Ashley, Actually

Happy summer to everyone, (also Happy Fathers day to all whom it applies, I'm particularly grateful). Summer has arrived, believe it or not. The non-stop rains (17 of the past 21 days) have most everybody shuttered indoors, perhaps humming that tune 'Don't fence me in'...



(I had to segue that pic into this post somehow...)

Even here at 'in the valley' headquarters we're not completely immune to the forces inclement. While we normally won't allow a little rain to keep us from exercising our right to exercise, we've unfortunately been struck with the extraordinary double-whammy of rain coupled with one of our members' recent handicap...Mama down!



Kelly has joined the narrow, chosen ranks of "People who have actually sprained their ankles while gardening"....

But alas, no need to grimace...



...I dug up some pics of a quick sunset walk we did recently, at Ashley Reservoir in Holyoke, to keep focused on the dry days ahead and to remind that all is not soaked...

The sun - remember the sun? - is especially gorgeous when it's low to the horizon, casting horizontally through the trees. And we got there just in time to see it light up the woods, seemingly from within...



As always, what makes Ashley so special is the way the paths run through the thick woods, and then suddenly give way to wide open water...





The bulk of the springtime wildflowers have already peaked, but tenaciously hold on to their colors as they succumb to time.



A quick salute to the the proud fathers of the Kingdom Animalia...



(Did I mention how grateful I was..?)



...And we finish the short loop, just as the last of the sun tucked itself away...



Ok, summer. Bring it...

Color Wheel

We had a couple of hours for a bike ride, and Ashley Reservoir in Holyoke seemed like a good place to combine some leaf peeping with a little exercise.





The reservoir was pretty heavily populated Sunday, even during late afternoon; I suspect the long weekend must have something to do with that. I'm not sure if it can be called peak color yet, but the trees that have turned, have turned in a big way...



The trees surrounding Ashley, like most reservoirs, are mostly evergreens.



I'm not sure why that is, maybe it has something to do with the sandy soil surrounding the water, which is supposed to be prime pine tree soil. Maybe it has something to do with less leaves falling into the drinking water.



Either way, the tall pines here are fronted on the edge of the water by smaller, younger, color-bursting deciduous varieties that have since moved in.







Farther inland, many of the prudish pines are ensconced by vines which are also just starting to show some color. There's no getting away from autumn...







Oddly, there were no geese to be seen today; this reservoir is usually goose heaven. This left the ducks with free reign over the waters.





My favorite time of year has always been Spring. But I know that many people, including my two cohorts, favor the fall. I can see why; the air is crisp, the smells are vibrant, the colors are ablaze.





But after the sun sets in Autumn, don't we get a taste of the months to come...

The Shiny Red Bike, And Other Treats

My friend Tom Daponde recently found a great deal on a nice mountain bike, from Craigslist. Since that day, he's been sending me regular dispatches from far-flung reaches of the Connecticut river valley, and on into the trail ribbed depths of Connecticut state itself. It appears he can't be stopped, the bug's taken hold. Then, he found this (fantastic) book:



...and it was all over. The old, walking Tom is gone. The new, rolling Tom will be coming to a bike trail near you...

So it was no surprise when he asked if we wanted to go for a bike ride after work today. Well, he was preaching to the choir. I discarded all previous obligations when I got home, loaded up the bikes, scooped up Kelly, and we were on the way to meet up with Tom at the Ashley Reservoir in Holyoke. Apparently we weren't alone with the idea. The small parking lot there was near capacity.



We mounted up. Tires, check. Water, check. Sunglasses, check. You know what...? Forget the sunglasses. No, wait, give them to me... Actually, yeah, forget the sunglasses. And we were off. A quick left and right through some tall, ivy ensconced pines...



And swoosh...through the water laden beauty that is the Ashley Reservoir.





For all the cars parked at the gate, it wasn't at all crowded on the trails. There were certainly more geese than people. Ashley, by the way, is a Goose's paradise. (watch your step).



Tom had only been here once before, on a walk a group of us took an autumn or two ago. I noted to him that things are much better on two wheels. You pretty much get all the benefits of walking, and are able to cover much more ground. Well, I was preaching to the choir. The trail has been recently re-graveled, so the biking was smooth, as well as the running, and even for the poor misguided folks, the walking...







We whisked ourselves down and around the trail, and made it around the 3.4 mile loop all to quickly. Hmm, the walkers are still enjoying it, I thought, to myself. I thought about going round one more time. But the sunlight was fading fast, it was too late to start another loop around.



Let's get ice cream.



We shot over to Easthampton, and I called in to Mike Rooney, a native, to meet up with us. We parked and crossed the street, to Mt. Tom's Ice Cream; Home of the fabled Ice Cream Diaries.



