The Lynyrd Skynyrd Experience

Continuing the story from the previous post, we headed back to the party adjacent to Galbraith Field where the Kiwanis Club of Easthampton Annual Fireworks Festival was in full swing. This time there were a few more people at the party but it really felt more like a family BBQ than a fun filled fireworks party.

Penrapture, Dave and I decided to go check out the festivities across the street. We followed our ears to find a country rock band, Cottonwood. They were pretty good, assuming you like country music. I do but my fellow party-goers were not as enthused. As it turned out this was a good thing.

Dave took off to go back to the BBQ while Penrapture and I walked around. We crossed paths with this police officer from Easthampton. I’m not sure what he was doing but the little kid seemed to be interested.

It had been threatening thunderstorms all afternoon which makes for interesting cloud pictures.

We saw a stone building in the distance and decided to go check it out. Maybe there was something interesting to take a picture of there. We get near the building, which turned out to be the restrooms, and heard a Lynyrd Skynyrd song. Sweet. It thought maybe someone was blaring music from their house or car but as we rounded the corner I quickly realized we were listening to live music.

According to the banner we were watching the Lynyrd Skynyrd Experience. Finally the day was looking up. While I was caught up in the music and taking pictures of the band, Penrapture was enjoying the music and checking out the possibilities. Most of the possibilities were drunk. You can read about her adventure here.

Unfortunately we missed most of their set but fortunately the best was yet to come. They started playing their last song, Freebird, when the fireworks started. They stopped for a few seconds but started up again, perhaps because of the prompting of the crowd. They played Freebird throughout the entire fireworks show, ending when the finale ended. It was an experience I will not forget.

It was hard to get good pictures as dancing and taking pictures don’t go hand in hand. I did manage to get a few decent ones and here there are.

Oxbow Pond

I have not done any serious kayaking since moving to the Pioneer Valley two years ago. Time is fleeting. We decided to take a small trip to the Oxbow Pond on Rt 5. It was already early afternoon and we had a fireworks party to go to in the evening but I sucked it up and soldiered on.

First we had to drag the kayaks out of the basement and load them on the truck. Why do I have such big, heavy kayaks? Then I had to find all the gear and load that in the truck. Somewhere along the line I discovered that one of our sweet little kitties decided to use one of kayaks for their personal needs. Thankfully they are washable. I got the hose out and did my best to wash the kayak out while it was strapped to the Tulles on top of the truck. Thank you Ray, for your help.

We finally headed to the Oxbow. The place was packed but there were two parking spots for cartop boats and both were empty. Lucky us! We got the kayaks unloaded, got all the gear together and launched. We paddled around for maybe a half hour before calling it quits. Then we loaded them up again and headed for the party. Am I having fun yet?

We were the first ones there so we hung around chatting while the food was being prepared. Well, Dave was chatting, I was hanging around. We had some chicken tacos, which were good, and then left for home, promising to come back later.

As I live in Holyoke I had to unload the kayaks and drag them back down to the basement, where they will probably stay for awhile. The gear is still in the truck and will probably stay there for awhile too! It sure seemed like a lot of work for 30 minutes of paddling.

I did a get one picture, although not a great one, but you get the idea.

Life is a succession of lessons, which must be lived to be understood.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Norwottuck Rail Trail

It was a beautiful, warm, bright day with blue skies and puffy white clouds. I didn't want to just go home after work so I decided to go visit the Norwottuck Rail Trail in Hadley, Mass again. I went there in April and wrote about it in one of my first blogs. I was looking forward to seeing the trail in its summer bloom.

I started out behind the Mountain Farms Mall again, but this time I went to the right. I walked for awhile but all I was really seeing was a bike path and green, green, green. I did get a nice shot of the Holyoke Mountain Range through the trees but I was pretty much underwhelmed by the whole thing.

I kept going, determined to find something spectacular to take a picture of. I eventually came to the Rt. 9 crossing. It is an interesting little tunnel and stone bridge but not really the kind of pictures I was looking for. I needed a change of plans, or at least I needed to change what I was looking at.

I headed back the way I came and sat on a patch of mowed grass for awhile, waiting for inspiration, when I noticed these pretty little daisies growing in the shrubbery. Ok, that was a nice picture. I started walking wondering what other things were growing in the thicket next to the bike path.

I found a nice patch of Sensitive Ferns.

I also found some Honeysuckle berries. I believe this is the Morrow Honeysuckle which is considered an invasive species. While hummingbirds do like the flowers, the berries are low in protein and fat so they are not a good food source for animals.

Next I found some Whorled Loosestrife. This is a native species and not related to Purple Loosestrife which is an invasive species. After the Boston Tea Party colonial women started brewing their tea from the herbs and plants that were available to them, including the Whorled Loosestrife. These "Liberty Teas" were drank by the women of the time as their way to show support for their country going to war with Britain.

I found some wild grapes growing along the trail. I'm sure some people thought I was nutty crawling around under the greenery to get this picture.

