A sign of Spring

One of the sure signs of Spring in our area, at least in my opinion, is the dirty snowbank. 

       As the winter plods on, plows push snow into large, dense mounds lining the edges of streets, driveways and parking lots. In moving this snow, the plows also scrape up a lot of the sand which the Department of Public Works trucks spread on the pavement to give drivers a bit more traction on the slippery stuff.

What happens as the weather starts to get gradually warmer is this: The snow begins to melt, and the piles of snow to shrink, and as they do, those particles of sand within the piles begin to move closer together, becoming darker and more obvious against the snow, rendering what were previously almost pristine white mounds of snow into blotchy messes. 

       It's deliciously ugly, because even as these unsightly shrinking mounds become ever more unsightly, they tell us that the warmth is coming… just wait! -- PL

Not exactly springing into Spring...

It may be a completely subjective and inaccurate assessment, but it seems to this observer of the seasons that this past Winter was very reluctant to loosen its grip upon our area, and Spring has been slow to follow... almost hesitant, as if fearing that blooming flowers might inspire the gods of snow to let loose with one last blast of the freezing cold white fluff.

But today I saw some signs which encouraged me.

I was on a bicycle ride through the lovely campus of Smith College, and stopped to admire -- and take photos of -- several colorful bits of flora. This beautiful flowering bush resides behind John M. Greene Hall...

... and this lovely tree bedecked in white blossoms stands next to the Smith greenhouses.

While searching for a bench upon which to sit and drink my decaf coffee, I noticed this tree in full bloom, surrounded by a field of yellow flowers, on a slope below one of the dormitories, and took a series of photos from which I could make this panoramic view.

After I'd put the bicycle away and headed home on my motorcycle, I decided to take the long way back, and stopped by the beaver pond in Conway, to take a few shots of this lone duck -- or is it a goose? -- and its reflection on the gently rippling water.

Yes, it's taking its own sweet time, but I do believe Spring is finally coming. -- PL

sure signs of Spring...

It's Spring! (almost...)

This Thursday, for our regular weekly meeting, my friends Rick and Rob and I decided to drive out to Pittsfield, hauling the bicycles in my truck, so that we cold take our inaugural 2010 ride on the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail which goes from Pittsfield to Adams. It was a beautiful sunny day, and we were very much looing forwad to this ride. I fully expected that the bike path would be clear of snow and ice, as the trail between Northampton and Amherst has been for several weeks, and Pittsfield (or so I had always thought) had more or less the same climate as the Northampton area. Rick kept telling me that it would be colder out there, and I didn't believe him.

So off we went down the trail, grooving on the sun and sky and the wide-open trail. I snapped this photo of Rob and Rick shortly after we started riding -- I think there's a kind of "Easy Rider"/Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda vibe to it.



My first clue that I might be wrong about the climate difference could have been this still half-frozen lake along the first part of the bike trail on the Pittsfield end.



ABout two-thirds of the way down the trail, after having to skirt a few tiny snowy patches along the way (no big deal), we were confronted by a section of the trail COVERED in snow and ice. Rob voluteered to jog down the trail a bit to see if this was just a small aberration -- here's a photo of Rick waiting for him.



Rob came back with the bad news the as far as he could see, the trail continued to be covered by the slippery stuff. (I should note that this part of the trail is the shadiest section of its entire length, which is nice in the heat of the summer, but apparently not so great for the melting of snow and ice in the spring.)

So we decided to turn back, and didn't make it all the way to the center of Adams as we had planned. Bummer. But it was still a very nice ride, and we got to have a meal at Ozzie's, one of my favorite restaurants, so it was definitely not a total loss. -- PL

Motorcycle + camera + almost Spring-like weather = fun

We had another very nice day here yesterday -- sunny and around 52 degrees. I was going to take the NT700V out again, but developed a craving for the Victory Vision (probably for its seat and grip warmers as well as its superior wind protection). The only problem was the fact that the space where I store most of my bikes during the winter always develops a large, compacted lump of icy snow which blocks the doors (it slides off the high roof and packs itself quite densely). I usually just wait until it melts.

But for whatever reason, yesterday I got obsessed with the idea of getting the Vision out on the road, so I spent about half an hour chopping, hacking and shovelling a just-wide-enough path through this snowpack, and managed to get the Vision out without falling over or getting stuck. Here's a photo of said path (taken the following day, so a little of it has melted).



So after a short bicycle ride in Northampton with my friend Rick, I headed up to Shelburne Falls to grab a coffee and a pastry at McCusker's, followed by some wandering around taking photos. I always like looking at the "Bridge of Flowers" in Shelburne Falls, ever when it's out of season and aboslutely nothing is flowering. It's still a beautiful bridge. Here's a little panoramic view looking at the south side of the bridge...



I like this bit of impressionistic color I caught in the ripples of the river below the bridge.



Of course, I had to go look at the glacial potholes (always fascinating for me), and noticed these dead plants backlit by the setting sun.





On my way home from Shelburne Falls, I noticed that the light was getting very pretty as the sun set, and I stopped near a marsh with the hope of getting some interesting shots. I like this one of an old cattail starting to fall apart.



And of course I had to take a shot (actually several, to make this little panorama) of the bike.



When I got home, the sun had almost set, and I noticed some lovely clouds out of our back window, so I grabbed the camera again and took some shots for this panoramic view.



All in all, a good day. -- PL