tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70102689141335261812011-09-11T08:57:31.623-04:00CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.comBlogger611100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-78034108533382753632011-03-07T11:13:00.001-05:002011-03-07T11:14:09.203-05:00

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-12786441236604811462011-03-03T23:11:00.002-05:002011-03-05T22:10:16.048-05:00

I always thought it would be wicked cool to climb one of these towers...until I watched this video. I was good until he reached the top of the tower and had to go outside. After that it didn't look like fun anymore. And when he gets to the antenna base, well that is just crazy. I hope these guys get paid good money because that job is insane.

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The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used? Because that's the way they built them in England, and English expatriates designed the US railroads. Why did the English build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the

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"The most dangerous man, to any government, is the man who is able to think things out for himself without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane and intolerable, and so, if he is romantic, he tries to change it. And even if he is not romantic personally he is apt to spread discontent

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I scored sweet seats (Row D) many months ago to see Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull at the Calvin Theater in Northampton, MA. I have seen him in different incarnations over the years but I have to say that this concert was one of the best. Ian was of course fantastic as was the young German guitarist, Florian Opahle. An amazing, astounding, phenomenal guitarist would be a better description. See for

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A week or so ago, Rubaduc and I made plans for her and Giz to visit us in our “winter home” in New York. At the time the weather forecast was sunny and warm. Well warm for the season, in the lower 50’s. Perfect letterboxing weather!In their letterboxing enthusiasm they decided to extend their little vacation an extra day by spending the night before our rendezvous in the resort village of

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On yet another road trip I found myself in Canada today. I drove on I-90 west for 8 boring hours until I got to Buffalo and crossed over into Canada on the Peace Bridge. Things didn’t get much better there. Buffalo isn't the prettiest city around and that part of Canada pretty much looked like the United States. Same strip malls with the same stores no doubt selling the same stuff, although I

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-35824691007113789932010-06-10T13:10:00.014-04:002010-06-10T13:25:39.042-04:00

The GoodPlanet Foundation was created in 2005 to raise awareness and offer solutions to Earth's ecological crisis. Yann Arthus-Bertrand, who is the chairman of the foundation, has flown over 100 countries taking aerial views of this planet. These have been put together in the film HOME which is free for all to view. It is an amazing, breathtaking and disturbing look at the planet we call home.

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-73842004201153413032010-01-24T13:11:00.007-05:002010-01-24T20:52:30.140-05:00

A peoples' movement toward banking & monetary reformDid you know that the banking industry makes BILLIONS of dollars a year from consumers like us using credit and debit cards?Deprive the banking industry of some of this money... Maybe its time that we do something that actually has the potential to make a difference. Deprive the banking industry of some of the billions of dollars they receive

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-65463128924948225042010-01-16T23:11:00.005-05:002010-01-24T18:06:44.271-05:00

My day started by waking up with a head cold. I briefly considered canceling my plans but decided that I should just suck it up and carry on. That was my first mistake.I left my house late and didn’t even realize it. I was scheduled to meet one of my AT Monitors in West Cornwall, CT at noon. Now I know where West Cornwall is, (it is famous for its covered bridge) and I know it takes me two hours

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-39794351947592321022009-12-17T23:11:00.004-05:002009-12-19T08:16:54.578-05:00

It just doesn't seem like the Christmas season without a little bit of the Grinch.Happy Holidays!You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch.You really are a heel.You're as cuddly as a cactus,You're as charming as an eel.Mr. Grinch.You're a bad bananaWith a greasy black peel.You're a monster, Mr. Grinch.Your heart's an empty hole.Your brain is full of spiders,You've got garlic in your soul.Mr. Grinch.I

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-49029664527477720732009-12-12T23:11:00.005-05:002010-01-24T18:34:49.405-05:00

I spent the evening driving all over the Pioneer Valley looking for a good place to watch the Geminds meteor shower and all I got was this lousy photo.

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-75906087878472421332009-11-26T23:11:00.025-05:002009-11-27T21:52:45.667-05:00

Who is the Warrior?The Warrior is powerful, independent, self-reliant and successful --because she has to be. Yet, she resents all of the responsibility and obligation that goes with her role. She's the only one around who can get things done, and get things done fast enough and perfectly enough.She is bitter (at least inwardly) toward men, who she believes get all the breaks, but do little of

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-32845122571438042472009-11-16T23:11:00.015-05:002010-11-11T09:10:08.397-05:00

Jun Yasuda, a Japanese Buddhist Nun from the Nipponzan Myohoji order, has been a long time activist for Native Americans. She has walked across the country five times and spent days fasting on the steps of the New York State Capitol in support of Native Americans rights. During one of these fasts she was approached by Hank Hazelton. He offered her a parcel of land in Grafton, New York to build a

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-63127462327570582962009-10-30T23:11:00.011-04:002009-10-31T14:34:37.874-04:00

