Welcome To… Spring??? March 20, 2013
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: kitchen window., snow, Spring
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Wednesday, March 20, 2013, the first official day of Spring:
Another shot taken through my kitchen window.
This is unlikely to last, the sun being higher in the sky these days.
But who’s to say this will be our last wintry blast? 😉
Spring, Almost… March 19, 2013
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: Charlemont MA, deer, snow, Spring, winter
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Today, Monday, is two days short of the official start of Spring.
But this is Massachusetts, where we don’t care about no stinking calendar.
So the day began with our yard threatening to “green up,” the grass nearly bare of snow.
While making breakfast, I snapped this shot of deer grazing out past our slumbering garden:
…taken through an unfortunately filthy window, as Winter tends to render them before a real Spring cleaning. I didn’t have the proper lens on hand, so this is a severe crop of a larger photo. All-in-all, I’m satisfied with the result.
I spent the bulk of the day loading split wood onto the porch in anticipation of the predicted winter storm, then bombed off to Berkshire county to deliver a framed photo to my friend Tim. I was pleased by his reception of the piece and humbled by his refusal of the Good Friend Discount.
Thanks, Tim. I’ll remember that.
On the way home the weather caught up to me, and by the time I hit Charlemont it was snowing:
We’re expecting 10″ or more, and judging by the way it’s coming down, we might not be disappointed!
Sheepies. May 14, 2012
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature, Love and Death.Tags: farms, lambs, sheep, Spring
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I do believe that’s the collective term for sheep and lambs.
Anyway, here they are – a Momma:
…grazing contentedly among Mother Nature’s other creatures:
And, of course, their lambs:
They’re cute, those little scamps:
They’re like kids. Here’s one who seemed to be driving his feed trough around the pasture, like a child in a Christmas toy box:
Others, like their human counterparts, were only interested in one thing:
Also like people, there were some who might qualify as the “black sheep” of the family:
…though, of course, they’re not actually black:
Spring is a lovely time to be out here in the country, surrounded by all this new life.
For this, I’m grateful.
April Farm Round-Up… May 3, 2011
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature, macro photos, Politics and Society.Tags: April, farm scenes, Spring
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…in May!
Hey, I just want to throw out some random shots and thoughts before moving into May proper.
Here’s a working farm in Colrain:
…and a Gentleman’s Farm up in Rowe:
I’m fascinated by old barns (in case you haven’t noticed) and their simple functionality – like the obvious solution to the age-old problem of how to get stuff up into the third floor of the big ones, like this one n Ashfield:
That’s two stories of rough stone work – a nice project for an autumn weekend! 😉
Here’s one more farm scene, sadly typical of the old farms around here:
When the money’s short and your handy, not much gets thrown away – it’s amazing what gets reused/recycled on these old farms!
And lastly, here’s a spring (with excellent water, by the way) which didn’t survive this past winter’s unusually harsh weather:
I hate it when that happens.
So it’s onward into May, the month of flowers and morels and the bright green of new leaves!
Spring On The Farm. April 12, 2011
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: birches, calf, cow, farms, llama, Scottish Highlanders, sheep, Spring
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Springtime is busy on our local farms. Maple sugaring is winding down, and attention turns to livestock:
Dim-witted sheep stand around shorn and shivering in their barnyard Johnnies, having just been swindled out of their warm winter coats:
…yeah, I’m talkin ’bout you!
…while their distant cousins remain aloof and above it all:
Most of the farm ponds have iced out, though the grass is still just vaguely green:
…and somebody has been using the barbed wire fence for a scratching spot:
…perhaps this Scottish Highlander and her calf?
I mean, I’m totally ok with that, Yes Ma’am, no problems here…
All in all, a nice time of year in these parts:
I’m still in JPEG mode, so pardon any appreciable lack of photo quality.
They’re calling for rain the next few days, so I was glad to snag these shots today.
Transition. March 30, 2011
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: Connecticut River, March, Mount Tom, Spring
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Up here in the hills, there’s still plenty of snow wherever shadows lie deep.
But down in the valley, it’s looking very Spring-like – the snow is mostly gone:
…and the rivers are dropping:
This despite a forecast for 6-12″ of snow on Friday!
March came in like a lion, and seems determined to go out like a, um, lion!
🙂
Up Country. February 26, 2011
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: barns, cows, dams, horses, rivers, Salmon Falls, Spring, trucks, winter
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Trucks sleep up in the fields of Shelburne after the last big storm:
Cattle daydreaming about green grass in Hawley:
A workhorse grown coarse and shaggy for the season:
…while in the valley below, Salmon Falls saves itself for Spring:
It’s a little farther along down in the flat-lands of Franklin County, but even here there’s a change in the air, a feeling that Winter is dying as Spring struggles to be born.
The Other “Foliage Season.” April 18, 2010
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: buds, catkins, foliage, Shelburne, Spring, steeple, swivelheads
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While tourists flock to The Berkshires to see “the Colors” in September and October, we locals get to enjoy a subtler “foliage season” in the Spring, uncrowded by swivelheads.
The steeple of a church in Shelburne rises above the buds, catkins and nascent leaves of our mixed-hardwood countryside:
This time of year, with its unsettled weather, seems somehow more appropriate to the character of “traditional” New England than the Disney-esque rainbows of Autumn.
Enjoy it while it lasts.
At A Road Cut. April 8, 2010
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: moss, roadcut, Spring
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Spring’s vibrancy was evident this past week, with above average temperatures yeilding above average results:
Moss on a road cut between Charlemon and Zoar, this shot being from Gizmo, my 400mm L-series lens.
Blossoms. April 8, 2010
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature, macro photos.Tags: crocuses, Spring
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Crocuses, to be precise:
…because it is, after all, Spring.
Little Bang Theory 