Spillway at Shelburne Falls, and what we've been up to.

This is the spillway area at Shelburne Falls. Shelburne and Buckland, just over the bridge, compared to Northampton is pretty quiet and serene. Northampton is more like the bustling center of activity with a thriving downtown. Smith College takes up a major potion of Northampton, but it took us a while to walk onto campus because it's somehow seamless and unobtrusive the way that it fits into the town. Maybe the town grew around it. It's not THAT bustling, being that it's a town of only 30,000 population, but recall that Sheryl and I are fresh from middle of nowhere, AZ. We don't see cars much.

For about two weeks we stayed in a restored colonial home in Northampton, until the rental car needed to be driven back to Sharon about 100 miles (2.5 hr drive) and returned. We'll be heading back to that same colonial, I think it was built in 1884, tomorrow. I really should get some pictures of it. We have some new friends there, so it's a good arrangement, it's also an easy half mile walk to downtown. Our house stay is also the headquarters of Remineralize the Earth, and if you care about sustainable farming, you might want to check that out.

It's funny how you can get different impressions of towns all in the same vicinity. Amherst is a short distance up the road, maybe ten miles. It's all about the colleges, with 30,000 students and only 35,000 total residents. We weren't that wild about the downtown there, and the overall feel was a lot different. Northampton is more mixed and diverse, and it seems to fit about everything that we figured we wanted from a town: it's a lot about art and alternative lifestyle, including alt spirituality (that would be us). It's sort of like an East Coast Santa Cruz (CA) but not exactly. Oddly, Sheryl had had an intuitive hit about Amherst as the place to be, so we have not figured that one out yet because we more immediately took to Northampton.

We've been spending some time with other healer types, having a lot of conversations with Brett Butler and his partner Ramara. We also spent half a day way out in the woods with flower essence practitioner Kathrin Woodlyn Bateman and her partner Joseph Dicenso and their pygmy goats who were leaping about and climbing into our laps while we talked, which was very fun.

More Bridge of Flowers at Shelburne Falls

Backlit view of the Bridge of Flowers at Shelburne Falls

And the classic side view of the Bridge of Flowers.

Magic Mushroom

Magic Mushroom by Paul Hood
 
I actually have no idea what kind of mushroom this might be. The spin blur was achieved by using a slow shutter speed and rotating the camera around a central axis point. A subsequent shot without the spin was layered in in photoshop to get a sharp image of the mushroom itself.

We had chinese tonight, here in Sharon MA.

Noodles by Paul Hood
I actually took this shot back in Northampton, at a place called "Noodles." But we ate Chinese tonight at a place called "Not very good Chinese food but plenty of it." Not complaining. We ate it and it was ok and we weren't the ones paying for it.

The Tin Man at Three Sisters Sanctuary and Woodstove Haven

"It was a terrible thing to undergo, but during the year I stood there I had time to think that the greatest loss I had known was the loss of my heart. While I was in love I was the happiest man on earth; but no one can love who has not a heart, and so I am resolved to ask Oz to give me one. If he does, I will go back to the Munchkin maiden and marry her."--- The Tin Man, from the Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum

Sculpture by Richard Richardson, at the Three Sisters Sanctuary and Woodstove Museum, Goshen, MA.

Forest Buddha at Smith College in Northampton, MA

Came upon this scene at Smith College when we went walking one day.

Bridge of Flowers at Shelburne Falls, MA

Sheryl helped me out by giving a little scale to this photo of a huge yellow Dahlia on the Bridge of Flowers at Shelburne Falls here in Massachusetts.

 And this would be the entrance to the Bridge of Flowers. Not sure if it's the Shelburne Falls side or the Buckland side. I think it's Buckland. I didn't take any pictures there but we ate at Buckland Pizza and it was excellent.

Suspension- the new word for us in Northampton.