When all through Posi, fun and exciting things were about to happen.I started off the day by putting the finishing touches on a Halloween costume for a little girl named Haley. She is the daughter of one of the interns at Positronic Design. My biggest concern was whether or not it would fit her as I was working with just a few measurements that her mom provided. As it turns out the costume fit

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So after a long night of working on an Autumn Fairy Halloween costume and watching half of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy I decided to get up early and head out to the Hidden Hills for some autumn foliage sight seeing. Not a bad plan except for the getting up early part. This is a picture of some of the pieces of the costume laid out as they will be sewn together. It is going to be adorable when

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-81148567885267737502009-09-17T23:11:00.009-04:002009-09-20T00:21:48.022-04:00

THIS MONUMENTTHE LAST WORK OF W W STORYEXECUTED IN MEMORY OF HIS BELOVED WIFEWilliam Wetmore Story Hello by Evanescence

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-13833838930072465342009-09-06T23:11:00.015-04:002009-09-08T10:16:11.175-04:00

Penrapture, who is on the prowl for single men venues, dragged me out of the house this afternoon to go to the Holyoke Block party sponsored by the Holyoke CRUSH (Citizens for the Revitalization and Urban Success of Holyoke). There were quite a few of these t-shirts floating around on various humans. I wonder where I can get one?There was a long line up of entertainment for the day. We missed the

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-54038946494205102812009-09-01T21:30:00.003-04:002009-09-03T21:40:31.944-04:00

Lately, I have been reading this blog, Subversive Stitchers: Women Armed with Needles. I love the concept and possibilities of subversive stitching but so far I haven’t found many posts in this blog that are actually about the subject. What I have found is a lot of beautiful and inspirational quilts made by some fabulous artists and I was itching to work on some sewing project myself.One of the

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Have you ever noticed that some of your best thinking is done in the shower? My theory is that it is one of the few times in the day when you are truly alone, with no distractions. No tv, computer, phone, children, dog, cat, bird, fish…So I was in the shower after my letterboxing excursion with Penrapture and RayK today, wondering what I was going to write about the Amethyst Brook Conservation

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-9848040022943632742009-08-17T11:11:00.020-04:002009-08-17T23:05:46.425-04:00

Unit 7 is without a doubt my favorite local band. They are hip, cool and funky, funky, funky.And the music is great too. Enjoy!Unit 7 websiteUnit 7 My space pagemore videos from Positronic.tv

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-20789658960062822002009-08-08T23:11:00.027-04:002009-09-03T22:11:40.234-04:00

We headed to Westfield tonight to watch the Lynyrd Skynyrd Experience on the town green. I haven’t been to Westfield before and I have to say it looked a bit run down. The green was nice though. There was a circular fountain in the middle of the green which was nicely landscaped with flowers and shrubbery. There was also very large white dog that found it refreshing. I walked around a bit and

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I took a quick walk on the Mt. Tom Range today and I was reminded again of how incredibly awesome it is to be in the woods, surrounded by the trees and leaves and ferns and moss.There were no great views or vistas this time, just some of the amazing art that Mother Nature provides for those who are paying attention. Nothing can be more beautiful than what nature has provided..nobrtable br {

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-80869560735204820812009-08-05T11:11:00.010-04:002009-09-03T22:28:56.899-04:00

There was yet another accident at the intersection of Dwight and Linden Street in Holyoke, right in front of Positronic Design. This time the blue car ran the blinking red light and a silver car hit him on the drivers side. The police arrived quickly, then the fire department and the ambulance, and the tow trucks.Both drivers were conscious but they did have to use the jaws of life to extricate

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The rain has stopped, at least for now. There is even some sun peaking through the clouds now and then. After a nice cup of tea and more reading I decide to check out the campsite and the rest of the campground.The site is a good size, plenty of room to park and put up tents without crowding the table and fire pit. There are some interesting twisted trees near the lean-to but the weird part is

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-13641558705301889972009-07-17T23:11:00.009-04:002009-10-31T12:36:47.081-04:00

Rain, rain, rain!After a long delay in leaving it started to rain as soon as I crossed the Vermont border. Then it turned into a torrential downpour. On the bright side, it can’t get much worse.Besides the rain the drive was nice. I arrived at the campground at dusk. It was still raining, although lightly. Luckily I reserved a campsite with a lean-to named Ginkgo. My small tent fit inside the

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-36615907563007739062009-07-14T23:11:00.036-04:002010-11-15T21:47:13.207-05:00

Seeing as a large portion of the traffic to my blog has been through this picture of a large Oriental Bittersweet vine that I posted a few months ago, I decided to go back and take a few more pictures of it. This time I parked in the Mill Lane parking area for the Norwottuck Rail Trail as it is a short walk to the vine from there. Of course 20 feet from the Jeep I had to stop and take a picture

