Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Bash Bish Falls
Every year I try to visit at least one waterfall that is out of state. If you've read previous posts here you've seen some of the falls I've been to. Well, here's the latest one and it was a workout to boot!
Bash Bish Falls in Mt. Washington, Ma. was where we went this year. And this time Taunya couldn't make it so it was KC, me, Bunny and Stacey (who is a virgin hiker no longer!).
It's about an hour and a half to get there if you don't get lost or sidetracked by any of the antique shops along the way. The town of Stockbridge and Great Barrington seemed to have the most shops in their towns. Unfortunately we got a later start than we had planned so we didn't have time to shop. The falls are located on the border of Ma. and Ct and very close to NY....also known as the Berkshires.
I thought the name of the falls was very unusual so I looked it up to see if there is a story that goes along with it. And there was! If I remember correctly here is the story.
Bash Bish is the name of a beautiful Indian maiden (don't all the stories start off this way?). Well in our language she would be named White Swan; Bash Bish is the Indian version. She married a brave (don't recall his name) and he eventually left her for another woman because White Swan couldn't have any children. She was very distraught and went to the falls because they were peaceful. While there she heard her mother calling her from under the falls where she lived. (I know, how can she live under the falls?) She was over come with joy and jumped into the water to go to her mother. She was never seen again. Meanwhile her husband (the nameless rat) was searching for her. He came to the falls just as she was jumping in so he jumped in also. He was killed and his body was found later down stream but her body was never found. They say if you listen very carefully you can still hear her mother calling to White Swan.
Now here's what I think really happened. White Swan's husband was cheating on her but in Indian culture it was considered acceptable to take more than one wife and especially if the first wife couldn't have children. White Swan felt useless according to everything she'd been taught plus she probably felt unloved and so she decided to kill herself by throwing herself into the falls. Her husband (still a nameless rat even in this version) felt guilty or perhaps he still actually loved her, went looking for her at the falls. He sees her jump in and thinking he can save her, he jumps in too. The force of the water is too much for both of them and they both die. Probably both bodies were washed down stream but it sounds more romantic if her body isn't found....leaving the superstitious to believe that she has truly gone to be with her mother. There is also the point that the legend says the mother lived under the falls. Could this mean that she is already dead and by White Swan going to her it meant she was going to take her own life? We will never know. And for the record, I didn't hear anything but the falls while I was there.
The hike down to the falls was not difficult at all. The first view of the falls was spectacular but of course I had to get closer. I ended up spending quite a bit of time climbing over boulders; down embankments; using large tree roots as handles and even larger stones for steps. It was the hardest workout I've had in a long time and worth every tired muscle it produced. I actually amazed myself that I was able to do some of the stuff I did and get to spots that a sane person would have ignored. But I found that if you are careful where and how you go, think about the maneuver before you do it, and use common sense to realize your limits, it's really not that hard. Of course there are spots there (cliffs really) that would no doubt kill a person if they fell. That was always in the back of my head too. (don't do anything stupid..you are too far away from a hospital).
I fully expected to somehow fall into the water at some point. Luckily I didn't, but KC did. Her foot slipped on a wet rock and with a tiny squeal she was knee deep in water. This resulted in nothing worse than wet feet and soggy footprints left on the rocks for awhile. The water was cold as I would expect it to be in Spring time. But the mist coming off the falls was so refreshing!
When I headed downstream a little I found what looked to be a cave and I heard a little cheer go up in my head. This could be interesting! Maybe a bear lives in there. Maybe weasels live in there. I was like a little kid running amuck in a candy store with all the possibilities running through my head. I advanced very carefully and took pictures as I went. My head was also telling me to get a shot of whatever it is that may attack me so they will know what killed me. (quite gruesome but also practical?). As it turned out the cave was too shallow for any large creature to live there but it could possibly house a medium sized animal that needed a hiding place for a while. It was more of a deep ledge than anything and I was disappointed. It wasn't until I got home that I remembered reading that this area is known to have rattle snakes living there. (and me without a snake bite kit!)
