So fellow travelers,  last year I wrote about the best pickles in the world. Two weeks ago I had lunch with the creator of those pickles, my friend Kate,  as well as some other friends and fellow members of the Bedlam Farm Creative group. It was a somewhat impromptu meet-up instigated by my desire to enjoy the wonderful food of Scott Carino’s Round House Cafe in Cambridge New York.

The Round House is perhaps the only place I would consider driving three and a half hours to eat lunch at. Fortunately, I already had plans which meant passing through Cambridge on my way to hear the Battenkill Chorus’ 20th anniversary concert (more on that later.) A casual comment on a chat page created a thread which quickly took on a life of its own.  This is quite common when we “farmies” as we refer to ourselves get together.  Potluck barbecues, photo walks, late night wine parties, guest performances in church choirs, even unexpected ice skating in parking lots have been known to happen. 

Meanwhile it turned out the Washington County Fiber Arts Tour was also happening that same weekend. Who knew?  Jeff Anderson, photo guru and grateful Dad blogger  that’s who and he posted all the info we needed should we want to commune with local alpacas, goats, sheep and their farmers.

It turned out my friend Beth was up for some communing with fiberous mammals so we arranged to meet at the farm nearest her house and try to catch a few of the tour events before lunch. Beth is a really good photographer and a phenomenal food crafter.

Beths whimsical Pirate Ship Fruit Salad was the hit of our first potluck gathering.

To reach the first farm by 10am-ish I would have to hit the road quite early, which worked out fine as my daughter had the 5:30am opening shift at work so I’d be up anyways. One of the perks of being on the road so early is catching images like this

and one of  the benefits of traveling solo is having the freedom to pull over and stop whenever  something catches my attention, although it is not always easy to hold focus as tractor trailers roar by at who know what MPH on the NYS Thruway.   There is a shot of the Mohawk River book marked in my GPS that I am bound and determined to get one of these days.

Arriving within minutes of each other at the first farm, Beth and I started meandering about, cameras in hand. I was distracted by a splash of water fowl landing on the farm’s pond, but caught only this one image. I love the texture created by  spring winds blowing on the pond’s surface.

Meanwhile Beth was making friends in the gentle, quiet way she has of simply being present.

Being with Beth brings a zen-like joy to each experience.  She is an observer, a listener and her ability to be fully present in a moment is reflected in the images she captures.

Photo by Beth Heffern which accompanies her poem “Fishing Tales” on the Creative Group page.

We visited a few farms on the tour, taking in the adept skills of spinners at the wheel, watching an expert shearer at work, marveling at the beautiful pieces created by fiber artisans.

Wonderful moments. Still,  Beth and I had a higher (literally) goal in mind: to reach the exhibit at St Mary’s on-the-hill in Greenwich and still have time for lunch at the Round House in Cambridge.

To be continued……

Walk gently on the path my friends and may adventure find you ready.