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-14802857625173453582009-07-09T23:11:00.001-04:002009-08-17T23:21:12.686-04:00

I usually bring a whole folder of adventures to go on after work with me each day. The last couple of weeks I haven’t really been inspired to go visit any of them. Today after work I let my truck go where it wanted and it wanted to go down Bray Road at Atkins Farm toward Rt. 47.This is a beautiful farm area much like the farm I have photographed behind the malls on Rt. 9. As I was driving I

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-22566010878227130952009-07-04T23:11:00.023-04:002009-07-14T19:20:46.116-04:00

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-8281075763113484172009-06-27T23:11:00.110-04:002010-05-11T21:09:10.000-04:00

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

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-73591838985484948912009-06-27T23:01:00.000-04:002009-07-10T23:38:57.901-04:00

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

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-24378886908552094612009-06-25T23:11:00.123-04:002009-07-06T00:14:11.680-04:00

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

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-89860681467782446212009-06-25T23:11:00.060-04:002009-06-30T17:46:21.557-04:00

Oh my god, cant believe what I sawAs I turned on the tv this eveningI was disgusted by all the injusticeAll the injusticeAll the injusticeDon't Stop 'Til You Get Enough videoRock With You videoBilly Jean videoBeat It videoThriller videoBad videoThe Way You make Me Feel videoDirty Diana videoAnother Part of Me videoSmooth Criminal videoLeave Me Alone videoLiberian Girl videoBlack or White

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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”

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-8987292914767917912009-06-19T23:11:00.024-04:002009-07-11T12:28:41.265-04:00

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

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-76208576103616478882009-06-15T23:11:00.056-04:002009-07-02T20:23:14.627-04:00

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

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-41443335522370375622009-06-15T23:11:00.055-04:002009-07-02T20:22:54.896-04:00

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

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Firewoman©Octavio OcampoI feel like there is no need for conversationSome questions are better left without a reasonAnd I would rather reveal myself than my situationNow and then I consider, my hesitationThe more the light shines through meI pretend to close my eyesThe more the dark consumes meI pretend I'm burning, burning brightBurning Bright©ShinedownListen

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A group of us went to the Todd Mountain area for an adventure today. This was the place we were headed to when we detoured to the Hoosac Tunnel last week. This time we ended up at our original destination. We crossed the Deerfield River and followed an old trail that ran alongside it. It didn’t take long for Rob to find something interesting for us to eat. I think it was some kind of wild

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-58721709033945080832009-06-06T23:11:00.039-04:002009-06-20T10:56:51.257-04:00

I had several goals to accomplish today as I set out for the Appalachian Trail in Connecticut. Unfortunately I did not get most of them done.My first stop was River Road in Kent to investigate possible tree poaching. River Road is a 2.8 mile dirt road that runs along the Housatonic River from Skiff Mt Road to the AT trailhead for the 5 mile Housatonic River Walk section. It also goes by the

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-49332078416305292892009-05-31T23:11:00.103-04:002009-07-02T20:26:35.315-04:00

Five of us got together to go on an adventure today. We, as in Rob, had a specific place in mind when we started off but as the trip progressed we all thought the East entrance of the Hoosac Tunnel seemed like a worthy diversion.I arrived at our destination slightly cramped from the hour long drive in the back seat of a pick-up truck but we were all anticipating the next few hours. The tunnel

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-49791236684612039512009-05-26T23:11:00.028-04:002009-07-02T20:26:27.665-04:00

I don't know much about the Amethyst Brook Conservation Area because "The Google" didn't provide much information. But this is what I managed to piece together. This conservation area encompasses nearly 40 acres along Amethyst Brook in Amherst, Mass. The Robert Frost Trail that runs through it is 33 miles long and stretches from the Holyoke Range State Park to the Mt. Toby Forest in Sunderland. I

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-86753322992634261732009-05-24T23:11:00.014-04:002009-07-14T18:42:06.810-04:00

White Memorial Foundation and Conservation Center is a 4,000 acre, privately owned wildlife sanctuary in the northwest corner of Connecticut. It was created in 1913 by Alain White and his sister May White and currently has 35 miles of trail, a museum, campgrounds, boating facilities, meeting houses and provides a vast array of educational opportunities for young and old alike. I decided to go to

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-58176368590817967372009-05-16T23:11:00.075-04:002009-07-02T20:26:03.104-04:00

Penrapture, RayK and I went to the Chesterfield Gorge today. It is one of Trustees of Reservations properties which is the nations oldest conservation organization. The Chesterfield Gorge was the 7th property acquired by The Trustees in 1929.We were met in the parking lot by a nice fellow with a table of brochures and bug spray if we needed it. He gave us a brief overview of the property and some

CodyBCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00609035670977054571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010268914133526181.post-46205067276516608802009-05-16T23:11:00.074-04:002009-07-02T20:25:48.054-04:00

A few pictures from the Elwell State Park in Northampton, Mass.