I found a large patch of Multiflora Rose. Of course this pretty flower is also an invasive species. It is native to Japan, Korea and China and currently has invaded over 45 million acres in the United States.

Multiflora Rose has been used as ornamental flowers, erosion control, "living fences" for livestock, highway median strip plantings, crash barriers, and given away for free as wildlife cover. Somewhere along the line we figured out that this plant is unstoppable.

And there was a big patch of daylilies right where I started on the bike path. Although these are not native to the area they are also not considered invasive...yet!

I figured I had at least a few decent pictures but I still wanted to get a photo of the farm that I had blogged about in April. I headed to where Maple Street and the Norwottuck Rail Trail meet and settled on the rocks to enjoy the view and take a few pictures.

I was again amazed that a scenic view like this was behind a shopping mall. I can only imagine how beautiful this area was before all the stores were built.

Michael Jackson 1958 - 2009

Oh my god, cant believe what I saw
As I turned on the tv this evening
I was disgusted by all the injustice
All the injustice
All the injustice

Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough video

Rock With You video

Billy Jean video

Beat It video

Thriller video

Bad video

The Way You make Me Feel video

Dirty Diana video

Another Part of Me video

Smooth Criminal video

Leave Me Alone video

Liberian Girl video

Black or White video

Remember The Time video

Who Is it video

Jam video

Heal The World video

Give In To Me video

Gone To Soon video

Scream video

You Are Not Alone video

They Don't Care About Us video

Stranger In Moscow video

You Rock My World video

Cry video

Cushman Brook

There wasn’t much to do at work today so I left early and headed up to the Factory Hollow Pond area or as the locals call it, Puffers Pond. There is a pull off a little ways past the pond where the Robert Frost Trail is. I parked there and headed out to take some pictures.

Not far down the trail was this serene little area.

I found another mushroom that I can’t name. Search for “orange mushroom” in Google and you will see all kinds of orange mushrooms except this one.

Next up was this bridge crossing Cushman Brook.

I explored the edge of the brook for awhile but curiosity pulled me up the hill, to see what was there.

I wandered around some more, heading back to the truck when I spotted these eggs on the ground. Poor little fellows.

Invasives Primer

Penrapture and I skipped our Friday night sewing session to attend “Invasives Plants Primer for Homeowners and Volunteers” sponsored by The Trustees of Reservations .

We were originally supposed to meet at a farm with a meditation labyrinth which was going to be open for the solstice. Due to some problem we had to meet at a different location in Monson, Mass., and I have to admit if I had known that before we set out I probably would not have attended. The combination of a meditation labyrinth on the solstice, a potentially picturesque farm setting AND learning about invasives was enough for me to give up my sewing night.

Regardless, our new hosts were gracious enough to let us pile into their charming house. It was located in the middle of nowhere, down this long narrow road, part pavement, part dirt and all nice. We were greeted warmly and headed down to the basement for a PowerPoint presentation on invasive species. Most of the people attending were Trustees volunteers, along with a specialist and Josh Knox who ran the program.

I learned a lot about the habits of these plants that I didn’t know before and I learned that earthworms are considered invasive. After the primer we went upstairs for pizza from Holyoke, brownies and cupcakes that our hostess made and small talk with the rest of the attendees. Ironically one of the dreaded “invasives” was growing right outside the window while we were eating.

After pizza we went outside to check out the invasives in the yard. There were a lot of them. When we got to the road Josh noticed that these dead trees were covered in a variety of invasive species. Even in this small area it seems like such a huge job to eradicate all of them.

Back in the yard our host told us the sad story of this beautiful doomed oak. Apparently when the former owners put in the sewer system they cut most of the roots of this tree. It has been slowly declining since then, despite the best efforts of the current owner. He says he is going to have to cut it down soon. It’s a shame as it is a lovely tree. This picture doesn't do it justice.

On our way home we stopped to take a picture of this dilapidated barn. Actually, we drove by, talked about what a cool barn it was, turned around, went back up the road, turned around again, THEN stopped and took the picture. Some things are not as easy as they often sound.

Notre Dame Cemetery

I drove by this cemetery as few days ago and I couldn’t believe how creepy the trees looked from the road. When I got home, I looked it up on Google maps and was intrigued by the overhead view.

I went back with my camera to check out these weird looking trees.

As I drove around I noticed this tall monument among the only headstones that weren't in perfect rows. As it turns out this is the center of the circular part of the cemetery.

I like these photoshopped photos better.

Dwight Street Rainbow

This was the nicest rainbow I have ever seen. It was strong, thick, clear and colorful. We actually watched it for a good five minutes before I finally went to get the camera. All of us at Positronic Design took it as a good omen for the computer center coming to Holyoke sometime in the future. The computer center could very well be Holyoke's "Pot-of-Gold".

Seeing as I had the camera out I decided to take some pictures of the wet flowers in our yard.