Berkshires

Final Notes on Heath, Massachusetts

Here are a few items that didn’t merit a full blog post of their own, but that I still wanted to include.

Near the very small center of town in Heath, nestled among the prolific growth of hickory and maple trees in the area, lies a stone cottage that can easily be missed as you drive by. What makes this one notable is that for a time it was the occasional home of Reinhold Niebuhr. He was a renowned theologian of the first half of the 20th century. He is credited as the author of Serenity Prayer and is said to have first preached it in the church a few steps from the cottage.

Niebuhr’s stone cottage

We were surprised to learn of the artistic heritage of this part of New England. It seems that everywhere we turned we encountered art in one form or another – outdoor music events, writers, glass blowers, ceramics artists, artists of other media. In addition, there were multiple universities and art museums within an hour’s drive, including the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, the Smith College Museum of Art, and the Clark Art Institute, with an extensive collection of works by Renoir.

Ceramics by a new artist
A painting of apples by Renoir

Ticks have become a major problem in this part of the country. We saw them often, and both of us repeatedly found ticks on our skin. It put a damper on our desire to do outdoor activities. Upwards of 25% of ticks in the area test positive for Lyme disease, and we met people who had been impacted by debilitating cases of Lyme.

Gardens and woods provide an environment where ticks thrive

The locals say Massachusetts has two seasons: July and winter. Even though we were only there for five months, we felt we understood the meaning. We arrived in winter, which lasted much longer than what we’re used to in California; once it finally warmed up (around July), we started seeing signs of fall coming on. In reality the summertime weather we experienced in northwestern Massachusetts was very pleasant. It is not the same hot, humid weather you find in Boston. The extensive forests covering the landscape in every direction kept the temperature very pleasant. The one unusual weather event we experienced appeared to be a tornado; there was a distinct stretch of trees about two miles from our house sit where multiple trees had been blown down and the power went out for several hours.

A covered bridge for protection from the weather

Mushrooms of Massachusetts

One afternoon while taking a hike through the woods we noticed a couple of mushrooms growing on the forest floor. As we looked closer, we noticed other mushrooms. The more we looked, the more we found. We found pink mushrooms, yellow, black, brown, orange, large, small… it was amazing! Prior to this I had no awareness that mushrooms came in so many shapes, colors and sizes. It’s not something you see in the California suburbs!

More photos are available in my Amazon photo e-book, available at: https://www.amazon.com/Day-Mushrooms-Massachusetts-Photos-Discovery-ebook/dp/B07RBT6K43/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=mushrooms+of+massachusetts&qid=1572905624&s=books&sr=1-2

Heath Fair

I think of it as a county fair, but in this area they’re more commonly referred to as agricultural fairs. Heath hosts one of the more widely attended fairs in northwestern Massachusetts, attracting people from probably a 50-mile radius due to its advertising throughout the area. It was a treat to experience such a small town fair. In fact, we were not only attendees. We had met the fair director a few weeks earlier, and we were recruited to help sell tickets on the first day of the fair.

Heath Fair mosaic
Fairgrounds at night
Preserved barn moved to the fairgrounds as an exhibition hall
Classic tractors

Bridge of Flowers, Shelburne Falls

In the early 1900’s there was a trolley bridge across the river, connecting Shelburne Falls and Buckland, Massachusetts. After the trolley company went bankrupt in 1927, the Shelburne Falls Women’s Club adopted the bridge and in 1929, brought in loads of soil and planted gardens on the bridge. Today it remains a beautiful, relaxing spot that changes almost every day as new flowers bloom.

“Is Everything OK?”

We enjoyed experiencing a different “culture” in Massachusetts. Yes, we were still in the US, but I’m sure many of you have experienced the fact that cultures and traditions vary in different regions. In a diverse area such as the Bay Area in California, culture can shift quickly from one neighborhood to another.

When I say Massachusetts, I am referring specifically to northwestern Massachusetts where we spent most of our time. The area we lived in is sometimes referred to as the “hill towns”, for obvious reasons (lots of hills). The area is also known as the Berkshires. I am NOT referring to Boston, which has its own unique culture.

