Kwaree Blog

Great Barrington, Stockbridge, Lenox and Lee

On Thursday of last week, we decided to head up to the Berkshires for some apple picking. Every year, we end up going too late and are rushed by the end of the season. Of course there are still apples to pick, but many of the varieties are already gone. This year, we thought it would be a good idea to go apple picking not too early, but not too late.

I think we’ll stick with going at the end of the season. There is one reason for this…the Honeycrisps are ripe. I guess the Honeycrisp is a late season apple, because there were “Not Ripe” signs all over the place where these particular trees were. It’s funny because I tasted a few and they seemed fine to me. I grabbed about 15 of them. I have a feeling they will ripen up just fine. Just so you know, the Honeycrisp is the biggest and best apple there is. They are huge.

We go apple picking at a place called “Windy Hill Farm Nursery Orchards & Garden Center.” I think that’s the official name. We just call it Windy Hill. It’s located on 686 Stockbridge Rd in Great Barrington, MA and really is a great orchard. They have hot cider inside and plenty of apples and pumpkins to choose from. I’m guessing when I say there are about 15 different types of apples to pick. We have been visiting this orchard during Autumn for about five years now.

The only problem is…it’s a little far away. I was thinking out loud on the way back from our exciting day when I said, “I think this is the last year for Windy Hill.” I got a funny look. I continued, “It’s just too far away. I can’t see driving for almost two hours to head up to the Berkshires when there has to be plenty of good orchards around where we live.” It’s true, there are tons of orchards around here, but we really like to make a day out of it. We don’t want to just run over to Glastonbury real quick, grab some apples and leave. That seems more like a chore. 45 minutes away is a good distance for an apple orchard. That way, we get to visit some town that we hardly ever go to and it makes the whole thing more fun. I like that. So, next year, I think we’ll head up to the “Quiet Corner” somewhere. I am sure Pomfret has an apple orchard. After all, Pomfret is an area full of beautiful rolling hills, a perfect place for apples to grow.

Thursday was fun. Not only did we visit Windy Hill, we also visited Yankee Candle in Stockbridge to gather a nice assortment of Autumn smelling candles and tarts. It wasn’t my idea to go there, but being the accommodating companion that I am, I agreed that it was a good idea. Now, every time I go downstairs, I think there is an apple pie or pumpkin bread in the oven. It’s really not fair.

Besides apple picking, another goal that I had for Thursday’s trip was to head up to Lenox to check out a really nice country house/hotel called Blantyre. I have heard great things about this place and wanted to see it first hand. I am always on the hunt for the next marvelous Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. The visit was supposed to be a surprise. I wanted to drive to Lenox in stealth mode and quickly turn into the Blantyre driveway. My plan was foiled when I got lost…again. For some reason, Lenox is in something like a spiderweb vortex. It seems like every road going into the town is identical and has the same left turn. Each time I go there, I find myself making the same mistakes, over and over and over. This time, it took a confession and use of the GPS to find our destination. It really wasn’t any big deal because I am used to my surprises being ruined due to lack of preparation.

When we finally made it to Blantyre, we were very pleased by what we found. There is a really long driveway that leads to a large English house type structure. It is secluded and absolutely feels like another land. I can’t compare it to Europe because I have never been there, but if I had been there I am sure the Blantyre would feel just like it. It was kind of like Robin Hood was going to walk out of the woods.

We walked through the front door and found a really upscale and formal cluster of rooms. We visited the main room, the music room and the dining room. I also peeked out to the terrace and the front lawn and gardens. It was better than I had imagined. (Don’t worry, I have pictures)

A woman came out to greet us and answered all the questions about holiday dining that we threw at here. We gave the desk gentleman my name for a return call after they had the menu and arrangements set up. We walked out and strolled around for a while and took some photos.

After we left Blantyre, we decided to head down to the Prime Outlets in Lee, MA. I had this strange desire to get slippers. I know, I know…I am a big burly man. What in the world do I need slippers for? Well, this Winter, I am not fighting cold feet. I do it every year and it’s just not going to happen this time.

We arrived at Prime Outlets and were disappointed by the lack of selection of slippers. The slippers that were there were all made from leather and cost close to $50. They also had no thick hoodies or sweatpants to be found. This isn’t the first time we have walked away empty handed from this joint. I guess it was a good idea while it lasted. By the way, I picked up a nice pair of slippers in Walmart yesterday for $11. I also got a pair of sweatpants for $10. That’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout. This is simple house gear, mind you.

Lastly, we headed back to the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge for some lunch. This is quite the tradition each year to settle us down after some good apple picking. We even got the clover leaf on top of our Guinness.

Here are some pictures of our exciting day up in the Berkshires. The weather was good when we arrived, sprinkled a little bit while we were picking apples and then cleared up again. All in all, it was a good day – minus the slipper thing.

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Happy Earth Hour 2009

Did you do it? You know, turn your lights off for an hour at 8:30PM?

Laura had to remind me a few times, but at promptly 8:30, I stopped what I was doing, turned the computer off and went around the entire house and turned everything else off. It was liberating.

