Same song, second verse

Sunset winter twin oaks field, originally uploaded by jahansell.

I've shown this field so many times before...but never when the fields were covered with snow, and the snow was practically orange in the late afternoon sun!

Lion Rock farm

lion rock farm, originally uploaded by jahansell.

Look familiar? Yes, it's the same shot as the one in the header. Two differences: snow instead of green grass, obviously. Also the one in the header was taken during the annual Trade Secrets fundraiser for Women's Support Services, so there were a bunch of huge tents up. Now, not.

Snow and more snow

Tonight I hear some raindrops on the roof but it's going to turn back into snow again shortly. It snowed huge fluffy flakes on and off all afternoon today. Some areas north and west of here are getting a foot or more overnight, but they're still saying that this time, we're only getting an inch or so. Then it's going to get pretty cold, at least til the weekend.

At the concert

dancers and teacher1, originally uploaded by jahansell.

The Region One Arts Fund had its annual concert, and after the dancers from Arts In Motion performed, they sat in back and watched the other talented musicians and performers. A few more photos on my flickr site!

Nation at War

casualties of war, originally uploaded by jahansell.

When you get 8 inches of snow, what else is there to do but have a snowball fight? As a hardy war reporter embedded deep in enemy territory, I ventured behind the battle lines, endangering lifem limb and camera to bring you this documentary footage of a heated (actually freezing) battle. Casualties were few, and the MASH unit provided hot chocolate to all.

Sunset on the mountain

red house, originally uploaded by jahansell.

The red of the barns and farmhouses is so saturated and intense in the late afternoon light. I love the little sunburst decorating the top!

Zigzag stream

zigzag stream, originally uploaded by jahansell.

It's snowing here, again. It's just past 9am, we' ve had an inch or two so far, on our way to as much as a foot. Again. My kids are home from school, again. This is good, right - the ski resorts are doing well, global warming isn't as far along as we'd thought - but I will be ready for spring when it finally comes!

Beach house

beach house, originally uploaded by jahansell.

Continuing the seaside theme from yesterday - if it hadn't been about 22 degrees outside, I'd have thought I was on the beach near Cape Cod! But that's snow, not sand. The prints in the foreground appear to be from a stilt walker, but I assume it's actually a deer.

Snow sea

snow sea, originally uploaded by jahansell.

A while back I posed a shot I called "snow desert" - this one looks like a calmly rippling sea.

Two farms

2 farms, originally uploaded by jahansell.

In the warm sunlight of late afternoon, these red barns on Sharon Mountain just glowed!

Alone together forever

2 alone, originally uploaded by jahansell.

I took quite a few photos of this tiny, dilapidated graveyard up on Sharon Mo The wriuntain. It was hard to decide which one to post (see the others at my flickr page but this one seemed to show that sense of isolation, into eternity, that I felt while standing up there!

I was interviewed and photographed today for a spread in the Litchfield County Times Magazine - what a thrill! The writer asked lots of though-provoking questions about the impact of blogging on a community and on my work, and I enjoyed taking the time to think through things like what kind of subject matter I want to focus on in the coming months. The piece comes out in about 2 weeks - I can't wait to buy up 20 copies and send them to all my relatives. You never know what blogging will lead to!

Apsley farm

apsley farm, originally uploaded by jahansell.

This is the home of the cows I showed yesterday. Up on Sharon Mountain, it's in a lovely spot, all rolling hills and far views. Other than a few horses and the highland cattle, I don't know much about what they have there - if it's mostly animals, or also crops.

Highlands baby

Highlands baby, originally uploaded by jahansell.

I went for a drive around sunset tonight - up on Sharon Mountain. At Apsley Farm I found some highland cattle, and when I got out of my car to photograph them I realized they had this very recently born calf. Here it is with mom (or is it dad?)

School's closed, where do you go?

library, originally uploaded by jahansell.

