so we just winged it and drove to where we thought the park might be. Luckily, there were signs, and we found it with little difficulty. Unfortunately, we arrived 15 minutes before the park closed, so we had only those 15 minutes to figure out where this "natural bridge" was.

I'm not sure we ever found out? At one point, we asked someone where it was, and she implied that we were standing on it, so...hmmm. I'm just going to say (until we make the trip again in the spring) that the park consists of big hunks of rock (very scientific) that continue to be carved by the flow of water. There are all sorts of deep valleys in the rock that you pass over on narrow fenced stairways, and you can see the water flowing below. I'm assuming that this water sculpted what is now the "bridge"?

Ugh, I'm sure Laura would agree that we would have learned more if we weren't so afraid of getting locked in the park overnight! Anyway, here are a few pictures of the park:

The path upon which we ran through the park:


The water carved a valley beneath us:


We think this white rock is the "bridge" — it extended around to the part upon which we were standing. Very bridge-like!


There were areas for picnicking and leaf-peeping, too:


This was pretty much the last perfectly autumnal Berkshire day of 2008:

Hairpin Turn

On a lovely fall day, we parked at the hairpin turn on Route 2 in North Adams. We had taken Route 2 from Boston when we moved to the Berkshires, and it wasn't until we drove through Florida (the town) that I remembered John would have to navigate this crazy-sharp turn in a giant U-Haul. He told me afterward that his hands got all sweaty. Yikes! It is easy to see why:


In our Corolla, however, it was a very pleasant trip:

BerkShares

I recently discovered that Berkshire County has its own currency — BerkShares. There was a BerkShare festival in August, but I was unable to go to learn more about this local cash.

BerkShares are largely a southern Berkshire County idea, designed to promote shopping in local stores. You can purchase the Berkshares with normal cash, at a 10% discount. So, you can buy 10 Berkshares for 9 dollars, and then you can spend your 10 BerkShares at a participating shop (again, most of which are in south county).

One of the best places I can think to utilize BerkShares is at Guido's Fresh Marketplace in Lenox and Great Barrington, one of a handful of specialty (pricey) food shops in the area. I will happily take 10% off my Guido's food bill!

In the meantime, I'm hoping the BerkShares idea catches on and spreads to my north county neighborhood.

Here are some images of the currency from the BerkShares website):

Ridin' the Rail Trail

We are so lucky to live right next to the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail. Old railroad tracks were removed to create an 11.2-mile paved trail that runs through three Berkshire towns, by lakes and rivers...and the Berkshire Mall.

We can access the trail easily by crossing Route 8, and it has felt great to finally get some use out of the bike I bought last summer (to replace the one that was stolen in Somerville). My parents once ran into a bear on the trail, but all I have seen are bunnies and turtles. I'm fine with that.

Blueberry Redemption

I really wanted to go blueberry picking after discovering that I bought berries from California and Canada to make a fruit salad. There are berry picking places throughout the Berkshires, and I truly felt guilty for not giving them my business. Unfortunately, I had just missed berry-picking season.

Foreign Berry Salad:


Other opportunities for picking my own local produce began to present themselves to me, however. My boss owns a farm share at Caretaker Farm in Williamstown. When he and his family went out of town for a weekend, they let us collect their share for the week. We filled their canvas bag with greens, a pumpkin, beets, onions, a cabbage, herbs...and then we picked our own edamame, kale and raspberries. It was awesome. (My camera was acting up that morning, so the image below is from the farm's website.)


We also recently went apple-picking at Lakeview Orchard in Lanesboro. We arrived early on a Saturday morning to beat the crowds. It was my first time ever picking apples, and I made sure to enjoy some mulled cider and a cider doughnut, too.




I am also proud to say that John and I just became members of the food co-op in Williamstown. I hope I've made up for my berry mishap!

Brown Eggs Are (Actually) Local Eggs (This Time)

We have been eating eggs much more regularly for a few months. We have "egg night" once a week, and we've been adding eggs to some salads, as well. I'm excited to have been stocking our fridge with eggs from local Williamstown chickens (through the Wild Oats Co-Op). They are wonderful.


According to Mr.Breakfast, there is no nutritional difference between brown and white eggs (making the claim in the jingle erroneous), but there is a difference between farm fresh eggs and those from the grocery store shelf that have been transported from who-knows-where (even if they're brown). Farm fresh eggs are tastier and fluffier, and sometimes more yellow. Mostly though, it just feels great to be supporting a local farmer.

Lunchtime Walk

Although my new workplace building appears to be somewhat isolated (apart from a nearby Dunkin Donuts), it turns out that the center of Williamstown is only a short walk away. I recently changed my work hours, making for a 1/2 hour lunch, but a few weeks ago I was having to kill an hour at lunchtime. The walks were great — but getting out early is much better! 

Here are some photos of "downtown" Williamstown, Williams College, and the Williams College Museum of Art:

Pie-Oh-My*

I was honored to have been invited to the home of my dear friends, Senta and Karen, last night to see folk-singer Taylor Pie perform live...in house concert!