Laura already had the candles lit and spread out all over the place. I decided that even though it was 60 degrees outside, a nice fire in the fireplace would really set the tone. I got a nice one going and we just lay on the floor talking until about 5 minutes ago.

Fire in the fireplace

At around 9PM, I said, “You know, I am really starting to like celebrating small events. We have our reality shows, our walks and now this type of thing.”

This stuff is fun for me and better than that, it keeps me looking forward to so many things so much of the time.

Happy Earth Hour 2009.

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All-Mozart Program – Koussevitzky Music Shed At Tanglewood

For quite some time, Laura and I have been planning a trip to Tanglewood this Summer. Every time it came up, there was something else to do. I think there may have even been a time or two where I was just too lazy to get up and go.

Last night was the night. We decided that we would go on Friday and on Saturday I went to the food store for all the goodies. You know, we get all the good food to eat while listening to the music.

The weather was supposed to be a little chilly in central Connecticut on Saturday night. What I wasn’t expecting was the downright cold air that was hovering in the Berkshires. I mean, I guess at this point, 45 degrees feels cold to anyone. I brought an extra shirt, but wish I brought my fleece as well.

On schedule last night was the “All-Mozart Program” in the Koussevitzky Music Shed. We grabbed our usual spot in front of the visitor’s center and spread out everything we had. I lit the four “bug” candles, but didn’t really need them due to the chilly weather. Mosquitoes and gnats like the heat and I guess it wasn’t optimal conditions for them to be biting people. That was nice.

The music was ok. I seem to remember our previous visits being more thunderous, while this one was pretty quiet. I like a roar and this time was more like a meow. I explained to Laura this morning that I felt it was more entertaining to the people sitting in the shed, not for us on the lawn. I would still choose to lay under that stars any day.

About half way through, I decided to take a few photos of the area at night. I am sure you could have guessed I was going to do that.

Looking over Lake Mahkeenac

Koussevitzky Music Shed

Tanglewood visitor center

Tanglewood tree at night

One of our four bug candles

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Phillies Bridge Farm Project CSA

Laura and I took a walk down to a local shop yesterday for some really neat little candles, lotions and even honey. This shop is run by one of our neighbors, so we were very pleased to give her some business.

During our visit, we started talking about food. We mentioned that our local supermarket doesn’t have the greatest produce in the world…well, not in the middle of Winter anyway. Even in the Summer, there is something to be desired. Our neighbor started talking about the Phillies Bridge Farm Project CSA up near New Paltz. She said they have great produce and that people can buy “shares” of the season’s crop. She also mentioned that they have a great website that offers all sorts of good information on their program.

I gave the website a once over last night and found a very interesting program. Local people (who eat a lot of produce) are able to buy shares of each crop. The benefits of this must be weighed with the risks. People pay the farmers upfront, so the farmers are protected throughout the season. If it’s a great season, there is tons of food to go around. If the season is terrible, people don’t get all that much food. I think it’s a pretty fun thing to do overall.

Wherever we end up, I am definitely going to look for a similar program to this one. I really enjoy getting involved in stuff like this.

Peace out.

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Something Interesting in Woodstock, NY

So here is another catch up entry. As you can see, I have quite a few. It’s not that I don’t have enough going on these days, it’s just that I have this folder full of pictures looking at me every time I get on the computer. And then, of course, there is that nagging feeling like there is someone out there who enjoys reading these things. I hope so, because I really enjoy writing them.

So here were go…Woodstock, NY…home of the great “Radio Woodstock,” errr, ummm, WDST? (great music) Anyway, yes, so we LOVE to go to Woodstock, even if it just a drive-through on our way south from somewhere north. The village is not large, only a few dense roads and a bunch of country ones. The reason we love it is…well, take a look. I have always wondered what this guy does for money. He probably won the lottery.

Now, I have been to some pretty cool towns in my day (Ithaca, NY), but none quite like this. When we arrived, Laura and I planned to walk around a bit and go into some of the shops and then maybe later on go to lunch. There were TONS of people in town that day. I remember the sidewalks were so full. Everyone was pretty cool and, shall I say, environmentally friendly. Yes, environmentally friendly. There are lots of great shops that like to sell candles, little books of phrases and incense. There are also a few jewelry vendors on the sidewalks that sell beads, silver, etc…

After we did our moseying, we got to the top of the hill, and bumped into a guy trying to pull people around in some sort of a carriage.

This was pretty amusing to watch because the carriage owner couldn’t keep his feet on the ground. Look closely at the photo. He kept bouncing up and down trying the get the thing down. I’m not sure what I would’ve thought if that was me sitting in there preparing for a ride.

So we were watching this guy, checking out some stores to go into and we hear a noise that sounds strikingly like a drum, and then another drum and then another. We turned around to see a crowd of people gathered around the Village Green for a drum circle.

It was a peaceful demonstration. These guys were going at it. I think the greatest thing was how anyone can join in, all they needed was a drum. We saw this guy who looked like he just got off work from an office wailing away on his drum. He was sweating and wailing. I was pretty excited because I thought this stuff was dead after I graduated college.

We have been back to Woodstock many times throughout the years, but never at Christmas. I heard that the village lights up quite nicely around the holidays. This year we’ll visit, and yes, you will see some photos.

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