Sunday, September 2, 2007

September Morn


Whenever I can swing it, sometimes even when I can't, I'll take an early Saturday morning ride up through the back roads to get a coffee and a paper in Northampton. Today was definitely one of those days. September arrives with a beauty of a cool, windy, sun-drenched day.





The tobacco barns are open and stocked with hanging leaves.






The red-painted barns seemed to glow under the bright sunshine.


I grabbed a coffee, english muffin sandwich, and the weekend newspaper, then settled down on the steps by the war memorial in Northampton to read and consume. This civil war soldier kept a vigilante eye nearby.





All Pollux, no Castor

After sitting there a while and watching the bustle of the street and Saturday morning farmer's market, I hopped back on the motorcycle. I took some more back roads through Hadley and downtown Amherst, which was equally bustling with shoppers and pedestrians. Continuing on, and kind of heading more or less homeward through Amherst, I found myself on the road that goes by Mt. Pollux. On a day like today I had to stop and check out the view.

It's hard to spot as your passing by, just this little sign to mark the entrance.



The entrance leads to this little parking area.



A few weeks ago I dragged my telescope, binoculars, stargazing manuals and teenage son/grudging assistant out here late at night, and set up an improvised observatory right in this parking lot in pitch blackness during the recent Perseid Meteor Shower.

A great place to see the stars and planets. From here you can also see the Holyoke range close by.




A short walk through a grove of apple trees will get you to the top of this small hill, crowned by two Sugar Maples.




There are a couple of benches to sit on and enjoy the spectacular view.

It is a quiet, contemplative place to sit and think, or read a book.




I didn't have time for either, my girlfriend and son were waiting for me. We had agreed to climb Mt. Norwottuck, which not coincidently I was looking at from this hill, my cell phone buzzing away in my pocket.


This was going to be a long day outdoors for sure. More on our hike up this hill coming up...

1 comment:

Mary E.Carey said...

Fantastic Mount Pollux photos, especially of the two trees.