I know I am generalizing, but the sense I got was that people in the small towns of northwestern Massachusetts watch out for each other. Yes, people there are highly independent and individualistic as is the stereotypical cultural image of much of the US, but at the same time, you don’t feel that people are so independent as to not care about their neighbors.

One day we stopped our car on the side of the road to take a photo. Within moments, another car stopped to check on us – “Is everything okay?”, the driver called out. It was a small gesture, but something that I don’t feel happens often enough in the Bay Area where people are too busy to take the time to check on others. In fact, in the Bay Area it is more likely that one or more aggressive drivers would try to intimidate those in the stopped vehicle.

We stopped to document this road sign, which points to Long Hill Road

Similarly, on another occasion, we had spotted an interesting-looking cemetery beside the road. We stopped to walk around and see how old the gravestones were. After a few minutes of walking around, a man tending a grave on the other side of the cemetery came by and asked us if everything was okay and if we needed anything. He then proceeded to show us some of the markers that he found interesting.

It’s hard to fully capture the feeling in words, but we really felt a sense of community in the area. These stories may not sound that unusual, but sadly, in my experience in the SF Bay Area, I rarely experienced these types of uplifting interactions with strangers.

Purpose

Recently we had a rewarding evening chatting with some of our new friends. It inspired us to share some of the details of things we’ve learned about our purpose for doing what we’re doing while in the process of doing it.

One of our goals when we left our jobs and began this journey a couple of years ago was to have the opportunity – and time – to connect more with people. When we were both working full time, we were involved in our community in various ways, but it felt like we never had sufficient time to connect deeply with people. We were busy, they were busy, it was difficult to coordinate schedules, etc. We wanted to spend more time with friends and family and make new friends as well. We thought, what better way to have more time to connect with others than if we both quit our jobs and had no firm commitments on our time!

We recognize that not everyone would be interested in taking an extreme approach such as we did, and that’s okay. For example, it can be just as meaningful when someone who is very busy makes time for you, because you recognize the effort required for them to spend some of their precious time with you. But for us, we wanted to try something more radical and different.

Once we took the leap and quit our jobs, many people asked us, “What do you do all day?” Of course, there are a variety of things we do throughout the day, but mainly I’m happy to report that we feel we are succeeding in the important goal of connecting with people. Here are some examples.

We spent our first five months in Mexico. During that time, we were able to reconnect with friends and family who we hadn’t seen in many years. Especially valuable was the time we spent with elderly relatives in their 70’s and 80’s. Additionally, we helped two of Maricela’s young cousins with their English lessons for several months, while at the same time renewing ties with their extended family.

Later we also visited relatives on the East Coast and in Europe who we hadn’t seen in over 30 years (or ever in the case of our European cousins!)

Several of our house sitting gigs have ended with new friendships. Over time, our regular updates and communications with the homeowners developed into relationships that will last beyond house sitting – they have already invited us back, whether it’s to sit for them again or just to visit!

In the small town we were in in Massachusetts, we could easily have become isolated, since we were on a rural property and we didn’t know anyone. But that would defeat one of the purposes for us being there. So to combat that, we attended as many community events as we could find. We went to a dinner with the local historical society, a 250th year anniversary celebration of a neighboring town, a lavender festival, the local farmers market, and we regularly attended a local church. Through these efforts, and because of our house sitting, we got to know many people.

250th anniversary celebration parade

We met an elderly widower who is passionate about music. Even though he has difficulty walking, he finds the stamina to drive himself all around the area to attend music festivals and “music in the park” types of events. Once we met up with him for one event, he wanted us to join him three or four times a week for various events. And we did join him as often as we could. Additionally, Richard spent a couple of weeks building a wheelchair ramp for him. We’ll never know just how much actual difference we made in his life, but we know he appreciated our company and the fact that we showed an interest in him and his life.

Our new friend on his new ramp

Others who we met invited us to yoga classes, swimming in local lakes, a graduation party – our efforts to reach out and get to know people where we’ve visited have been rewarded by locals responding in kind and helping us to feel at home.

I hope these stories reveal a little about why we left our jobs, for a life “on the road”, and at the same time they provide you with a little glimpse into what we do all day.