Welcome Rural Intelligence readers

As you can see, this blog has been pretty quiet in the last year or two but please take some time to look around - there are nearly five years of daily shots of Sharon, as well as some from Millerton, Cornwall, and surrounding towns.  
Lately it seems I only take pictures of my dog (my phone created its own gif!), and before that, my chickens (oh and my children from time to time.)

Frozen

Frozen waterfalls on the rail trail... Let it go!

Early winter frost

Everything is ghostly white today.

fill the truck, a photo by jahansell on Flickr.

It's not too late to add your contribution to the food being collected to feed hungry families.

Caro caffe

caro caffe, a photo by jahansell on Flickr.

A belated welcome to Carol and her delicious gourmet pizzas. It's so nice to have her right here in Sharon. We used to go to her Cafe Lally 12 or 13 years ago in West Cornwall and have missed her food since then!

Spring evening

bridge, a photo by jahansell on Flickr.

My goodness I live in a pretty place.

I welcome all my readers to visit my new blog, Sharon CT Daily Chicken, at www.peepcluck.blogspot.com. The "Daily" part of the name might be a little hyperbole, but so far I have a lot to say about the new members of our family!

Oh, and this is Shayla....I think. It might be Lilac. But no, I'm pretty sure it's Shayla.

The grand Osborn Estate

estate osborn, a photo by jahansell on Flickr.

Off Taconic Road in Salisbury, a fine farm field.

Sharon Classic

A quick post about my favorite annual Sharon events, the Sharon Classic Road Race, which benefits Sharon Day Care. Festive, fun, a killer difficult run (for me, anyway) and a day everyone gets together.  The gentleman in the green sweatshirt was tickled that the chef didn't know he was being photographed, but I'm not sure he realized he'd be in the shot too!

Art show

statue, a photo by jahansell on Flickr.

This fine looking feline was on display at the student art show last week at the Interlaken Inn - students from every school were selected to show their work. There is a lot of talent in these Litchfield Hills!

(I x-ed out this artist's name to protect privacy.)

Forest glade

forgetmenots, a photo by jahansell on Flickr.

Forest glade... I think I first learned that phrase from the book "Bambi. " No deer nor hunters here now. I think these are forget-me-nots. They look magical!

In Memory

plaque, a photo by jahansell on Flickr.

I got a nice email a couple of days ago from the granddaughter of Anne Gudernatch. She spent much time visiting Sharon and her grandmother as a child, but says she hasn't been back in many years. She asked me to visit this plaque, which is at the base of a cherry tree at the entrance to Mudge Pond. The plaque is looking fine, but the tree is not yet blooming or leafing out - I hope it's still alive. If not, perhaps those who planted it would consider replacing it? It's clear Mrs. Gudernatch did a lot for the town!

Take me to the river

river, a photo by jahansell on Flickr.

I'd never been to Marist College campus before but went to a New York State Regional Economic Development Council meeting at the Cornell Boathouse on the campus today. What a pretty spot. I think that's the Walkway over the Hudson, yes? Must walk there soon!

military funeral

military funeral, a photo by jahansell on Flickr.

I was jogging one afternoon and as I came up Main Street past the Kenney Funeral home I came across a military funeral just concluding. Two men in very sharp uniforms (forgive me for not knowing what they were) were very carefully and meticulously folding the flag. These three gentlemen watched. In front of them on the grass is a bugle, which apparently had already been played - when the flag was folded and handed to the widow, they packed up the bugle, and all the soldiers turned, marched away, got into a van and drove away. I guess they come for the ceremony but don't stay to talk because they may not have really known the person or his family?

Fern Man

fernman, a photo by jahansell on Flickr.

The little people walk among us! (I'm reading 1Q84 right now so have strange thoughts about such things.)

Miles and miles

miles, a photo by jahansell on Flickr.

A trip to Miles Wildlife Sanctuary always brings peace of mind...

curled

curled, a photo by jahansell on Flickr.

The garden in spring is full of strange and interesting shapes.

Peach blossom

peach blossom, a photo by jahansell on Flickr.

I can't remember the peach tree ever blooming this early before - seems like it's usually mid-April. I wonder if the peaches will be early too? The tree is about four years old now, and the new branches on top went up about 20 feet. I'm sure I should have pruned them a month ago but I ran out this morning and lopped off a few. There are still a few tall ones with a ton of flowers - I'll never be able to get up that high to harvest the fruit!

blue bells in snow

bluebellsinsnow, a photo by jahansell on Flickr.

I think I like this one better than yesterday's.

Snow on the bluebells

drop on the bluebell, a photo by jahansell on Flickr.

The last time I took a picture like this (the last time we had snow just at this time of year) was in April 2006, just days after I started this blog. How the world of digital photography has changed since then - now everyone has a Holga or a Lomo in their pocket!

Winter Farmers Market opens

The Millerton Farmers Market has moved indoors to Gilmor Glass once again. What a lovely spot to buy your winter veggies!

On the green

on the green, a photo by jahansell on Flickr.

Snapped trees everywhere. It will take months to clean it all up!

North main

north main, a photo by jahansell on Flickr.

This is still the scene in front of my house. When those limbs hit those wires, we saw a blue flash, then a red flash, then total darkness. The firetrucks came quickly to take care of the live downed wires - thanks, guys!

Downed trees

library, a photo by jahansell on Flickr.

After the historic SnowTober, I walked around the green and shot a few downed limbs. The worst of it was probably the schoolbus with a tree on top of it on Route 4, but I didn't get over there to see it.

surviving the storm part 2

surviving the storm 1, a photo by jahansell on Flickr.

Lucky girls slept in the only warm room in the house - in front of that toasty fire.

surviving the storm part 1

surviving the storm 2, a photo by jahansell on Flickr.

How did we get through all those days without power? Duchess knows.

People watching

people watching, a photo by jahansell on Flickr.

The new Alpaca shop in Millerton had some special guests during Fall for Art - they seemed to enjoy the unusual sights and sounds of the day.

Corn season is past

cornstalks, a photo by jahansell on Flickr.

The cornfields are only green from mid-June through late September. The other three quarters of the year they look more like this - beautiful in their own way.

Lespehstival

lespehstival, a photo by jahansell on Flickr.

Millerton's music scene is blossoming - thanks in no small part to Mike Rooney, who has hosted festivals at Kaplan's Farm for quite a few years now, and the scrappy and talented kids of Lespecial. They teamed up to throw their own mini-Woodstock - it was fantastic fun.

The Cat Who Lived

saved, a photo by jahansell on Flickr.

Our little kitten, Duchess, LOVES to go outside. She will back up from the door about 20 feet and hurl herself into it full-speed to open it and sneak out. One night she didn't come back. I went out every few hours, all night long, calling her, and a few times we thought we heard her cry. But it wasn't until morning that I finally found her, 30 feet up a tree. She refused to climb down and we don't own a ladder that tall. Finally I had a brilliant idea. I took this basket, tied one end of a string around the handle and the other end around a large stick. I hurled the stick over the branch and hoisted the basket up to where she was. Amazingly, she climbed into the unstable, tipsy basket and we lowered her down. I failed to catch an action shot, but we memorialized the moment later.