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Chilling at Berkshires

A 8-day adventure by CWBuff Read more
  • The sculptures

    August 27, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

    The sculptor is Peter Rockwell- Norman's son
    Someone insisted that this kid and I looked "Rockwell-esque" and wanted to take our pictures
    Oh well...

  • Hilltop Orchards

    August 27, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    We took a fast short drive to West Stockbridge and did some wine and cider tasting at Hilltop Orchards - Home of Furnace Brook Winery and Jmash Cidery and The Taproom at Hilltop Orchards

    The production is in full swing (they were actually bottling Apple Ice Wine)
    The pretty colors of Strawberry Rosé and Green Apple Wines
    The manager/owner was nice enough to let me do a complimentary "early pick of Courtland apples.
    Her and the barmaid were also very generous with their sample pours, so we felt pretty darn good by the end of the visit 😉😊

    That ended our outing for today. We returned to yhd resort to a yummy homemade diner of rotini and meatballs...

    Tomorrow, another museum and maybe another tasting of something yummy
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  • Berkshire Botanical Gardens

    August 28, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    Established in 1934 as the “Berkshire Garden Center” and revered as one of the older public display gardens in the Northeast, Berkshire Botanical Garden is a not-for-profit, membership-supported educational organization encompassing 24 acres of land at the intersection of Routes 102 and 183 in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The Garden is open year-round.Read more

  • Lost Bird project

    August 28, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    The Lost Bird Project, an outdoor exhibit by artist Todd McGrain, featured five large-scale bronze sculptures of extinct North American birds.
    The Lost Bird Project recognizes the tragedy of modern extinction by immortalizing North American birds that have been driven to extinction. These sculptures compel us to recognize the finality of our loss. They ask us not to forget, and they remind us of our duty to prevent further extinction. Extinction of animals, plants, and other organisms caused by human actions can often be credited to habitat destruction resulting from deforestation and pollution. In addition, excessive hunting and fishing, the introduction of non-native species, and the transmission of diseases are also contributing factors.Read more

  • Topiary Garden

    August 28, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

    The newest addition is Lucy's Garden, a whimsical topiary collection featuring 22 exotic creatures and other ‘live’ sculptures which opened in June, 2019.

  • Walking to the Meadow

    August 28, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

    Lots of bees pollinating the flowers

  • Chesterwood

    August 28, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F

    Chesterwood was the summer estate and studio of American sculptor Daniel Chester French (1850–1931). Most of French's originally 150-acre (61 ha) estate is now owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which operates the property as a museum and sculpture garden. The property was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965 in recognition of French's importance in American sculpture.

    More info can be obtained at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesterwood_(Ma…

    Daniel Chester French, of course, is most known for his Minute Man in Concorde MASS and Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, but there's so much more... we have plenty of his works in Philly (most notably in Fairmount Park) , plenty of stuff in NYC, Boston, Chicago, and even Paris France!
    Wiki has enough info at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Chester_…

    The photos are some model pieces in the Visitors Center incl. The Minute Man, The Dupont Circle Memorial, Lincoln pieces incl. studies on hands , NYC Custom House and Memory (interestingly enough August Sint Gaugen's Dina can be glimpsed behind her)
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  • Walking the grounds

    August 28, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F

    Walking around the property, we came across the statue of Abraham Lincoln and checked out one of the modern-day sculptures titled New England Gothic (ongoing Birth of A Shadow exhibition on the grounds) by Wendy Klamperer.
    Just know that you can buy the whole group for $30K
    Then, as we were merrily sauntering on the path, this little fella decided to pop out from his hole and check us out. Laurie, of course, was waaay too happy 😊
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  • Walking towards the studio

    August 28, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F

    Continued on the Woodland walk we came across Hettie (Laurie) and Audrey (Allan) by DeWitt Godfrey.
    They represent Hettie Anderson and Audrey Munson - two of French's frequent models. (If you do decide to buy them- they will set you back at a tune of $85K a piece!!!!)

    We then made our way to the courtyard of the Studio
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  • French's Studio

    August 28, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

    Many cool pieces here incl. "Fighting Joe" Hooker (last photo equestrian statue On the shelf - kinda have to zoom in to see it clearly) and various studies and models for Lincoln Memorial

  • Main House

    August 28, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

    Unfortunately is off limits unless one books an optional tour, which we decided to skip

    (One of the disappointments regarding the COVID-19 "inheritance " is that lots of places like this are running everything on an ala-carte method. The General Admission tickets get you " on the grounds," but lots of other stuff is extra charge 🥲)Read more

  • Cool Meal of the Day

    August 28, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

    I have no idea why the Berkshires Lobster Rolls are so famous ( after all, it's a long way to Tipp...er.. the ocean from here, even if we are in MASS) but famous they are.
    So we took another trip to Lee and treated ourselves to Lobster Roll on toasted Brioche bun with Cole Slaw (YT) and Potato Salad (L)
    And an absolute delish yumminess they were
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  • Trip end
    August 31, 2024