Sharpening the Ice Cream Saw.

If you're a long-time Ice Cream Diaries reader, you may remember that late October is usually the time I add a rant about my annual trek to the New England Ice Cream Retailers Association (NEICRA) conference. It's basically a couple days of hobknobbing with ice cream shopkeeps, ice cream ingredient and equipment suppliers, and other frozen dairy dessert industry folk, swapping secrets and ideas, enjoying a nice dinner, and unlimited free sweet samples. What's not to like about that?

And another great thing about this ice cream gathering is it's always held at a different location. Last year was Providence, Rhode Island. I went to Cape Cod for it once. This year, Stowe, Vermont. At the Trapp Family Lodge. Since it's just after peak leaf peeper time and before ski season, I think we doubled the population of Stowe, and certainly filled the Lodge.



If my ride was any indication, Vermont is pretty empty this time of year.

I won't bore you with all the cool tips and tricks of the trade I picked up during the conference, except to mention the great recipe for a banana flambe ice cream I learned from the person sitting next to me at dinner, but I thought I would share a few shots from the roadtrip.


I must say Stowe is a very cool small New England town. It looked a little different without snow, but no less beautiful, even post Fall colors...


I always look for the old country store. There's just something so timeless in the datedness of these old places...


Guess this is why they called the place I stayed 'The Riverside Inn'. This was the back window view. Nothing wrong with that...


And wouldn't you know, next to the Inn was a big old fiberglass cow, I'm guessing from a CowFest public art display somewhere in Vermont...


I even stopped at the Ben & Jerry's factory on the way home. I figured it'd be worth a little inspiration, a giftshop ice cream trinket, and perhaps a flash of insight for the mere cost of an hour and three bucks.




They wouldn't let me take photos of the factory floor so we'll have to settle for their famous flavor graveyard. Had to wander up to see that one...



By the way, I did try the free sample at the end of the tour, and throwing all modesty aside, I think my mint chocolate chip would give theirs a run for their money. But that's just one ice cream guy's opinion.

Gotta get me one of these...

Of course with a giant Mt. Tom's logo and some bears on the side. And the Ben & Jerry's crossed out.

Speaking of bears, guess who just started a Fall internship here at Mt. Tom's...

Thanks to Peter Gunn, winner of Chrome Bear II, for graciously offering up Chromey for all to enjoy. He's a little tacky still, but we hope to include him in upcoming holiday window displays.

And finally, a shot of the post Labor Day crew, compliments of Mimi and a couple days with the cat away...

Must go warm up the throwing arm for the Rag Shag parade coming up here soon...

Happy Halloween to you & yours, and feel free to stop by anytime (except Monday)for a scoop of your favorite pumpkin pie ice cream or perhaps try my latest, banana flambe.

Photo of the Day.

He who gawks, er hesitates, as they say. Great sunset at the end of a beautiful New England autumn day. I admired it from my backyard parking lot just a little too long before my camera and I decided to wander down to my usual photo spot at the corner of Williston and Cottage. Still managed to salvage a bit of the great pink sky.

Interesting how the pond filled up from all that rain yesterday. I thought they said it would take a few months for it to refill when they're done. Looks like just a big rain or two will do the trick.

Never one to miss an opportunity to shoot during the 'golden hours', here are a few more, from my wander back from the pond...


Ah, the memories...

I like how this one shows all the stages of leaves in one place...

Colors...

Hope you enjoyed this rain then shine weekend.

Monday Off Photo Excursion & Moment of Zen.

As I mentioned in the last installment of the ICD, I have reclaimed Mondays as my own, and with that, have resumed the pursuit of dairy-free passions. This past Monday, I pointed my trusty Tacoma west, and headed out to the 'country'. First stop, Open View Farm in Conway. I was invited by Mt. Tom's alum turned farmer Kyla Allon (truth be told, I invited myself after having to turn down an invite to help pick garlic a few weekends ago), to catch up and get a tour of the farm she now calls her second home. Above is the sweet old farmhouse which sits comfortably on 200 acres of pristine New England landscape.

