Its been a long time! Life must be busy.....

I realized its been awhile since I last posted...this is mainly because my computer sucks and I haven't been taking photos. Hmm that must mean I need a new camera.

Also I've been busy with my internship, driving over an hour each way to get there. I have mixed feelings about my rotation at the nutrition community center, but I am definitely learning about working for a non-profit and how to work more independently than Ive ever done before.

My parents came to visit a few weeks ago for the weekend. We went out to breakfast twice to Esselon cafe http://www.esselon.com/Esselon%20Cafe/Esselon.html....its good and really close to my house! Its kind of all-American breakfast comfort food, but they serve healthy salad instead of fried potatoes. You know its better for you, but its a bit of a disappointment when you want something to slather in ketchup. When people visit I always want to go out to eat because I'm not a fan of going out solo.

Of course we went to the Amherst farmers market

Downtown Amherst

The Emily Dickenson Homestead

Indigo has been keeping me busy, dragging me all over New England to various flyball and herding events. We went to watch a flyball tournament and meet the teams in the area. Everyone was really welcoming and friendly. Nasdog Racing invited me to attend practice with them and join them for demos. Someone from Canine Mutiny, Amanda, set me up to run on an open team in an upcoming tournament. Yeah!







We found a herding instructor in Greenfield and had two great lessons with her and for some variety went to Ct for a lesson with Carol Campion. The lesson with Carol was great, but 1.5 hrs is too far to drive for lessons, so we are going to stick with the trainer in Greenfield (20 minutes drive). Indigo is making progress, but Ive been fairly frustrated with how long its taking her to circle the sheep and bring them to me. She seems to feel uncomfortable with being behind them and keeps trying to be face to face with them. This obviously stresses them out and its all downhill from there. Im going to try to watch some herding trials to see how its done right.

The Drive to Carol's Farm

Denise Leonard's Farm in Greenfield

Ben came to visit last weekend and I was really excited to show him around, since Ive had some time to get to know the area. I took him on a drive up to Williamstown in the North Berkshires. We saw exactly what I was looking for, one room school houses, covered bridges, farm ponds and rivers. I dont have photos because Ben was tired and lounging back during most of the ride. We didn't have time to go to Mass Moca (museum of contemporary art), but headed to the Clark Art Museum http://www.clarkart.edu/exhibitions/whistler/content/home.cfm. The exhibit was called Like Breath on Glass and was all art inspired by Whistler who said, "Paint should not be applied thick. It should be like breath on the surface of a pane of glass." Its American art from the turn of the 20th century. The permanent collection there was impressive with some pieces by Degas, Renoir, Monet and many Renassiance pieces. I still have a lot to learn about art, but Im working on it!

My only chance to take photos on our lovely drive was when we stopped for caffiene

We also went to a Mass ASPCA event and helped by doing a flyball demo. We only ran two heats because they were behind schedule, so disspointing for Indy!. It was a fun event with lots of good demos and silly contests that the kids loved. Hopefully some homeless pups found new homes!

Later that day we went to see the Saltimbanco version of Cirque du soleil, the oldest running show. Both this and the one we saw in Seattle were perfect. Non-stop entertainment, great music, muscle stregth beyond belief. We decided to make a trip to Vegas and see the rest of the versions we haven't seen yet. Probably the only good reason to go to Vegas.





Something about the flatness of Northampton makes me want to ride my bike. I bought a bike a few years ago and hardly ever ride it. I love that I can easily ride to downtown in less than 10 minutes. Its probably easier than driving because parking sucks.

The Northampton Bike Trail

I'll try to write more later.....