Down on the Farm.

Just another one of the many cool things about living in western Mass. A farmshare at Mountain View Farm (the farm formally known as Ole' Turtle Farm). Fresh veg to eat and cut flowers for the shop tables every week all summer. I know the shares sell out pretty fast every Fall, but definitely worth checking out if you're a Pioneer Valley rez. Check it out here.

A few shots from a recent morning 'u-pick'. Another heat wave is here, must go make ice cream. Come on down. The Blackberry Merlot Sorbet is going fast.

Savor the Moment.

During the space between careers, I had the great fortune to enjoy some amazing travel. What started as 'taking the summer off' after getting laid off from my high powered engineering job at a now-busted optical networking startup (I know, that's a long way away from making ice cream), turned into nearly two incredible years of wanderlust. First, I drove cross-country in my little Acura, with just a tent, some camping supplies, my laptop & camera, and U.S. road atlas. Thiry-five states, three months, and many thousands of miles. 16 National Parks. Alaska. Mountain biking in Moab, Utah. Camping in Grand Canyon National Park. Getting up early to catch Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park. So many unforgetable moments.

My second adventure took me to Australia and New Zealand with a buddy who also got laid off that summer. We did the entire east coast of that land down under. Syndey to Caines. Dove the Great Barrier Reef. Camped on a deserted island. Walked on a glacier on the South Island of New Zealand. Hiked through rainforests.

We were hiking, wide-eyed, through one of the rainforests in New Zealand, and my buddy says to me, 'remember this moment. This is something you'll remember your entire life.' As we sat in that mossy forest and scarfed power bars, we literally savored the moment.

There were many moments during those years of adventure. When I think back, the moments that stand out in my mind aren't things like the hike down into the Grand Canyon (although that was very cool) or driving the twisties of Big Sur (again very cool). No, it was more the little moments. Sitting with a glass of red on the edge of a lake reflecting the majestic Grand Tetons. Being woken up in the middle of the night by a light so bright I thought it was morning, only to open the flap of my tent to discover a full moon so bright you could read a book under it. That moon was rising over the desert of Joshua Tree National Park in California, and became a moment carved into my mind as one of the most tranquil, dare I say spiritual, I've ever experienced.I could go on and on. Perhaps in a book for my counter someday.

So what does all this have to do with life and ice cream, you begin to wonder?

It's simple, really. As our t-shirts like to say,

Life is Short.
Eat Ice Cream.

Translation:

Life is short.

Savor the moments.

The nature of the moments I experience in this adventure I call 'Mt. Tom's' is certainly different, but that doesn't stop me from occasionally stopping to try to 'remember the moment' as my buddy suggested a few years back in New Zealand. And sometimes, I'm even able to grab my camera before that moment's passed...

My nephew, Willy, during a rare visit from his home state of Florida.

A buddy's kids. Check out baby sis in the background.

Happy customers.

A couple scoopers decided to do a shift with the ice cream party hats. Seems they didn't aspire to have the moment recorded.

If you haven't been to the shop this year, you haven't seen the digital picture frame on the counter. It's chock full of pleasant moments of life in an ice cream shop.

All aboard for Mt. Tom's.

Ok, so some customers are more reluctant than others to make the digital picture of moments frame. Perhaps I'll just stick to kiddos. They don't seem to mind...

Let's face it. There's plenty of reasons to feel down these days. Just open the newspaper to any page. In these times of foreclosures, $4.00 gas, inflation, stock market dips, and the temporary demise of the travel vacation, one's ability to enjoy the simple moments becomes even more important. I guess that's what makes this gig so great. I get to be part of one of those simple moments of happiness nearly all day, every day.

What more could you ask for in a job.

Thanks for listening.

A Sign of Things to Come?

An albeit well intoxicated man enjoys a float on the pond this past weekend. As hot as it's supposed to get later this week, I still don't think a dip in the Nashawannuck is such a great idea.

But one can only hope...