I was only slightly familiar with her music, having previewed some tunes online last Christmas, for which I bought Senta one of Taylor Pie's CDs. Senta has long-remembered Taylor Pie, or "Pie," from the time she spent singing and songwriting in the Berkshires in the 80s. After last night, I am joining Senta and her family as fans of Pie, for sure. It was a cozy, beautiful evening.

Taylor Pie will be performing in (non-house) concert next Thursday, September 25th, at the American Legion in Pittsfield.



*Die-hard fans of The Sopranos might recall that Tony's horse was named Pie-Oh-My. John and I are in the middle of watching Season 4 right now...slightly obsessed!

Weekend Outing: Windsor Jambs

John and I have really been enjoying our proximity to places of outdoor adventure. We wanted to go for a bit of a drive for a day trip, and it seemed that all of the exciting places to visit were right around the corner!

With our handy Garmin, we arrived quickly at Windsor Jambs...kind of. I found all sorts of conflicting information as to which Berkshire town this forest resides. Finally, I plugged in a nearby address and we followed signs. Weird!

We arrived at the picnic area and walked around a bit, then decided to follow the hiking trail uphill to the jambs. I had been to the picnic area once before (when I was about 3 years old), but had never returned and had never seen the tumbling water of the jambs. I was on a mission...only we couldn't find the trail! So, we drove to the jambs and hiked around the trails there. Ah, well...


Windsor Dam (not to be confused with Windsor Jambs):

The Jambs:

I experienced a total flashback when we first arrived at the forest. I was standing by the edge of the pond and saw all of the tadpoles swimming in the sunny, warm part of the water. Suddenly, I remembered looking at the tadpoles 30 years ago in that very spot. (Actually, I had forgotten all about tadpoles!) I did some photo research when we got home, and here was the proof:


Um, you'll just have to trust me that this photo was taken at Windsor Jambs with the tadpoles. Anyway, click here for a few more photos from our adventure.

Little Fish in a Little Pond

Who knew that starting a new job in late summer meant that I would score a second company summer outing?! My first outing this year was to catch a Lowell Spinners Game (in Lowell, of course), and my second brought me to Laurel Lake in Lee for a bass fishing tournament, competing against six of my very new co-workers. (Sadly, my camera battery was dead when I arrived at the lake, so I've included a couple of cell phone pictures.)


I shared a boat with my remaining co-workers, and I quickly learned how to cast a line (and how to avoid getting snagged by someone else's cast line in tight quarters). I had gone fishing many times, many years ago with my dad, but we used a different technique. (I won't dispel that technique here, just in case it's his secret weapon — similar to the secret ingredient in his famous beef stew.) Proudly, and somewhat amazingly, I caught the first three tiny fish for our team.

It was a hot day, and apparently fish don't like the sun. Well, and we ran out of worms. My successful morning with the ol' hook and worm soon turned to hours of uneventful casting with some kind of fancy lure that made a rattle-y sound (do fish even have ears?). Early afternoon events included casting my line into a tree and getting a pretty bad sunburn on my chest.

Alas, here is the trophy our boat's team did not win. So close...if only one of my fish were a little bigger!


I got to keep my new rod and reel, and I now have a giant tackle box of goodies. I'd go out fishing again, but I need someone to help me put the worm on and take the fish off!

North Adams Farmers Market

It turns out that the closest local grocery store (which is very, very close) does not carry some fundamental items in their teensy produce aisle. I also just learned that it's the most expensive chain in the area.

So, I went on a grocery store adventure this morning to the next town over. As I was nearing the store, I caught sight of the farmers market — this was perfect, since most of my list involved produce! I have no idea what the cost of my produce would have been if I bought it at the grocery store, but it certainly would have been more than the $13 I spent for the following items: onions, potatoes, tomatoes, jalapenos, green peppers, leeks, zucchini, squash, and...these super cool burgundy beans!


The farmers market in my own town doesn't open until noon on Saturdays. Who wants to food shop in the middle of a Saturday? Aren't farmers early to rise?!

New Hometown

Well, our move went as smoothly as possible. We were blessed with two days of wonderful weather snuggled in between many days of thunderstorms, and pretty much everything arrived in one piece. The important thing, of course, is that we arrived in one piece to our new home in Adams. From the Town of Adams website, which is chock full of informative tidbits, here's an aerial shot of our new neighborhood:


I'll have my own photo adventure soon — maybe when the leaves change? That'll give me some time to settle in a bit more.

After unpacking and arranging things as best as possible (while we wait for our fabulous new couch to be delivered!), we've done a pretty good job of taking it easy. We caught a couple of matinees (free popcorn on Tuesdays!), walked around Cheshire Lake via the wonderful rail trail, enjoyed deep tissue massages at Cranwell in Lee, and got a personal tour of Kripalu in Lenox!


So, I am just about feeling ready to start my new job on Monday! It's hard to judge the new pace of our lives (ya know, since I've been on vacation...) but things definitely feel calmer. This is a very welcome feeling. Yesterday morning, I bent down to pick up the local newspaper and I found this little guy waiting for me:


He was fun to watch for a few minutes. I like it here.