Back to New England

Last weekend I made another trip to New England to visit the girls at school.  It was still fall-like in Connecticut with lots of brilliantly colored trees, but bare trees and snow flurries made New Hampshire and Vermont feel like winter.

In need of new quilting needles, I stopped at Pickering Farm Quilt Shop, housed in a restored 18th century barn in Richmond, New Hampshire.

It is right next to a lovely little apple orchard.

Their wonderful collection of traditional and reproduction fabrics were just too temptingly displayed for me to resist picking out some things for my stash.

The girls had classes on Monday so I ventured down the road to Turners Falls where I caught a stunning sunrise at the Gill-Montague Bridge along the Connecticut River.  Turners Falls, developed as a planned industrial community in the 1800s, retains many of its original brick structures which can be seen by strolling through town and along the canal's pedestrian and bike path.

Below the Gill-Montague Bridge

In the afternoon, frustratingly side-lined by a nagging injury, I watched, rather than ran, the Bemis-Forslund Pie Race and had to enjoy the fresh-baked apple pie prizes vicariously.

The 4.3 mile cross-country race is claimed to be the oldest foot race in the country, older even than the Boston Marathon. This year's winner, Mohamed Hussein, bested the previous course record by nine seconds -- two days after having won the New England prep school cross-country championship in a record-setting time.  Clearly  he is a runner to watch. 

Mohamed Hussein

Just as the last runners were finishing, the previously solid grey sky gave way to a bit of sun and a dramatic sunset.  A nice way to end the day.

Memorial Chapel