Bridge of Flowers

My grandmother used to say life was so much easier when you were simple minded. It's taken me almost my whole life to understand what she meant. - Brian Andreas

I loved this little bench we passed outside an ice cream shop in Shelburne Falls, MA. We went there on Monday morning to see the little town and the Bridge of Flowers. We truly were celebrating life's simple pleasures! The sun was out, the breeze was blowing and the temps were mid-70's. Good company. Beautiful scenery. Lots of walking and a picnic lunch. It was simple, but such a nice way to spend the morning.

We pass the exit for Shelburne Falls each and every time we go to New Hampshire and for years I've been wanting to stop and see it.  So, we decided to get up and go check it out as the theme for this weekend has been "be outside walking as much as possible!" The days are getting shorter and the temps are getting cooler. Leaves are starting to turn on certain trees and each day that goes by my anxiety starts to grow: Winter is coming! But first the end of Summer and the beautiful Fall and I intend to savor every day I possibly can outside!   Here are a few photos that I took:

These are glacial potholes, glacier-carved swimming holes at the base of Salmon Falls in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts.  They were closed to the public due to an accident, but they used to be open for swimming.

I liked this building from the minute I saw it across the bridge, but it turned out to be our lunch destination as well. Rebuilt in 1895. It reminded me of the old store in Rochelle. It was a little co-op and health food store with a deli in the back. They have vegan to vegetarian to gluten-free to our selections: chicken salad on sourdough and turkey and cranberry on spelt roll.  Everything is made in-store, including the bread and all the veggies and meats were fresh as can be. Really good. And while I liked the idea, I didn't like the cramped store. It was busy and the aisles were tight. I waited outside to avoid a complete nervous breakdown. Ten minutes or so later David appeared, two wrapped sandwiches and  a root beer in hand and we were off to the "park" overlooking the water for our picnic lunch.  The "park" was a spot with two chairs out on a dock overlooking the water and one picnic table near the road. The two chairs were taken, so we opted for the bench under a tree near a train rail with a working train. We enjoyed our lunch and headed off for the bridge of flowers.

Here's a view of the bridge from afar:

Then we entered the bridge to find what we thought was true - it was wasn't exactly peak season on the bridge. But there were some flowers and you could tell that it would be GORGEOUS in the Spring when everything is in full bloom. I'd love to go back and see it then.

The trail was narrow. It would probably be wise to go early in the morning to get a chance to really "stop and smell the roses" so to speak. It's about as wide as a grocery store aisle, so if you stop to look or take a photograph, you hold up everyone else behind you.

If you had the space to work, it would be a GREAT place to practice photography. I was thinking of Jenny - her skills. You could get a bee or some sort of bug or water droplet on the petals for a really neat photograph. I, not possessing the skills nor the high quality camera, got a few "flower shots".   

This one was really stunning in person. I didn't capture it very well. It was so red and so unique.

Then it was back in the car and off to Wendy and Eric's for a Labor Day lobster picnic. Dan and Linda were there (David had just been to the Yankee game with Dan a day earlier) and Bill and Pam with their kiddos. We had a nice time visiting and Wendy went all out! Steak, bowls of lobster and clarified butter, fresh corn on the cob, tomato basil bread, and grilled romaine. So good! It was a very busy, but very fun Labor Day weekend.