It was my first time in here, as I don't have much of a sweet tooth and don't often frequent these establishments. But boy if I did...this place is sweet-tooth nirvana. Witness the jars of candy lining the walls, and every conceivable shelf space.



I did notice the proprietor was conspicuously missing, as his poor staff worked furiously, serving the long line of customers that we just added to, exchanging cones and money over cases of pastel colored home made ice creams.



I glanced around and happened to looked through a big opening in the wall behind me, into a back room. Sure enough, what do I see? A blogger at his muse.



I forgot to turn the camera flash off, so Jim Ingram turned around when I snapped the picture. I gave him my best trucker thumbs-up sign through the opening in the wall, and gasped "Hey Jim, Love your blog!"

He nodded and smiled wryly for a second, as if to say, "Thanks...please don't follow me home" and quickly turned back to his work, lest he get the stranger with the camera too excited.

Our group sat down at one of the small round tables, and thoroughly enjoyed the fresh, cold ice creams. Jim does good work.

Afterwards, we drifted outside into the sunset, and chatted, leaning against the fence by Nashawannuck pond, until after dark.





Time to get home again; another summer evening upon us.

A Holyoke Saturday

Holyoke had some goings-on this Saturday...

First up, they were having the annual 10k Road Race. Its a huge foot race involving thousands of people; part of the St. Patrick's Day Parade festivities in town this weekend, culminating in the huge parade itself on Sunday. We got to the upper end of South St. where it intersects Rte.5, just as the lead group of runners were going by.



We walked up to the corner just as the main group was approaching.









It was a big event, with something like 3500 participants. There were also a lot of people on the side of the road clapping and cheering the runners on. Some of the runners did there best to stand out in the sea of humanity, streaming past at trotting speed.





Some appeared to have sponsors, or maybe they just really liked certain products.





It was a pretty diverse mass of runners; young, old, dogs, kids in strollers, the fit, and the fat. Some were doing it for the win, some for achieving their personal best, but for most it was obviously just in the spirit of fun and exercise. Amherst blogger Mary Carey is a perennial participant, and took some notes from a runner's point of view, as well as the post-race gatherings.





After the last of the runners went by, we headed out. We passed this group of revelers on their front yard. They had front row seats to the weekend festivities and were making use of it. All it took was a quick toot of the horn to elicit a roaring "Woooooooooo!" from them.




Boston Prophet

We continued on to the Barnes And Noble bookstore, reason number two we came to Holyoke today. We had heard rumors that a guru from the east would be there, meeting with the common folk. We went to seek him out, and hopefully glean some grace and knowledge, from nearness to his magnificence. Yes, Howie Carr was in town.



He was there signing books with Colonel Hunt, of conservative talk radio and tv fame. Both were promoting their new books. Howie's, called 'The Brothers Bulger', obviously about the Bulger brothers. And Colonel Hunt's book, called 'On The Hunt', about winning the war on terrorism. It was standing room only on the second floor of the book store.



Kelly paid her respects to the talk radio celebrity, her personal hero...



Time for lunch. We decided to try a pizza joint nearby on Rte. 202 called Manny's Pizza, at a small shopping plaza called the Holyoke Mini Mall.



Being a connoisseur of pizza joints, I find the measure of a good one lies in the quality of it's steak and cheese grinders. Kelly usually handles the personal pizza taste-test. Chris was on hand today, and tried their chicken cutlet grinder. All three passed with flying colors, with real ingredients, good seasonings, and the all-so-important good bread quality. And the food came out PIPING hot, which didn't hurt either. One curiosity though; what's up with the backwards 'Z's on the banner near the ceiling? Is Manny aware of this?



While waiting for our food, I was reading the local Holyoke Paper, called The Sun. It's pretty good, with some nice, frank writing. On one of the pages, there are photographs of some street-walkers and their johns, who were recently arrested in a sting operation in the Central Business District of Holyoke.



The pictures are presumably there to further embarrass those caught, and further discourage their activities. I'm telling you, Police Chief Anthony Scott should run for Governor.

Happy Trails

We stuffed ourselves. Unabashedly. Afterwards we needed to either work off some of those calories, or take a nap. Luckily, Ashley Resevoir was right nearby, with some scenery and great walking trails. We opted to stay awake, and we'd better, because you don't want to wander off some of these trails.













Saw my first Tree Swallows of the year there, zipping just above the water eating the bugs that were surprisingly abundant today.



I wonder what effect the recent Bat plague will have on the quantity of bugs this year. Will there be infestations? Or will there just be more for the other animals, like the Swallows? Blogger Michaelanne Bewsee has been following the strange phenomenon.

One thing is for sure, the flat, almost unsloped windshield of the Jeep always acts like a big bug collector. Or bug vaporizer, actually. I'm usually able to gauge the intensity of the years bug population by late May...



Messy work, but someone's got to do it.