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.