Here's Kyla with mate and fellow gardener Dan...

A single llama watches over the flock. When I asked Kyla why people actually raise llamas, she gave an interesting answer. It seems llamas aren't afraid of predators (e.g. coyotes, foxes, bears), unlike sheep who will literally cower together when threatened. Llamas will actually lunge after these predators, and usually scare them away, thus protecting the flock. I'm not sure how a llama would fare against a really hungry fox, but an interesting piece of livestock trivia nonetheless.

I wandered around the grounds, trusty Canon DSLR and me, for a while. Here are a few shots from the visit..

Come to think of it, tomorrow is Garlic Planting Day at Open View Farm, so if you've got 10-2pm free tomorrow (although I'm not sure if they'll be out there in the rain) I'm sure they could use the extra hands.

Thanks to Kyla for the tour, and the farm-fresh parting gifts (pumpkin, garlic cloves,tomatoes).

A shot from a quick drive through downtown Ashfield...

My next stop, Chapel Brook Falls in Ashfield, MA. A beautiful spot somewhere on the backroads between Conway and Williamsburg. One of my favorite photo spots in western MA...

And one more for good measure, from just up the road at the Union Street cross of the Manhan Rail Trail...

There you have it, a little taste of New England during the best season of all here. Hope you enjoyed, especially if you looking out your window at that same old palm tree or a fresh coat of snow on your driveway.

I leave you with a brief moment of zen from the Chapel Brook Falls...

And one more in case you've had a particularly stressful week, with a touch of fall foliage...




Namaste & Happy Autumn to you & yours.

Helpful Reminder: Now Closed on Mondays.

Just wanted to drop in a quick reminder soas to maybe save someone a trip to Mt. Tom's on a monday between now and the beginning of May. Starting tomorrow (October 19th), we'll be locked up tight on mondays so I can go out and take photos, mountain bike, and do all those other things that non-small business owners do on their normal weekend days off. It always seems to take a few weeks for people to adjust to this change, so I thought I'd put the word out here too. We've also shortened the hours a bit, as it seems the shorter days and colder nights make ice cream a tougher sell later in the evening. But fear not, with the exception of a few weeks in January, we're not going anywhere.

And if you're one of those who doesn't eat ice cream when the weather outside is colder than your scoop of cookie dough, we've got you covered. Great Indigo Roasters organic coffee, fancy coffee drinks, hot cider, gourmet chocolates, and more candy than you can shake a pixie stick at.

Here are the hours until Thanksgiving:

• Sundae: 12-8pm
• Monday: Closed
• Tuesday-Thursday: 12-8:30pm
• Friday & Saturday: 12-9:30pm

After Thanksgiving, we'll just shorten the scoop day by half an hour.

Thanks again for making this ice cream season our best yet!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled workday or football game.

Spoke too soon: There is a Hollywood Ending for Chrome Bear!

Well, BearFest 2009 is officially a wrap. Last night's hugely successful gala and auction up at the Log Cabin netted Easthampton City Arts and its amazingly talented artists over $54,000! A capacity crowd of artists, bankers, business owners, Williston School folks, and bear art enthusiasts alike rubbed elbows with each other and the 34 bears we've all come to know and love. As you can see in this shot, even the schoolkid-designed tabletop bears were in attendance...

(image by Patrick Brough)

A huge round of applause once again goes out to the core Easthampton Team that made it all happen. From Ellen Koteen, brainchild and grant-go-getter, to Briana Taylor, lead coordinator and the engine behind just about every aspect of BearFest, to J.P. Pasche, John Polak, Denise Riggs, co-chair, Stuart Beckley, our city planner, Amy Davis, designer of the original bear shape and form, and the rest of the ECA gang, these are the overworked and grossly underpaid (most aren't paid at all!) who did what it took and then some to make this event one that will be talked about for years to come...