The library, of course! We got books all around, plus some tapes for learning Spanish, in preparation for our first real family vacation in years, to Costa Rica!

Farm in winter

winter farm, originally uploaded by jahansell.

Popped by Pine Hill Farm, Kathy Blackshaw's place, to get some eggs today. The egg size is smaller, and she has to charge a bit more, than in summer, but they still beat supermarket eggs by a mile!

By the way, her silo does NOT curve alarmingly to the right as it appears to in this photo - I never noticed before how much my camera distorts even at only moderately wide angles!

Winter produce

soap, originally uploaded by jahansell.

Just because the ground is frozen, doesn't mean that local farmers like Kathy Blackshaw, who raises bees along with her cows, sheep and chickens, has nothing to offer. This soap smells divine, and it makes your skin so soft!

Have you seen me?

lost cow, originally uploaded by jahansell.

As I've shown before, the bulletin boards around town are the best way to find out what's going on (sorry, Terry - did the LJ have this story?)

In this case, an Amber Alert seems unnecessary, but maybe a Meghan Alert! It's awfully cold out - she's probably very hungry by now!

Restaurant recommendation!

serevan, originally uploaded by jahansell.

A few days ago my husband celebrated a Very Important Birthday so I took him out to dinner at Serevan, a middle-eastern/mediterranean restaurant in Amenia. It's been there for years but we've never been, perhaps because of an unfortunate experience we had in the restaurant that occupied the building previously. (Think: pregnant woman, hot night, lots of flies, food that was a little...off....) This time we had one of the best meals we've had in years! Just to give you an idea, we had:

Poached Shrimp and East Coast Oysters, Frisee
and Celery-Cumin Emulsion

Rack of Lamb, Herbed Labne, Madjoul dates, Dried Limes and Persian Style Basmati

Chicken Bastillia with Orange-Curry Emulsion, Wilted Romaine
and Cinnamon Caramel

The wine isn't on their website - it was a Loire valley red, earthy but light.

Are you hungry yet?

Johnnycake books

diverse books, originally uploaded by jahansell.

I didn't make it to the ski jumps, sorry to say. I think I've been going all-out for too long - I spent most of the day napping, puttering in the kitchen, and watching cheesy movies. (Four Weddings and a Funeral, anyone?) Tonight the old Pride & Prejudice with Colin Firth is on, as part of PBS' appropriately nicknamed Austenpalooza. Am I the only female on earth who finds it dated and slow, and Firth's Mr. Darcy pale in comparison to Matthew MacFadyen's more recent portrayal (in the Keira Knightley version?) I started to write much more but since it has nothing to do with Sharon CT or photography I deleted it. Someday I'll start my cultural commentary blog but till then I'll keep my thoughts about Austen adaptations (and Hillary Clinton, and reality TV, and a whole bunch of other topics, to myself!)

Oh, what about this photo? It's Johnnycake Books in Salisbury!

Ski Jumps!

ski jumps, originally uploaded by jahansell.

If I possibly can, I'll head over to Sartre Hill in Salisbury tomorrow afternoon to shoot pictures of the jumpers. It's one of the most exciting events in our area - you freeze your fingers and toes, sip hot chocolate and eat chili, and watch in amazement as fearless young men and women FLY down an enormous hill at what looks like 100 MPH, soar out into space, and then land gracefully, swirling to a stop in front of the appreciative crowd. We are finally getting a littles now today, too late to help the jump, but they've been manufacturing it all week to make sure the jumps can go off. More information about the ski jumps here.

Trumbull Highway

A little taste of history in Salisbury. Anyone have more information to share? I looked up "Trumbull Highway" on Wikipedia -- there is an old (defunct) state highway by that name but it didn't run out this way - it connected Franklin to Andover - a completely different part of the state.

New Closing Hours

the roast closing early, originally uploaded by jahansell.

