Memorial Day, Remember?

Is it too late to put up some pics from Memorial Day?



This 7 day time delay for posting is evidence of a long running disturbing shift in free blogging time over here at 'in the valley'. I can make excuses for that with the best of them: The care and feeding of the bloggerette... long hours with fewer people to do much more work over at the day job... facebook and twitter dissolving the will to put more than a 140 characters into posting... a subtle growing senility...

Yes, back in the day we were pumping out 5 or so blog posts a week over here. Now......ehhh, not so much. We've been about a week back-logged and things seem to have leveled out at about 2 posts a week. But fear not oh, faithful readers. The fervor is still there, just not the blogging time lately. At any rate, free time and busyness are always subject to change without notice so we'll see how things play out. One thing is for sure, 'in the valley' will press on...

But back to Memorial Day. Here in Ludlow the parade route runs close to home, and the thumping of drums had me and the little girl hustling out for a look while giving Kelly a well deserved bit of sleep-in time. We got to the parade a little past midway and just in time to see some traditional Portuguese dancers go by.



For the uninitiated, the Portuguese element is very, very strong in this town. Not to take away from the long standing French, Polish and Irish influences here but the Portuguese, well, come down here sometime, you'll see.



This works out well for the town in food and entertainment; as the Portuguese are very fond of both.





After the parade, I broke the surly bonds of home life, handed a refreshed Kelly the conn, and escaped on the motortbike for a holiday look around the valley.

Before long, the newly planted fields of Whately were whirring by my peripherals.





Then into the thick spring greenery of Deerfield and Montague...



...were a pit stop was in order for a closer look at a storm torn tree, which was miraculously rent asunder without breaking any of the delicate tombstones of this ancient graveyard.



Just as last spring and summer were probably the rainiest in recent memory; this year is shaping up to be the windiest and stormiest. They've sure been coming strong, fast and frequently. I can't remember ever seeing so many trees go down.

Moving on, the Connecticut river was low and slow below as I zoomed by and into Montague.



An hour or so left, There was time for a hurried dash up route 2 as far as Erving, where a cool roadside antiques/craft store/deli served as the turn-around point on my cruise.





A quick break, a few more pics, and alas the holiday weekend was complete.



Time to set a return course...

T.S.I. Ludlow

A few days ago, that little toilet paper roll holder, you know that spring-loaded rod thing, was reported as mysteriously missing.



Not long after that other reports came 'flooding' in: the toilet had begun showing dour signs of malfunction and imminent failure, with waters reaching terrifying new heights.



Witnesses called our attention to a person of interest seen fleeing the area shortly after the rod's disappearance...



...but incriminations would have to wait until the crisis at hand was abated. A quick response team swept into action armed with whatever makeshift tools were at hand...



...but little progress was effected against the swirling torrent now threatening to swamp the peaceful homestead with whatever evils those porcelain depths might belch up.

Stronger measures were in order and a rescue mission was launched to the Home Depot in the dark of night, to obtain whatever tools and products that could further aid us in our hour of need.



(...and speaking of hour, It had been several since lunch and time was running out, fast...)

After every avenue was attempted until the heavy movers were finally called in; the toilet was unseated from it's base and the belly of the beast fearlessly probed...gag reflexes held in check. The offending obstruction was found and lifted to safety with not a minute to spare.



Once business was back under way; a search net could then be cast for the fugitive. Baby-gates were placed at every doorway intersection. After a short foot chase the perp was apprehended, subdued with tickling, and brought in for questioning.





Under heavy questioning the accused adamantly stuck to her story; a series of consonants, gurgles and squeaks.

Finally the prosecution had to give in. No charges could be filed since the perp pleaded the fifth, on the grounds that she hadn't learned to speak yet; and was let off with just a vigorous pointing at the toilet roll and firm "Nooo!"...

Final Sunset

See you in 2010...

Brighter Days Ahead

Thanks to Daryl Lafleur at the Northampton Redoubt for alerting us to the winter solstice celebration at Arcadia Monday night. Kelly had to work, but I bundled up the bloggerette and the two of us made our way there for the frigid festivities.



This turned out to be a much bigger celebration than I had expected. There were probably close to a couple hundred people. Everyone seemed cheery and talkative, the cold darkness only adding to the excitement.



The celebration began with poetry and song, both well crafted and well delivered, setting the mood for the evening and drawing appreciative applause and cheers from the expanding crowd.



It was a beautifully crisp and clear winter night. Away from the city and street lights, all the stars were brightly visible. The waxing moon and Venus was on one end of the sky and Orion was rising above the tree line on the other. I absent-mindedly continued clicking away with the flash on, trying to get a good shot of the crowd until I got a mild rebuke from one of the blinded star-gazers, with a stern "Duuude; Chill."



Woops...

We listened to the speakers and singers and after a while, although bloggerette wasn't acting uncomfortable, I was getting a little concerned with how she might be faring in the icy wind. So we took a break and crunched over the snow to the nearby sanctuary building. Here there was cider and pie and above all, warmth. We hung out in there for a little bit until some kids came running in, excitedly declaring "They're lighting the fire!"

Time to get back out there.



The fire grew quick and to the delight of the crowd, soon it was quite the conflagration.



The baby had never seen a bonfire, it was a first for her...and I had never been to a Solstice celebration. A first for me. A couple of times someone would attempt to sing out a holiday song, and just as it seemed to catch on with more members of the crowd, it would suddenly peter out before taking hold. The spirit was there, just not quite the gumption...



Although the fire was warm and the mood inviting, Bloggerette's nose and cheeks were now turning bright red. A sneeze later and I figured it was best to get going. One final gaze into the fire and the crowd...





...before heading out.



Interestingly, when we were some distance away, one last look over our shoulders revealed something was astir above the solstice celebrators, perhaps even beyond their dimension...



Hmm ...Some kind of sign? ...An omen? ...A winter spirit summoned, ouija-like, by the celebration? ...Lens flare?

You decide.