Foothills Folly

I checked out the radar after some heavy storms passed through this afternoon, and all looked clear ahead, so I went to the Housatonic Valley Art League picnic and annual meeting in Sheffield, MA. Had a good time, gabbed too much and enjoyed the company. On the way home the clouds were lifting and the ridge where the Appalachian trail goes, having come from CT heading into Great Barrington, MA, was visible, barely. And this bit of ridge is the one piece I have not hiked. I’ve been south of it; I’ve been north of it. Maybe this year I’ll get there!

Sunday seems to be the day to post; today I drove up to Hillsdale to the Book Barn, a wonderful used book store, spent my alloted $20, and went on northward to visit the grave site of Millay. The walk into the woods is open to the public; the house and ‘artist colony’ are not (yet). The walk is marked with bits of her poetry; the woods were cold and quiet, but I really wasn’t expecting this much snow:

There were a few old footprints in the snow and some deer tracks, but the woods had a somber hush befitting the destination; there were NO signs of spring, but the young beeches were gracefully decked in last year’s leaves.

A wonderful rustic bench would be a nice place to read some of her poetry… on a warmer, dryer day.

The headstone for Millay and her husband is literally a large stone, mossy-covered and quite lovely in the snow. Fern fronds (really fern fruiting stalks) had been placed on the stone (I know they are not called fronds, but ‘fern fronds’ has a more poetic sound to it)

Nearby is Edna’s mother’s grave, marked with mountain laurel and an old truly rusting away fence. Very quaint, very restful.

Many of the poems along the half-mile walk were aptly about death, but these stanzas from ‘Portrait by a Neighbor’, 1922, could be my neighbors talking about me:

“Her lawn looks like a meadow,

And if she mows the place

She leaves the clover standing

And the Queen Anne’s Lace!”

The sky was stormy gray, so I stopped on the way home to take yet another picture of the view:

Bits of sun, rain, snow, and what-not today, but still a more spring-like day than a winter-y one. Yeah!

I have put in some bids on eBay; I won’t say who from on the slim chance anyone who is reading this might be interested and snipe them away from me. I have two projects in mind.

This is the second skein:

And this is the third:

Well, I have bid on more, but let’s see what we get. I’m probably committing a grievous error by even posting those photos as I didn’t take them; I just hope to own them.

I’m on a new weight loss challenge on SparkPeople; it began today, so I went for a hike. A lovely drive over a mountain on a dirt road, and as I drove down, the gas gauge went to “E” and stayed there. Eventually it popped up a bit on the level, and as the GPS said I was close to the “Drowned Lands” land trust area, I went on. The hike was lovely; the virginia creeper is red:

The trail is wide and mowed (the mower fellow came by as I was heading home).

I didn’t get up to the top of the little mountain, but I did get up to a view point over the ‘Drowned Lands”. I could not find stage one of the geocache; I will return!

This wooly bear was on the trail on the way back— very little brown, in fact, no bands of brown– what does that mean? Cold winter? Today was hot and tomorrow may break a record high– can a caterpillar know?

Oh, I am in Ravelry as of a few days ago, and I do love it— it is useful and inspiring and fun!!! Does require more photographing; certainly can keep one busy looking. So many projects, so much yarn!

I went out geocaching yesterday, a nearby cache, in a local landtrust area I had never walked in. First time geocaching in almost a year, first time hiking since the beginning of summer. The trail was nice even if it was up hill —then down…..

…to a viewpoint….

I think the farmland below would be visible when the leaves are down. Passed a garter snake who would not move; I think he was cold: down into the thirties the last two nights.

Found the cache; the GPS was right on. Left a ‘traveling bug’ that I forgot I was holding –for almost a year– and I know this is not good geocaching etiquette. I was surprised to find it in my pack when I got to the cache. But just as bad as that, is that this cache I left it in is not visited very often, so I think if it is still there in a few weeks I’ll have to move it along. If I can be trusted to do that in a timely manner!

I am going this afternoon again, now that I’ve used a PC to put maps in my GPS and a ‘Babel’ program to get waypoints from the web through my Mac to the unit, it is so much more fun!!!