I've always liked The Roast. I first started going there when my oldest daughter was a baby, and it's always been a great place to socialize - I met my friend Noelle there just before her daughter Ciara and my daughter each turned 1. (When you're a stay at home mom, desperate for any adult interaction, seeing someone with a kid your kid's age is the perfect excuse to strike up a conversation.) Back then The Roast was in Lakeville, and had tables made from slices of tree trunk. We used to play chess there- Abbey would play with the pieces and make the characters have "weddings." The Roast moved to Salisbury, and we followed - in those years, Abbey would take ballet at Arts in Motion, and I'd hang out and sip coffee, chatting with the other ballet moms and dads. Again, the perfect social setting for me.

Then, Joe decided to close at 2. Suddenly Salisbury was without an after-school hangout. Disaster! He opened an ice cream shop, but its ambience wasn't nearly as pleasant. Now he's closing at noon - hopefully only for the winter? Doesn't matter to me - I spend my time and drink my coffee at the Country Bistro now. I don't see nearly as many friends there, but I do love their French lentil salad!

Foggy lake

foggy lake, originally uploaded by jahansell.

I'll get back to that tour of Salisbury in good time, but I had to screech to a halt last night and take this photo of Indian Lake! (More on my flickr site!) It's been so rainy and yucky here I was surprised to see a bit of sun peeking through.

Election Day Special

it all comes down to this, originally uploaded by jahansell.

After a year or more of campaigning, it all comes down to this! We've gone through so many different ways to vote - it's kind of funny that we're back to a paper ballot! For most of my adult voting life I voted in a booth where the names of the candidates were posted next to levers - you'd pull a large lever to close the booth curtain, then set the small levers to the candidates you wanted. When you pulled back the large lever again, the curtain would open and your vote would be registered. Then, after the 2000 election and all teh controversies with ballots that couldn't be read or registered, many states, including this one, began to look at other ways of recording votes. ATM-machine like terminals have been tried, but there have been many security flaws exposed in the software. This is the first time we've used these paper ballots - they are inserted into an optical scanner. However I happen to know already that there were some errors tallying the vote last night - an individual I know voted for a rather obscure candidate (Mike Gravel) but on the totals for Sharon as of last night at 11pm, Gravel received 0 votes! Conspiracy theorists, start your engine!

What's Going On?

what's to do, originally uploaded by jahansell.

If it's not here, it's not happening. This is the alley between LaBonne's and the Roast in Salisbury, both of which I'll show in the next day or two. After I took this photo I noticed that my poster (for my show) was all curled up - I had to scrounge up a bunch of tacks to flatten it out. Here is another community bulletin board in Salisbury - a touch neater than this one!)

A visit to Salisbury

indulge, originally uploaded by jahansell.

I probably spend more time out and about in Salisbury than I do in Sharon. At the moment, Sharon has lost 2 of its 3 restaurants and the one that's left serves only pizza - it's good pizza but it's not a place to go sit and hang out. In fact ours is now the only town around without a coffee shop - a place to see neighbors, get a muffin or soup or some eggs on a roll or just sit and read the paper. These places are where a community comes alive. I wish someone would take over the Country Corner or the former Papardelle and create that perfect place, the one you are drawn to, with reasonable prices, long hours, great coffee, sinful sweets, healthy alternatives, and friendly responsive staff. Until that place comes to Sharon, I will keep going to the Country Bistro in Salisbury, my twice-a-week hangout. While each daughter is in ballet I take the other to Holly's fine establishment, where I can get a cream puff, carrot-ginger soup, or lentil salad, chat with whoever stops in, and while away a pleasant hour. It's just perfect.
I'll be sharing a few more photos of a walk around Salisbury in the next few days.

THE place to be in Sharon this weekend

weekend in sharon, originally uploaded by jahansell.

What are all those people looking at? Why, it's a show of Sharon Daily Photo, now on display at the Sharon Historical Society!

