The Strolling of the Heifers

Linking to My World and Shadow Shots

My last post Homelessness in the U.S, is a serious and sober one. Let's have some fun now, shall we?  :-)

 Last Saturday, The Future Mr. Pagan Sphinx and I awoke early to beautiful morning of sun and a fresh spring breeze. A perfect day to take in the 10th annual Strolling of the Heifers parade (and Slow Living Summit) in nearby Brattleboro, Vermont. It was to be our first time, as previous years we've missed it for one reason or another.

The Strolling of the Heifers celebrates New England small farm tradition, new-age organic farming and, as my friend Susan put it, generous doses of fun and funk! Enjoy!

There is a tradition in Vermont that if you see a cow in the middle of the road, go ahead and milk it. Just make sure you leave enough milk for the next guy.  ;-)

The sign on the back of the cart reads save gas, ride an ass!  :-)

 The first crop of local strawberries is on its way to the markets this week!

Harlow's farm and sugarhouse is a business that was always generous to the kids at my former Vermont school; giving us free tours and great deals on fruit to take home.

 And proud.

 I thought this girl was especially sweet. The heifer, I mean!

 The Dairy Fairy organizes her ring!

Not just for heifers:

Finally, for you foreigners who assume that all Americans are obese, a skinny cow!  ;-)

Shadow Shot Sunday and Straight Out of the Camera

This is probably one of the most pleasant surprises to come "straight out the camera" this summer! The red of a setting sun over the Bay of Fundi, Nova Scotia, cast its light on the beach rocks and trees, except where the long shadow in the middle lies - that is the rock we were sitting on and the figure at the tip is me.

Shadow Shot Sunday

Straight Out of the Camera

Shadow Shot Sunday

Hall's Harbour Visitor's Center

Nova Scotia
July, 2010

Scotts Bay

Cape Split, Nova Scotia

An anchor at Hall's Harbour

This above was also taken at Scotts Bay, though obviously on an overcast day.  There a few of these but largely, the weather was beautiful:  sunny, fluffy clouds, hot but not humid, chilly nights.

This was a very sweet vacation and I feel blessed to have spent those two weeks with my WP, who is feeling much better these days. Thanks to those friends who asked.
:-)

Shadow Shot Sunday is hosted by Tracie in Brisbane

Window Views and Shadow Shot Sunday

 We recently returned from two weeks in Nova Scotia's Fundi Shore. The cottage next door to ours has a particularly endearing window view and I wanted to share it with you this week. There will be many photos from this trip submitted to the various "memes", as well as a sort of vacation retrospective later in the week. Enjoy! As always, thanks to Mary for hosting a couple of the best photo-themed memes on the blogs!

 Window Views

Shadow Shot Sunday

Monochrome Weekend and Shadow Shot Sunday

 

 monochromeweekend

 

heyharriet

Shadow Shot Sunday and Ruby Tuesday

What exactly am I looking through here?  Well, I'm not sure either but I do know it's considered a sculpture. With all sincerity, I like my photographs of it more than I did the actual sculpture! I was really happy with this series which shows such a fascinating interplay of shadows and light.

Taken in the courtyard of the Worcester Museum of Art, Worcester Massachusetts, in mid-April, 2010.

Shadow Shot Sunday

Ruby Tuesday

Monochrome Weekend and Shadow Shot Sunday

 

 Pagan Sphinx Photo

Cemetery in a Portuguese Village         

Monochrome Weekend

Shadow Shot Sunday 

Shadow Shot Sunday

We actually experienced a strange weather phenomenon here in Western Massachusetts on Tuesday:  a microburst. It was very quick but there were a lot of trees and powerlines down in the roads, branches and lawn furniture flying and people taking cover. This photo was taken just minutes after the microburst passed, leaving everything calm and the sun trying to come out.  The new spring-green leaves of our sugar maple caught my eye and I snapped.

Happy Mothers Day to all the moms out there!

Shadow Shot Sunday is hosted by Tracy from Australia and features lots of excellent entries weekly, from all over the globe.

Shadow Shot Sunday

Shadows in my garden, in mid-April

Shadow Shot Sunday

Shadow Shot Sunday and Today's Flowers

Poetic Shadows in Honor of National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month in the United States. An appreciator of poetry from a young age, I'm weaving the theme through several of my posts all month.

For the last couple of years, I've been making a pilgrimage to The Emily Dickinson Museum. The Homestead and The Evergreens is made up of two historic houses and their three-acre landscape on Main Street in Amherst, Massachusetts. Here, the small sphere of existence is preserved  of one of America's most significant poets. The Homestead was the birthplace, in 1830, and home of the Emily Dickinson. The Evergreens, next door, was home to her beloved brother and sister-in-law, Austin and Susan Dickinson, and their three children.

Here are a few photos I took of The Dickinson Homestead and The Evergreens. 

The yellow brick house front door faces south.

If I'm not mistaken the window farthest to the right and the one around the corner are those of the poet's bedroom.

"Where thou art, that is home."

 ~ Emily Dickinson
 

 The sideyard

"My friends are my estate."

~ Emily Dickinson

 The stone path that leads East to Emily's Garden

"How strange that nature does not knock, and yet does not intrude!"
Emily Dickinson

"The lovely flowers
embarrass me.
They make me regret
I am not a bee..."

"Forever is composed of now."

"Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough"

A path described by Emily Dickinson as “just wide enough for two who love” linked the two Dickinson houses, crossing the lawn from the back door of the Homestead to the east piazza of The Evergreens.
which lies west of the main house.

"The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience." 

side porch of The Evergreens

I'll be back in May or June to see how things are growing then, in Emily's garden.

Shadow Shot Sunday

Today's Flowers