Monday and Lots of Pictures...

Good grief - it's like being in Florence!!  I took 108 pictures yesterday - couldn't believe it when I uploaded them last night.  But, breathe easy, I'm not posting them all here.  And since what we mostly did yesterday was drive all over the area with me saying "oh, I want a picture of that", I don't have a whole big bunch of talk to throw at you.  So, I'll just get started with the pictures...

Before we left on the day's outing, we were going through all Virginia's artwork that she has still to hang and pondering good places for all of them when I noticed right outside the bedroom window, our turkey fellow and after watching him for a bit along came what we think may be a ladyfriend.  That would be nice cause he always looked sort of dismal just wandering around by himself. 

Then it was off to one of the many strawberry farms to get yet more strawberries.  Virginia had the brilliant idea of getting some on Tuesday for me to take home on Wednesday - they are so good!  We went to a pick your own place (although we didn't pick) and when we pulled off the road beside the strawberry field with another one across the road, the smell of strawberries was wonderful.

Had to post this one so I could sing "Strawberry Fields Forever"...

Then it was on to another hotdog lunch which was way below Stubby's in our opinion.  Twice as expensive and not nearly as good.  We'll do one more tomorrow and then that's all the hot dogs for a while!

Later in the day (I'm having trouble remembering what we did from lunch til later...), we went to a home-made ice cream place which I forgot to take a picture of.  But it was right next door to the farm where the cows live who provided the cream for our treat.  So here they are in all their bovine beauty...

And, of course, there were a few chickens, the barnyard cat, and a wee little fellow somewhat awed by the whole scene...

Gosh, they look sort of like the strawberries, don't they?

Then it was off to Skinner Mountain for a view from the top.  It was really probably too hazy and gray a day to be taking pictures, but it was the day we had and they didn't turn out too badly.  They'll at least give you an idea of the wonderful scenery everywhere!!

A little sneak pic of Virginia studying a plaque on a tree and how's that for a pile of rock!?

And a couple of shots of "the forest primeval"...

This was a memorial to an army plane that crashed into the mountain in 1945.  That's a propellor beside the stone...

The fence up above is the road we are on down below.  And I thought the roads of West Virginia were twisty and steep!

Moving on to our next stop, we passed this sign that shows different flood levels of the Connecticut River during bad floods and a huricane.

Then we drove on to one of the two bridges that cross the river in the area we've been driving around all week cause I wanted to get a picture from a bridge before I leave.  We're going to try the other bridge tomorrow because turns out it has the best view.  But I took a couple here anyway. :)

And this last picture is of the old railroad bridge we were on when we took the two pictures above.  It has been boarded over and is the start of an eight-mile hiking/biking/roller skating(!) path that ends up at a Whole Foods Grocery Store!!  Next time I'll have Virginia drop me off at the bridge and pick me up later at the store.  Wouldn't that be something?

So, there - I didn't post all 108 pictures but hopefully what I posted provides even further proof of the beauty of Western Massachusetts.  I have one more day left and I spect that once again, we will be seeing some beautiful sights.  Plus which, tomorrow is supposed to be sunny!