Wildlife

Poor Benji. The neighbor's black lab had a run in with a local porcupine. 22 quills! While I haven't seen any porcupines, I saw a group of 9 deer standing on the ice on the next pond over the other day. The next day I counted 11 wild turkeys strolling down one of the streets towards the pond near my house. I also saw a running fox the other day. It's only been a month since I moved here. I wonder what other wildlife I have yet to discover.

Branching out

I don't really get out of my office much these days except for trips to the grocery store and the gym. When I do get out, I try to find places in the area that can become "my" places. I already love the Harvard General Store for it's exceptional coffee and scones. This shot is of Nashoba Brook Bakery in West Concord where I had lunch with a friend the other day. Great bread and a fun cafe space. It's hard to find since they have no sign on the street. In the summer you can sit outside on the deck. This time of year the Bakery was a home retreat from the bitter cold of the day. You can expect more to come of the local sites and places as the snow melts and I find my way around.

Learning

Like Maddie in this picture, I am having to learn a new maze of neighborhoods, towns, shops and roads. The snow is not making it easy. While itching to be out exploring, I am confined. The roads have not been clear and I definitely can't pull over anywhere to take pictures of the scenery.

When I was packing to move all I could see is what I was losing by leaving the coast. It's a learning experience to live in this more quiet, gentle landscape. Gloucester always had a life/death feeling hanging over the city due to the great numbers of the community lost at sea. It is something I became very aware of early in my years there. That's not true in this part of the state. Here there is a working off the land kind of vibe. I am enjoying what appears to be a more peaceful life.

Art or Retail

The Harvard General Store is the central place of business, from what I can tell, in Harvard. You can drop in for you newspaper, a copy of coffee and a ton of locally produced food and cheeses. Even the coffee is roasted in the area. As a foodie, I had to try the prosciutto and parmesan cheese scone. Tasty.

The building itself is an old community type hall. Upstairs I found an amazing array of wines and an art gallery. Over in the corner hung these wonderful outfits. I did not check out the prices. I just enjoyed the display!

Central Massachusetts

I am trying to "take in" the towns here in Central Massachusetts to learn what they are all about. Harvard, shown here, is easy for me to grasp since it is what one thinks of when they visualize New England. I recently heard Harvard described as "hardscrabble New England" filled with iconoclasts. Right now I would describe it as quiet, snow filled farms. Stay tuned for what I may learn about what's behind the pretty face!

New Toys

I was surprised to see lights outside the other night on the pond side of the house. They were angled up towards the sky. Other than alien space craft, I couldn't imagine what was up. It was a snow mobile trying to come ashore from the frozen, snow-covered pond. The driver eventually came right up and over the pile of snow. Jess says the snow mobile drivers have great fun on the ponds. I've never lived in a place where snow mobiles were common. It might be fun zipping across the pond at night.

Big Snow

This is for all my friends who aren't living in the snow belt! We got snow - bit time. Everyone has stories of disappearing fences, statues and bushes. The bigger story is where to pile the snow when shoveling. I've found driving after dark very dangerous here because I don't know the area and the narrowed lanes and low visibility make me fearful of driving on an exit ramp or ending up in New Hampshire when I should be going south. One evening I accidentally made a detour through Ft. Devens (former Army base here) because I could see that I actually turned off Rt 2 onto the exit until I was on the exit! I really don't think we can handle anymore snow storms here in the Northeast.