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Penrapture and I decided to take a break from all that sewing on Friday night to visit the Forestdale Cemetery. She did a thought provoking blog about life and death and the meaning of such things. Walking around a cemetery certainly should make you think of your own mortality and your place on this earth. I however, was distracted from all that by the trees. The glorious, magnificent, wondrous

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I haven't been out on many adventures lately (except for the 50 Sweaty Men adventure), so I thought I would blog about one of my favorite artists, Robin Foley. Among her many talents Robin Foley is an amazing soft sculpture artisan. She creates original one-of-a-kind sculptures that take between 400 to 1000 hours of hand sewing to complete.Robin Foley started out making dolls and teddy bears for

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I took a quick side trip to the Mt. Castor Marsh Conservation area today. It is located at the end of a small cul-de-sac off of South East Street in Amherst, Mass.The first thing I see as I go around the sign is bog bridges! I love bog bridges..nobrtable br { display: none }After a short distance the trail leaves the marsh and climbs Mt. Castor. I think it took less than five minutes before I

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So I had a few minutes to kill before meeting up with penrapture to go to the Amherst Cemetery to meet some dead people. I decided to stop in the Wildwood Cemetery to have a look around.With an entrance like this how could I resist? Of course I found a tree to love right away. It is not often I find a Beech tree with no carvings in it and never one in an easily accessible public place. This one

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As Wednesday turned out to be a beautiful day in an otherwise rainy week I decided to skip work and go exploring. As I was driving through Amherst a parking spot opened up right next to where the carnies were setting up for the Amherst Rotary Community Fair. I took that as a sign to pull over and take some pictures.Somehow I don't remember the carnival in my hometown being as bright and colorful

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Rob Leverett of Cherocraft is holding a flint knapping demonstration this Saturday at theSpring Party at Positronic Design. He will also have some of his artwork on display.I am looking forward to this years festivities.

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We ended up at the Salem Willows Park in Salem, Mass today. The Willows has been a public park since 1858. It has a beach, a public pier and 200 year old Willow trees which I am assuming is where the park gets its name. There is a historic 1866 carousel, kiddie rides, modern video games, vintage pinball machines and classic skeeball. Something for everyone!There is also a large assortment of food

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My general plan was to go check out these rocks in the middle of this field.This is the UMass sunwheel project and it is the first of many planned around the world to promote awareness and understanding of astronomy. Apparently after several false starts a preliminary sunwheel was installed in 1997. It took another three years to raise the funds for the current installation. The public is

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This puts it all in perspective!THE HISTORY OF EVERYTHING TIMELINE

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So I had an hour and a half to kill in Amherst this afternoon which prompted me to check out a the Mill River Park. This park had the standard things you might find in a neighborhood park, a playscape, ball fields and plenty of parking. But the Schmidtlets know there is more going on here than a standard playground. I cut between the ballfields and crossed this cool bridge.I followed the trail

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On my trip to Connecticut today I stopped to visit one of my favorite places, Burr Pond. I have walked, run and kayaked Burr Pond more times than I can count, in every season and just about every kind of weather. I have more pictures of Burr Pond than any other location. But I wanted to go again today, to revisit my old haunt and take more pictures for this blog.Burr Pond was created in the 1800'

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So I have driven by this little park many times over the past few months. I even drove in the parking lot and looked around through the truck window one cold winter day. A nice little neighborhood park but nothing special for someone who doesn't have little children, or so I thought. I recently learned there is an interpretive trail here. So I headed back after work today, still not really

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So I discovered today that right behind the Mountain Farms Mall in Hadley, where Penrapture and I often have lunch, there is an access point to the Norwottuck Rail Trail. It is 11 miles and runs through Northampton, Hadley and Amherst. Norwottuck is a Native American term for the area which translates to mean "in the midst of the river".Now I wasn't expecting much as I drove around the back of

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While I was on one of my internet adventures I ran across this website http://www.areyougeneric.org/.Their tagline is "Giving brand america the finger since 2001".Of course I was intrigued. I had to find out more. This is how they define themselves... Are You Generic? is a group of artists that seeks to protest, to question, and to disprove. Its nemeses are unethical corporations, censorship, the

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8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing! 9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing! 9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing! 10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing! 12:00 pm - Lunch! My favorite thing! 1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing! 3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing! 5:00 pm - Milk bones! My favorite thing! 7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing

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The first really warm day of 2009 we decided to walk along the old Mt. Tom railroad in Holyoke, MA. This paved road is closed to unauthorized vehicles but is open to pedestrians.Construction of the one mile rail line began in 1897. With a 21 degree grade, the rail cars had special slanted seats for the passengers. The railway ran until 1938 when it was closed, dismantled and sold for scrap.

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