Eventually it was time to go and we all decided to take the "short cut" back up the hill. Well that short cut was indeed shorter than the original route we took to come down but it was also at least 3 times harder...at least for me. Stacey and KC didn't seem to have any trouble with it. I suppose that's where the difference in our ages comes into play! Both of them are at least 20 something years younger than me. THEY made it look easy and they were out of sight before I knew it. Bunny and I stopped to rest several times (Bunny was keeping me company most of those times, she didn't have as hard a time as I did) and continued lumbering up the hill (at times gasping for breath) and didn't see them again until we reached the parking lot. I was shaking with muscle fatigue by the time I got there and ready to just lay on the ground! But after all the climbing I'd done on the rocks and up and down the cliffs I shouldn't have been surprised. It does distress me to feel that weak. (I had flashbacks to my Mother trying to keep up with us "kids" last year when we took her to a lobster fest.) It's like a slap in the face when your brain feels like it's 20 something and your body doesn't agree with it.
After lunch I was completely recovered. Probably should have eaten before hiking the falls. You'd think I'd know that by now but I'm sure that was part of the 20 something mentality that kicked in when we got there. The ride home was boring for Stacey. She was driving. I dozed off in the back seat and when I woke I found that everyone but Stacey was asleep! Aha! I'm not the only one that was worn out by the hike!! Poor Stacey had to stay awake. There is no auto-pilot on her car.
So here's the pictures I took of the falls and the surrounding area. I had to pick and choose which ones to use because I actually took about 90 shots! I hope you enjoy them.
Bash Bish Falls in Mt. Washington, Ma. was where we went this year. And this time Taunya couldn't make it so it was KC, me, Bunny and Stacey (who is a virgin hiker no longer!).
It's about an hour and a half to get there if you don't get lost or sidetracked by any of the antique shops along the way. The town of Stockbridge and Great Barrington seemed to have the most shops in their towns. Unfortunately we got a later start than we had planned so we didn't have time to shop. The falls are located on the border of Ma. and Ct and very close to NY....also known as the Berkshires.
I thought the name of the falls was very unusual so I looked it up to see if there is a story that goes along with it. And there was! If I remember correctly here is the story.
Bash Bish is the name of a beautiful Indian maiden (don't all the stories start off this way?). Well in our language she would be named White Swan; Bash Bish is the Indian version. She married a brave (don't recall his name) and he eventually left her for another woman because White Swan couldn't have any children. She was very distraught and went to the falls because they were peaceful. While there she heard her mother calling her from under the falls where she lived. (I know, how can she live under the falls?) She was over come with joy and jumped into the water to go to her mother. She was never seen again. Meanwhile her husband (the nameless rat) was searching for her. He came to the falls just as she was jumping in so he jumped in also. He was killed and his body was found later down stream but her body was never found. They say if you listen very carefully you can still hear her mother calling to White Swan.
Now here's what I think really happened. White Swan's husband was cheating on her but in Indian culture it was considered acceptable to take more than one wife and especially if the first wife couldn't have children. White Swan felt useless according to everything she'd been taught plus she probably felt unloved and so she decided to kill herself by throwing herself into the falls. Her husband (still a nameless rat even in this version) felt guilty or perhaps he still actually loved her, went looking for her at the falls. He sees her jump in and thinking he can save her, he jumps in too. The force of the water is too much for both of them and they both die. Probably both bodies were washed down stream but it sounds more romantic if her body isn't found....leaving the superstitious to believe that she has truly gone to be with her mother. There is also the point that the legend says the mother lived under the falls. Could this mean that she is already dead and by White Swan going to her it meant she was going to take her own life? We will never know. And for the record, I didn't hear anything but the falls while I was there.
The hike down to the falls was not difficult at all. The first view of the falls was spectacular but of course I had to get closer. I ended up spending quite a bit of time climbing over boulders; down embankments; using large tree roots as handles and even larger stones for steps. It was the hardest workout I've had in a long time and worth every tired muscle it produced. I actually amazed myself that I was able to do some of the stuff I did and get to spots that a sane person would have ignored. But I found that if you are careful where and how you go, think about the maneuver before you do it, and use common sense to realize your limits, it's really not that hard. Of course there are spots there (cliffs really) that would no doubt kill a person if they fell. That was always in the back of my head too. (don't do anything stupid..you are too far away from a hospital).
I fully expected to somehow fall into the water at some point. Luckily I didn't, but KC did. Her foot slipped on a wet rock and with a tiny squeal she was knee deep in water. This resulted in nothing worse than wet feet and soggy footprints left on the rocks for awhile. The water was cold as I would expect it to be in Spring time. But the mist coming off the falls was so refreshing!
