Autumn in the North Cemetery.

Sixty miles west of Boston, Massachusetts there is the small New England town of Sturbridge. Located at the junction of I-90 (The Mass Pike), and I-84 it has become known as the "Crossroads of New England". The town was first settled over 300 years ago, and like other small New England towns it has grown just enough over the years to be in a difficult place today. How do we embrace the future without forgetting how we got to our present? How do we attract the right kind of growth, and maintain who we are? And, what about our culture out here in Central Massachusetts?



These pages will cause one to think about how to protect what we have, our future direction, and how to move on in the very best way.


Those thoughts, and other ramblings, will hopefully inspire more thought, conversation, action, and occasionally a smile...

...seems to be working so far

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

I Gotta Get A Hobby

OK. Enough Winter. I'm more than ready to see some crocuses.

Out here in Central Massachusetts we get more snow, and more cold air than further east. Makes sense since most of our weather comes from the west. Sometimes when I am driving to work in Boston I leave in a steady snowfall, roads covered with a few inches of snow, but by the time I get to I-495 things change for the better.

Sometimes.

Most of the time the weather follows me right to my parking spot under the building where I work.

Now, don't get me wrong, I really do enjoy the seasons we have here in New England. I really do, but Winter is something I enjoy looking at, but functioning in is something I don't do very well. When I was a teenager I would join my friends in my hometown and go snowmobiling along the horse trails throughout town. We could actually ride the trails all the way to Route 9 in the Framingham / Natick area. I didn't own a machine, but I usually borrowed an old 1969 Skidoo that was a hoot to ride. Those winters I enjoyed. That was true Winter Time fun.

I guess if I had a winter time sport I could do well, without killing myself, I would enjoy the season more today. In recent years I've thought about learning to ski. Each time I see one of those Mt. Wachusett commercials on TV, and see those friendly folks asking me to come on over and learn to ski, I almost pick up the phone. Then reality sets in: I might die on the slope.

I might die on the Bunny Slope.

See, fear has a way of stunting the expansion of ones horizons. My fear is I'd go off the trail, fly off a cliff and sail off into the horizon.

I've thought about this whole learning to ski thing enough, and I think I will pursue it. I'll let you know how it goes, or knowing my luck, you can read about it in the papers.

In the meantime, we have another snow storm on the way. They are forecasting four to six inches of snow for our area.

Sigh.

Can't wait.

I think this whole mid-winter slump actually started the other day when the birds came back to our yard. The yard was filled with them for the first time in a couple of months, and amongst those guys were several Robins. It was those interlopers that got me yearning for the croci.

First of all, aren't they still supposed to be in Naples, Florida? Did they come back a bit early just to taunt me? I don't have a clue, but it was good to see them back. I am the furthest thing from a true back yard orthinologist. I don't know the difference between a Yellow Throated Warbler and a Redfaced Tit Tickler, but I do feed the birds, and really enjoy it when they stop by. They are a bright spot amongst all the grey skies.

I really do want to enjoy Winters more, and I am open to suggestions. If you have a special winter time skill that you think you could teach a middle-aged man with Chronic Spastic Fumbleitis, that won't leave Mary a widow, then let me know.

...oh, one more thing, if you could teach it to me in June, that would be awesome.



3 comments:

  1. Got the perfect winter sport for you, snowshoeing, yes snowshoeing. If you can walk you can snowshoe, get out in your own backyard or some of our great trails right here in town.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ginger,

    I have thought about snowshoeing, in fact, I was recently at the New LL Bean store in Mansfield, and I was staring at the snowshoes on display. It sure would be different seeing the trails in the winter as opposed to the other 3 seasons. Sounds pretty benign. I wouldn't have far to fall, and all I'd have to do is walk. I like your suggestion.

    ReplyDelete
  3. fyi,,,if you do get snowshoes get poles also, really helps. Also, EMS is also having a great sale, also Backpackers in Worcester, they really know what they're doing. from our experience, the Tubbs didn't last, we found Atlas to be much better.

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