What an amazing day! There must have been 75 people who came - (the free-flowing wine and yummy snacks helped lure them, I"m sure. I had printed up greeting cards, and had matted photos in a basket, great little half-sized business cards, and the best 28 or so of the over 600 photos I've posted here in the last two years.

And now back to our regularly scheduled blog: starting tomorrow I'll stop going on and on about the show and get back to showing off Sharon, CT in all its (currently) wintry beauty. I just wanted to bask a little longer!

Ice and mist

It "slushed" and sleeted all day but by the evening it had turned to rain.

Theme Day - When People think of my town...

...they think of... the Twin Oaks. I didn't know that until I moved here - in fact I knew nothing about Sharon except that it had an Audubon center. (Which is probably something else people think of!) But on our first visit, our host drove us up to the peak of the hill on Route 41 to view the famous vista. This shot (which is featured in my show - see yesterday's post!) is from a different angle - you have to hike up into the field to see them this way.

What else is Sharon best known for? There are probably many answers to that - anyone want to nominate something (or someONE) else?

Anyway, it's Theme Day again for the City Daily Photoblog family. As of this writing, 135!!! blogs are planning to post something iconic about their city. Take a tour around the world:

Portland (OR), USA - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Memphis (Tennessee), USA - Manila, Philippines - San Diego (CA), USA - Anderson (SC), USA - New York City (NY), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Mexico City, Mexico - San Francisco (CA), USA - Mumbai (Maharashtra), India - Mainz, Germany - Weston (FL), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Turin, Italy - Las Vegas (NV), USA - Hobart (Tasmania), Australia - Bicheno, Australia - Durban, South Africa - Joplin (MO), USA - Nashville (TN), USA - Stockholm, Sweden - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Brussels, Belgium - Chicago (IL), USA - Montpellier, France - Seattle (WA), USA - Mazatlan, Mexico - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Sharon (CT), USA - Sesimbra, Portugal - Toulouse, France - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Susanville (CA), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Prague, Czech Republic - Helsinki, Finland - Pilisvörösvár, Hungary - Lisbon, Portugal - Mexico (DF), Mexico - Trujillo, Peru - Dunedin (FL), USA - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - London, UK - Baziège, France - Jefferson City (MO), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Selma (AL), USA - Mumbai, India - Naples (FL), USA - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Setúbal, Portugal - Stayton (OR), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Sofia, Bulgaria - Arradon, France - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Athens, Greece - Austin (TX), USA - Singapore, Singapore - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Jackson (MS), USA - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Budapest, Hungary - Rotterdam, Netherlands - St Malo, France - Chandler (AZ), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Cleveland (OH), USA - Nottingham, UK - Kansas City (MO), USA - The Hague, Netherlands - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - Wrocław, Poland - Chateaubriant, France - Cheltenham, UK - Moscow, Russia - Monrovia (CA), USA - Saigon, Vietnam - Toruń, Poland - Grenoble, France - Lisbon, Portugal - New Orleans (LA), USA - Sydney, Australia - Boston (MA), USA - American Fork (UT), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Montréal (QC), Canada - Wichita (KS), USA - Radonvilliers, France - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Christchurch, New Zealand - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Wailea (HI), USA - Aliso Viejo (CA), USA - St Francis, South Africa - Port Elizabeth, South Africa - Seattle (WA), USA - Pasadena (CA), USA - Vienna, Austria - Orlando (FL), USA - Torun, Poland - Delta (CO), USA - Santa Fe (NM), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Haninge, Sweden - Paris, France - Stavanger, Norway - Niamey, Niger - Le Guilvinec, France - Bogor, Indonesia - Saarbrücken, Germany - Auckland, New Zealand - Wellington, New Zealand - Budapest, Hungary - Juneau (AK), USA - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - Glasgow, Scotland - Chicago (IL), USA - Jakarta, Indonesia - Adelaide (SA), Australia - Sydney, Australia - Riga, Latvia - Subang Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Terrell (TX), USA - Terrell (TX), USA