When I headed downstream a little I found what looked to be a cave and I heard a little cheer go up in my head. This could be interesting! Maybe a bear lives in there. Maybe weasels live in there. I was like a little kid running amuck in a candy store with all the possibilities running through my head. I advanced very carefully and took pictures as I went. My head was also telling me to get a shot of whatever it is that may attack me so they will know what killed me. (quite gruesome but also practical?). As it turned out the cave was too shallow for any large creature to live there but it could possibly house a medium sized animal that needed a hiding place for a while. It was more of a deep ledge than anything and I was disappointed. It wasn't until I got home that I remembered reading that this area is known to have rattle snakes living there. (and me without a snake bite kit!)
Eventually it was time to go and we all decided to take the "short cut" back up the hill. Well that short cut was indeed shorter than the original route we took to come down but it was also at least 3 times harder...at least for me. Stacey and KC didn't seem to have any trouble with it. I suppose that's where the difference in our ages comes into play! Both of them are at least 20 something years younger than me. THEY made it look easy and they were out of sight before I knew it. Bunny and I stopped to rest several times (Bunny was keeping me company most of those times, she didn't have as hard a time as I did) and continued lumbering up the hill (at times gasping for breath) and didn't see them again until we reached the parking lot. I was shaking with muscle fatigue by the time I got there and ready to just lay on the ground! But after all the climbing I'd done on the rocks and up and down the cliffs I shouldn't have been surprised. It does distress me to feel that weak. (I had flashbacks to my Mother trying to keep up with us "kids" last year when we took her to a lobster fest.) It's like a slap in the face when your brain feels like it's 20 something and your body doesn't agree with it.
After lunch I was completely recovered. Probably should have eaten before hiking the falls. You'd think I'd know that by now but I'm sure that was part of the 20 something mentality that kicked in when we got there. The ride home was boring for Stacey. She was driving. I dozed off in the back seat and when I woke I found that everyone but Stacey was asleep! Aha! I'm not the only one that was worn out by the hike!! Poor Stacey had to stay awake. There is no auto-pilot on her car.
So here's the pictures I took of the falls and the surrounding area. I had to pick and choose which ones to use because I actually took about 90 shots! I hope you enjoy them.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Magic Wings
A visit to the Butterfly Conservatory in Dearfield, Ma. was long overdue. I hadn't been there in years and only had a vague memory of what it was like. Well I certainly wasn't disappointed by this trip!
When I walked in the door I was expecting the butterflies to be everywhere and they were. But what really surprised me was a group of tiny little Chinese Quail that sashayed across the floor in front of my feet. There were 3 of them and they acted like it was no big deal to constantly dodge feet on their quest to reach the plants (and relative safety) on the other side. I immediately said out loud 'oohhh what the heck was that'? But I got no answer because I was the only one that saw them. Being the inquisitive creature that I am I headed off in the same direction they went but no matter where I looked I couldn't find them. Just as I was chalking it up to 'butterfly madness' I saw another little creature (different color) scuttle along the edge of the walkway and disappear in the bushes. I turned my camera on and took off after him.
And this time I struck gold! I found several of the little birds AND a nest of eggs! Before the visit was over I'm sure those cute little birds were completely sick of me and my camera turning up in their face every time they turned around ...but I did manage to get a few good shots. If I could have managed to climb right into the bushes without being caught and thrown out of the place (the only thing that was stopping me) I would have been able to get some really spectacular pictures. Quail are timid little things when they 'notice' they are being photographed.
Another thing I aspired to today was for a butterfly to land on me. After all, one landed on Stacey's butt and she didn't even notice at first. It took a stranger who wanted to photograph the butterfly on her butt, to tell her because she felt it would be breaking some kind of rule to photograph a butterfly on someones butt without first obtaining their permission to do so. Hmmmm she may have a point there. But in any case I also took a picture of the cheeky butterfly while Stacey just grinned and accepted her predicament with good humor. Well it's not like she had much of a choice anyway now did she? We are not allowed to touch the butterflies so how would one get that off ones butt without actually touching it or injuring it in any way? I have a vision of Stacey performing vigorous butt gyrations in an attempt to convince this butterfly to leave her posterior. But funny as that would have been, Stacey knows full well that I would have filmed that dance of hers and she's much too smart to let that happen. So she stood there and let the world photograph that butterfly on her butt! Good girl Stacey!