Suspension by Paul Hood

I took the above shot at a fountain in Northampton MA, at the Smith University Campus. Yes, they let men on campus, but only if you're accompanied by a woman ( just kidding ). Still. . . Sheryl was there to protect me from harm. She was on our borrowed cell phone which surprises the heck out of us every time it rings, and she didn't even see this fine frog. I had enough time to snap only one frame and then he disappeared.

Love doing the photography around Northampton. Lots to see. Working on lining up some gigs when people figure out that they can hire me. Right now we're back in Sharon, MA because we had to return a rental car here. Otherwise we'd still be back in Northampton scouting around and applying for jobs in the Western Massachusetts area. We love Northampton. Some of the surrounding areas are very nice too-- the last place we checked out was one of Sheryl's long time favorites: Shelburne Falls. Greenfield is near there, and we'd get into that too, plus there's a couple jobs there which look really good to Sheryl. ref #4698 jpeg

Mermaid at Three Sisters Sanctuary

This is the mermaid at the Three Sisters Sanctuary. Click on her to see the image larger. She's just one beautiful work of art at this amazing sanctuary which has been built over 18 years (and still in progress) by owner and principle artist Richard Richardson. I have a lot more pictures which I may put up here, but really you must, absolutely must go there to really experience it. It's also a venue for weddings, concerts etc.

"Scuse me, while I kiss the sky."

Herrell's Ice Cream in Northampton

Would you buy an ice cream from this man? Yes. Yes you would. This is Steve Herrell of

Herrells Ice Cream Co

This is Sheryl, who has told me many times how New Englanders would line up outside in a snowstorm just to eat some of Steve's ice cream. He's been making it for 30 years and it's world famous.

Notice how everyone is smiling? This is a happy place.

Everyone, even the girl pouring water from the big red bucket is happy.

They have plenty of toppings and Waffle cones with lots of chocolate.

Sprinkles.

More toppings and. . .um . . . ice cream-- which we ate so fast I didn't get a picture of an ice cream cone. I had the mint chip, which is pretty amazing. So, you know, go there and eat some: #8 Old South Street, Northampton, MA 01060
(413) 586-9700 or  FAX (413) 584-5320  www.herrells.com

Prosperity Issues with Brett Butler

That's Brett Butler on the left, he's looking so concerned because he's working with a client via the internet. No, it's not the comedian Brett Butler nor the baseball player Brett Butler. This Brett is the one we recently met whom we're so impressed with. He's in pretty much the same line of work as a healer and spiritual consultant. In the background is Sheryl and Ramara and we're hanging out in their cavernous, one-room studio for the evening. Brett and I seem to have a lot in common.

Closer snapshot of Ramara, whom I asked to hold very very still because I was shooting in the dimmest imaginable room-light. Brett and I have been talking so much that I barely know Ramara as yet.

 

Closer view of Brett. Sheryl received a session from him tonight concerning issues of prosperity. It went well I think. I just observed, really. He's still developing a website or I'd link to it here, but he's currently working with local clients here in Northampton and so are Sheryl and I. Very unusual for me to meet somebody whom I feel so sympatico with about spiritual matters.

Northampton, MA in pictures.

Hibiscus flower at a front porch in Turner's Falls, MA. I couldn't believe the size of it. I had never seen a flower like this before.

This is an old graveyard in Sharon, MA. Many of the stones have shifted  and tilted over time. I don't know but I assume that the American flags are about war veterans. I posted this picture originally on 9/11 on my facebook page.

This is an interior shot of the living-room of Sheryl's parents house in Sharon, MA where we visited for Rosh Hoshana before continuing to the Amherst and Northampton MA areas.

Sheryl got two job interviews right away. This is the morning of one of the interviews taken in Northampton at the "Friendly's" which i guess is sort of an institution for Sheryl. Sheryl hates this shot. It's not very flattering but it has something I like.

We took a trip to Turner's Falls to check out a couple of job openings. I had the camera with me and shot this one of a city sunflower.

Also took this shot in Turner's Falls MA.

Right in the neighborhood we're staying in in Northampton there are architectural wonders everywhere. This is just one of many. We're staying in a restored house built in about 1880.