(image by Patrick Brough)


It was a full house, and there were more than a few that came to play...

And even a few who came to party...

Silas Kopf, Aloha Bear creator, rocking the aloha! suit. Nice. I wonder if he'd let me borrow it for Halloween?

And wouldn't you know, Chrome Bear was brought back from his horrible demise, just in time to fetch over $2000 at the auction...

Actually, Michael MacTavish graciously volunteered his time to create a Chrome Bear II from scratch. Safe to say, the new owner of CB2 will be keeping him in a warm and safe place.


Kneeling next to Hiding Bear is creator Chrystal Popko. How psyched was she to see her bear fetch over $5000! Wow. I guess I'll just have to savor the month or so I got to hang with HB back in August...



The good news is at least a few of the bears were purchased by local folk who plan to return them to their original 'BearFest map' locations. Here's Marlies Stoddard, proprietor of Nashawannuck Gallery next door, standing next to Something Fishy bear, by Greg Stone. Marlies spearheaded a grass-roots effort to keep SF bear in the family, so to speak, and was able to gather donations from generous locals who really wanted this guy to stay, myself included. This one turned out to be a pretty heated bidding war, so big hat tip to her for the last minute working of the room fundraising at the gala...


(image by Patrick Brough)

You will likely see your old bear friends in a few unexpected spots too. The 'Bearon', created by appropriately red-topped for the night, Jim Johnson, was won by the owner of Packard's Bar, so you might expect to see this cool bear hanging above the bar someday soon...


(image by Patrick Brough)

Here's the complete list of winning bids.

Well, that ought to wrap it up too for BearFest Diaries installment number 57. I hope you enjoyed my coverage. It's been great fun. And thanks again to Patrick Brough (here's his great coverage) for kindly allowing me to swipe photos from his FB page and blog when mine didn't measure up.

By the way, we still have some Bear Tracks ice cream left, a few mugs and some of those cool bear posters, if you're needing one last bear fix. And I'm pretty sure the ECA office in the old town hall has t-shirts and other bear keepsakes left too.

And so the curtain closes on BearFest 2009. Nicely done.

No Hollywood Ending for Chrome Bear.

Photo by Patrick Brough

As you've probably heard by now, gone since day one of BearFest 2009, Chrome Bear, has finally been found. Or rather has been returned. You can read about it HERE and HERE.

Unfortunately, Chrome Bear seems to be in a state of 'beyond repair'. There are no suspects as of yet. Soas not to dwell on the one dark chapter in what has been an amazing run for our 35 bear friends, let's move right along to what's been happening in this the final week of BearFest.


This past weekend, among the many events during the 'weeklong celebration of the arts', was a fun little 'bear picnic'. The blueberry pie eating contest seemed to be the highlight of that event...


The chain saw artists were pretty cool too. Don't worry, these guys weren't at the kids' picnic.


And it was great to see all the bears lined up together along Main Street (even if it didn't help the Cottage Street walking traffic as much this time)...

Until Monday morning, when all the bears were brought inside for repairs and final makeup by the artists that created them.


Berry Bear gets put in an embarrassing position as artist Diedrick Snoek prepares to do some touching up...




The rest of the bears await their turn to be brought back to their original splendor...


It seems some bears needed a little more attention than others...


And then there were none...

I must admit the town does look a little bear without the bears.


Here's hoping a few that get purchased at tomorrow night's auction find their way back to their old spots.

In case you're thinking about it, here's a video summary of the bears on the block...



It's been fun, great for the city (and for biz), and certainly great for conversation and blogging (it's felt more like 'The Bear Diaries' around here than ice cream). Easthampton City Arts again should be complimented for putting together such a great, successful, and challenging event, and making it look easy. I'm sure they're all ready to get back to life as they knew it before the bears overtook most of their waking lives.

Hope to see them, or some other fiberglass entities, again next year.

Ok, how about the year after?