Fall Family Weekend

Last Saturday was family weekend at Emily’s college. We left around 7 a.m.  There was a full moon still visible. Unfortunately western Mass was pretty much past peak but we did find some beautiful colors here and there.

Emily’s dorm is below left. The building to the right has classes in it but I mainly liked the fall colors.

The weekend seemed geared towards Alumni so we mainly spent time with Emily taking her out to eat and to shop. She seemed very happy with that. I’m always impressed with how fresh and clean the air smells out there.

When Greg graduated from college his first job was in Pittsfield. The photo below right was our first apartment. We lived upstairs. It used to have a small grocery store below. I’m sure the original owners are long gone.

The photo below is in North Adams where Em’s college is. One of the streets is aptly named Church Street. There seems to be a church on every corner.

We took a leisurely trip back stopping here and there to take photos.

Marching Band Exhibition 10-16-2010

Last evening we got an opportunity to enjoy one of Derek’s marching band performances. The Northeast Regional Music Festival  took place in Wakefield at the high school. Fifteen high school bands from the area and New Hampshire participated. The grand finale was a performance by the University Massachusetts Lowell Marching Band in which Derek is a member.

Marching band is a big commitment with rehearsals 3 times a week from 6 pm to 8:30 pm and performances on the weekends all over the area. Derek is a member of the pit band and does not have to participate in any parades so that helps a little. At the end of this post is the schedule so you can see how much is involved. Just imagine all this plus classes, jazz ensemble, percussion ensemble and wind ensemble rehearsal added to the mix. No wonder Derek never sleeps.

Last night the theme of performance was music from Rush. Click on the links for a treat and please forgive the videographer. It’s clear that is not my area of expertise.

Coming onto the Field

Warming Up

The Camera Eye

Limelight

Roll The Bones

Subdivisions

Tom Sawyer

Our Day at the Fair 2010

 

  

Thursday, October 7th was our day for the fair. We’ve been going every year since we moved here back in 1981. Although it doesn’t change all that much except perhaps to get more expensive it’s still something we enjoy.

 

I love the flower barn. It’s such a peaceful place and inspires me to work in the yard. Maybe it would be more effective in the spring versus the fall.

  

One of the barns had a display of various fair memorabilia through the years. The sand sculpture is an annual event. I keep thinking one of these years I’ll put together all the photos we’ve taken of them, maybe next year.

             

The pumpkin barn houses various prize winning vegetables, fruits, pumpkin art and of course the great pumpkin which would give Charlie Brown nightmares. I didn’t realize Cortland apples, which are our favorite, had their roots in NY.

    

For me, the fair is all about the horses. Every year the Hallamore team comes to the fair. Their gentle beauty always puts me in awe. This year was a special treat in that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were there. We, me especially, enjoyed their performance. Here is a link to some fair videos online.    Fair Snippets 

         

Topsfield Fair Parade 2010

The Topsfield Fair is the oldest county fair in the country. Every year they have a parade that marches down main street and ends at the fair grounds. Below is a sampling of some of the pictures I took. The house on the right above is what we stood across from.  The kids pediatrician used to be in there. When he retired we moved across the street with another doctor. The funny thing is a few years ago that practice moved back into the old house, so like the salmon, we’ve come back full circle.

Every parade starts with a police escort, lots of fire truck and tractors.

The fair this year is special because the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are back. They come every other year and this year’s fair is the only venue they are attending in the United States. I love the horses and we’ve planned our fair visit to make sure we’ll be able to see them perform. Thursday will be fair day for us.

 

Our high school is above right. They do fine but marching isn’t their forte. The Danvers High School Marching band is below. They are huge, precise and have marched in the Thanksgiving Day parades in NYC. They really are a pleasure to watch and listen to.

We found the therapy bunny float interesting. I suppose the fact that our rabbit has the potential to be cranky and bite lets him off the hook for any kind of therapeutic benefit.

I hope you all enjoyed my take on the parade. Click on the photos for a larger look see.