We had lunch at the butterfly place and headed out to Yankee Candle not far down the road. The last time I had been there I no sooner stepped in the door than the overwhelming scents of the place gave me a roaring headache. I didn't last long in there that time. This time I had no such problem. No headache...even though we spent the first 15 mins smelling every candle and soap in that room. Wonderful! But it is true that once you've smell a bunch of them you tend to lose the ability to smell anymore. They all start smelling the same! We moved on to the next rooms.
We didn't see everything in there but we saw the most interesting stuff and bought the sale items. If you've ever seen the sticker price of a normal candle in there you'll understand why we only bought the ones on sale! Unfortunately I we didn't discover the garden dept until we were checking out. They had the funniest looking planters in there. They had comical faces on them and I would have loved to buy one...except the prices gave me sticker shock! There is only just some much money I am willing to blow on whimsical items and I'd already reached my limit. (too bad)
All in all it was a good visit to Yankee Candle and I'd be willing to go again some time..but not until my pocketbook recovers a bit first!
These are some of the pictures I took at the Butterfly Conservatory. If you ever get a chance to check that place out please don't hesitate to do it. Nobody has a bad time there!
When I walked in the door I was expecting the butterflies to be everywhere and they were. But what really surprised me was a group of tiny little Chinese Quail that sashayed across the floor in front of my feet. There were 3 of them and they acted like it was no big deal to constantly dodge feet on their quest to reach the plants (and relative safety) on the other side. I immediately said out loud 'oohhh what the heck was that'? But I got no answer because I was the only one that saw them. Being the inquisitive creature that I am I headed off in the same direction they went but no matter where I looked I couldn't find them. Just as I was chalking it up to 'butterfly madness' I saw another little creature (different color) scuttle along the edge of the walkway and disappear in the bushes. I turned my camera on and took off after him.
And this time I struck gold! I found several of the little birds AND a nest of eggs! Before the visit was over I'm sure those cute little birds were completely sick of me and my camera turning up in their face every time they turned around ...but I did manage to get a few good shots. If I could have managed to climb right into the bushes without being caught and thrown out of the place (the only thing that was stopping me) I would have been able to get some really spectacular pictures. Quail are timid little things when they 'notice' they are being photographed.
Another thing I aspired to today was for a butterfly to land on me. After all, one landed on Stacey's butt and she didn't even notice at first. It took a stranger who wanted to photograph the butterfly on her butt, to tell her because she felt it would be breaking some kind of rule to photograph a butterfly on someones butt without first obtaining their permission to do so. Hmmmm she may have a point there. But in any case I also took a picture of the cheeky butterfly while Stacey just grinned and accepted her predicament with good humor. Well it's not like she had much of a choice anyway now did she? We are not allowed to touch the butterflies so how would one get that off ones butt without actually touching it or injuring it in any way? I have a vision of Stacey performing vigorous butt gyrations in an attempt to convince this butterfly to leave her posterior. But funny as that would have been, Stacey knows full well that I would have filmed that dance of hers and she's much too smart to let that happen. So she stood there and let the world photograph that butterfly on her butt! Good girl Stacey!
We had lunch at the butterfly place and headed out to Yankee Candle not far down the road. The last time I had been there I no sooner stepped in the door than the overwhelming scents of the place gave me a roaring headache. I didn't last long in there that time. This time I had no such problem. No headache...even though we spent the first 15 mins smelling every candle and soap in that room. Wonderful! But it is true that once you've smell a bunch of them you tend to lose the ability to smell anymore. They all start smelling the same! We moved on to the next rooms.
We didn't see everything in there but we saw the most interesting stuff and bought the sale items. If you've ever seen the sticker price of a normal candle in there you'll understand why we only bought the ones on sale! Unfortunately I we didn't discover the garden dept until we were checking out. They had the funniest looking planters in there. They had comical faces on them and I would have loved to buy one...except the prices gave me sticker shock! There is only just some much money I am willing to blow on whimsical items and I'd already reached my limit. (too bad)
All in all it was a good visit to Yankee Candle and I'd be willing to go again some time..but not until my pocketbook recovers a bit first!
