Home Again, Off Again

I just got back tonight from a few days visiting relatives in New Salem, Massachusetts, a tiny hamlet near the Quabbin Reservoir in the middle of the state. The date on the New Salem Meeting House in the above photo reads 1794, and except for the roads being paved and street lights installed, I doubt much has changed here in over 200 years. This place just epitomizes peace and quiet and serene New England charm.

I had hoped we would walk along the shore of the Quabbin, a carefully monitored watersource surrounded by hundreds of acres of protected forest, but with temperatures soaring into the 90s, it was just too darn hot. I did get out to walk the quiet country road our hosts live on, which was lined with graceful stems of tiny Blue Toadflax, a common roadside weed in these parts but one I seldom find near Saratoga.

Blue Toadflax flowers are so small they could pass unnoticed, but they deserve a closer look.

One of the neighbors along this road raises Alpacas, so we wandered back to their enclosure to say hello. It appears that the herd has just been sheared of their fine soft wool.

Oh look, there's a brand-new baby! How tiny it is, with its coat still damp and strung with remnants of its amniotic sac.

What an adorable baby, still wobbling on its recently unfolded legs.

The little one sank down to rest and bawled for mama. We thought it best to leave the mother and baby undisturbed.

It was great fun to go visiting for a few days, especially when our hosts are as delightful as my brother-in-law and his wife, who entertained us with wonderful meals and fascinating conversation. Now I'm home for just an evening and morning before leaving again for a retreat at Pyramid Lake in the Adirondacks. While there, I hope to rise at dawn for a paddle on this pristine wilderness lake, just as the sun is touching the trees with gold and loons are calling from a distant cove. Heaven!

I'll be back on Sunday to tell you all about it.