Easthampton awaits state ruling on pond cleanup

Shop's gone to the Dogs.

Adorning the walls of Mt. Tom's this month, it's regular dogs in crazy digs. Check out this madcapped collection of aristodogs all month as part of this weekend's ArtWalkEasthampton festivities.

The artist is Carol Lew, and she paints dogs in fancy clothes. The show includes both prints and original oils, all in handsome frames. Definitely worth dropping by for a look. And while you're here, may I suggest the strawberry cheesecake ice cream. Or perhaps the peach mango or blackberry merlot sorbet?

And while you're strolling around Cottage Street, don't forget to check out the Nashawannuck Gallery's 'Oz show', held over for another month. Rumor has it, that Red Shoe'd girl will be making an appearance.

ArtWalk goes from 5-8pm Saturday night. Here's a map for you.

Happy National Ice Cream Month to you & yours.

I was thinking since this blog is called 'Ice Cream Diaries' and not just 'Jim's Diaries', that I should actually talk about ice cream once in a while. So here we go. What you see before you is the latest creation in my little ice cream kitchen. Commonly called 'S'Mores', it's a chocolate base with marshmallow swirl, little marshmallows, graham cracker crunchy things, and chocolate chips all swirled together like a big happy family. How's that sound?

If you're not a big chocolate ice cream person, here's what else is cookin' on the specials board this week... Rum Raisin, Black Licorice, Banana, Mocha Chip, Heath Bar Crunch, Cake Batter Chip, Blueberry Pie, Peach, Strawberry Cheesecake, and Watermelon Sherbet.

On deck... Blackberry Merlot Sorbet, Peach Mango Sorbet, Swiss Chocolate Almond, Ginger, burnt sugar

And another interesting development... Made my first batch of Soy gelato this week. It's a French Vanilla, and I've been told by a few non-dairy types that 'it's really good'. It seems to be selling pretty well, so perhaps Soy Gelato could be that nice non-dairy alternative to sorbet. Stay tuned.

Moving along to the consumption portion of the show, here's a shot of the Day Care Express, fully loaded with kiddos enjoying some cool refreshment.

And in the spirit of National Ice Cream month, I feel oblidged to pass along some ice cream trivia...

• Based on ice cream consumption figures, the top five individual flavors in terms of share of segment in the United States are: vanilla (30%), chocolate (10%), butter pecan (4%), strawberry (3.7%) and chocolate chip mint (3.2%). Source: The NPD Group's National Eating Trends Services
• Ice cream and related frozen desserts are consumed by more than 90% of households in the United States. Source: Mintel
• More ice cream is sold on Sunday than any other day of the week.
• Top 10 Ice Cream Consuming Countries in the World
  1) United States 2) New Zealand 3) Denmark 4) Austrailia 5) Belgium/Luxembourg 6) Sweden 7) Canada 8) Norway 9) Ireland 10) Switzerland

Ok, that's enough.

Too hot for ice cream (like that's even possible)? Can I tempt with the latest confectionary temptation here...
Ok, so maybe a marshmallow ant farm isn't exactly what you woke up hankerin' for this morning. How about this one? Chocolate-covered pretzels with Jimmies.

Stay cool, and if you can't stay cool, stay sugared up at least.

Long Weekend

Hope you're winding down nicely after the long holiday weekend. A couple (nearly) random thoughts and images for your end of weekend (or ease into work Monday morning)...



"You have to believe in yourself when no one else does. That's what makes you a winner."
- Venus Williams



An interesting article on happiness.... Happiness, Is it as easy as a Smile?

And a few intriguing variations of recent Mt. Tom's shoots, ala Photoshop...

Prints (in the form of photo cards) will be available for purchase soon at the soda fountain counter in the shop. Hey, gotta support my photography compulsion somehow...

Hope you had a great holiday. See you soon.

Happy Fourth.

Hope you and yours have a relaxing and enjoyable fourth.