These are some of the pictures I took at the Butterfly Conservatory. If you ever get a chance to check that place out please don't hesitate to do it. Nobody has a bad time there!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
In The Woods
We were off to the woods again with the dogs. Both dogs did very poorly on leash today but I don't think either one cared a bit how much they were yanked back and told to heel. Nick usually calms down after a bit but not today. Bell did calm down after the usual 10 minutes of trying to take KC's arm off.
They both had a few minutes of fun in the water on the way back to the car and Nicki would have gone for an actual swim if I had a long enough leash on her. Bell shows no fear of the water either. I think I have a couple of swimmers on my hands here!! Can't wait to take them to the lake this summer!
Soccer 2010
Kaylee has continued playing soccer. She's now into the 2010 season and doing fine.
The players are still on the miniature side having only had one season more to grow since last year. And just like last year there is a boy that is better than most of the other kids and just about wiping the field with whomever has the ball! Sometimes it's hard to believe these kids are only 6 yrs old....although this boy is smaller than most of the others. Maybe he's better because he's lower to the ground? I don't know. All I know is he's #6 and he's a natural for soccer! I hope his parents keep him in the sport because I've seen kids like him before and most of them turn out to be spectacular players when they are older.
These are some of the pictures I got of Kaylee's game today. She scored two goals and had a couple of assists. And this time she even scored in the right goal!
Brimfield Antique Show
Went to the Brimfield Antique show over the weekend. They run it three times a year. I've been many times but there is something new to see every time. The picture below is a good example of what I mean.
I can't really explain what this car looked like but it was quite unusual and the paint job is the key here. The car was painted to look like it had just rolled off the assembly line and hadn't been painted yet! You have to see it in person to fully appreciate it I think but hopefully you'll get the idea from the photos.
There was tons more to see but I didn't take many pictures. Maybe after you've been so many times you don't feel the need to take pictures. I did buy some stuff there (always do don't I?); an old book (love how they smell!) and some very tasty roasted German nuts; and a sweet little miniature bucket to name a few.
Can't wait to go again in September!
I can't really explain what this car looked like but it was quite unusual and the paint job is the key here. The car was painted to look like it had just rolled off the assembly line and hadn't been painted yet! You have to see it in person to fully appreciate it I think but hopefully you'll get the idea from the photos.
There was tons more to see but I didn't take many pictures. Maybe after you've been so many times you don't feel the need to take pictures. I did buy some stuff there (always do don't I?); an old book (love how they smell!) and some very tasty roasted German nuts; and a sweet little miniature bucket to name a few.
Can't wait to go again in September!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Tess's Party part 2
Mom and Joyce where hamming it up for the camera. I have no idea why they were kissing...I'm just the photographer. I have very little control over the content.
And I should mention that when Bunny lost her camera on our last trip to New York, we decided to get her a new one for her birthday (May 5th) and give it to her at the party. Happy Birthday Bunny! She cried of course. ha ha
And finally, the weird pictures of some of us (and a lot of ME, Stacey!) wearing strange things hanging from our waists and in various bizarre poses....well that was a game the DJ had us playing. (I'm always ready to try a new game....how bad can it be?) I think it was called Old Man Golf. We had to wear pantyhose with two potatoes in one toe and it had to hang just above the floor. I think you get the idea already why they call it Old Man Golf, right?
The object of the game was to get an orange down to the other side of the floor, around my partners cup, and then my partner (Tess was my partner) takes it back across the floor to the cup where I had started from. We could only use the potato nylons to hit the orange..no feet, no hands, nothing else. It was much harder than it sounds! I'm so glad Tess was game to try it because it was tons of fun and we actually won too! My prize was a book light. (never had one, always wanted one) I'm not sure what Tess chose for her prize.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
New York City part 4
More pictures from the Museum of Modern Art (both inside and the courtyard) here. There are also some pictures of us having lunch at TGI Fridays (OMG that place was expensive!) and then in a steak house called Gallaghers (nice place with dark wood and they sell their own steaks on the premises. Everybody has a gimic in NY) while we were waiting for the bus to come back and haul us all home.Overall it was exhausting to spend the day in NY but well worth it for the fun that was had and even the education of it. I would and will definitely visit the city again but I still would never want to live there. :)
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