With cold weather finally upon us, and my health taking it’s seasonal decline, I have started to alter my destinations a bit – though I will likely continue to trek through the woods when I can I think it’s time to adjust my attention to some interesting indoor locations. This last one came up as a surprise. I was spontaneously invited to attend a dinner at East Hill Farm, an event they put on maybe once a month or so.
I have driven by East Hill Farm MANY times. I had no idea what it was, I thought it was probably an equine breeding facility or something similar but actually it’s a pretty large complex that has a whole host of services from vacation rentals, special event dinners, wedding bookings, horseback riding lessons, field trips, meat sales, you name it, this place has their paws in it. How could this get by me so unnoticed?! Probably because many of their services are beyond my normal price range, but that’s OK, there’s nothing wrong with checking them out!
So I ended up at this dinner with a group of people and as usual I was a bit out of it. Though I knew where this farm was I didn’t know that so I typed the address into the GPS which summarily drove me into the woods where the road ended rather abruptly. I had to turn around and try again! But I was not late!
I drove in and parked, this place was packed. Luckily there was someone waiting out here for me because there’s three entrances into the place and it’s fairly disorienting. I sat down at the table, laughing about the little mishap on the way over. There was a big table of appetizers here and people were picking at them buffet style. I was starving. I took a piece of vegetable pizza and some other random tidbits and sat down. There was a fascinating mix of people here – from the very young to the very old, many dressed up fancy, but just as many wearing casual clothes. A violin player serenaded the crowd. Off in a side room there was a silent auction composed of all sorts of goodies from local farms and crafters – 50 pounds of potatoes, a box of gourds, several jars of zucchini relish, an unlabeled mason jar of apple cider moonshine. The crafters items were less impressive – etched glass, a few carved woodblocks, a few felt pieces, nothing particularly out of the ordinairy, nothing you couldn’t find in a kitchen or country store. I pondered if I could help that but there was no information on how to donate.
I had quite some time as we waited for the actual meal. I had no idea what to expect but there was a card here with the menu. I thought it was like a normal menu where you pick what you want off it but no, everyone would be fed everything on the menu… four or five appetizers, a rather large meal, followed by several desserts! They specialize in seasonal foods and anything maple syrup. This time around they started out with a bowl of tomato bisque which was amazing followed by a blueberry fritter in fresh real maple syrup which was almost almost too much for my palette to bear. Delicious! The salad was less impressive but not bad. Dinner consisted of pot roast, savory mashed potatoes, carrots, and warm apple sauce that I think was imported from heaven. Never had applesauce warm before. Now I wonder why! Dessert was made from various combinations of local ice cream, blue berries, and maple syrup which was also amazing but by this time I was too full to eat any more. So was the rest of my party. We skeddaddled a bit early, before the last dessert which appeared to be a full bowl of vanilla ice cream topped in maple syrup, something I would normally jump at if I weren’t so damn full!
Outside a horse stared intently at the bumper of a car in the parking lot – checking it’s own reflection? I have no idea. It was weird. All around there were pastures for horses and who knows what else, a large barn off the back of the parking lot. This place must be beautiful in the daytime, maybe I was starting to see why someone would chose to have their vacation at a farm. I will be keeping my eye on this place in the future!
**Photo not taken by me – but I needed to put something up of the establishment…
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Well! I must admit October has been rough for me, and it always is, if I’m to be honest. As much as I wanted to do a TON of traveling this month my body keeps slamming me. My last little jaunt into the woods, which wasn’t far at all, laid me up for two days afterwards, and although I feel great today I knew I shouldn’t be pushing it. That’s why instead of hiking up Pack Monadnock like I’d prefer I instead decided to be a total sissy and drive the auto road, taking my foliage photos mostly from the parking lot. That being said I had a blast!
Right off the bat I had the guy at the toll gate laughing at me as I handed over my four dollars (I summarized my desire to just drive up to the summit for a few snaps, but I guess in a humorous way. I often have no idea I’m being funny but that’s the joy of life, isn’t it?) From there the drive up the mountain was one long groan coming from the Prius. If that car could talk it’d be screaming, “WHHHHY?! JUST WHHHHHY WOULD YOU DRIVE ME UP A MOUNTAIN?!” Because Daisy is still laid up. That’s why. When I finally reached the parking lot the place was packed! I found one space at the very end and like a pro parked the worst I have ever parked in my life. You know the kind of parking an old lady would do while plowing through someone’s front porch… This happens every time I know I am being watched by strangers. I couldn’t save face so I just hopped out and owned it. “WOW, why do I suck so bad at this?! Let me try again!” I was guided in by a nice hippie gentleman who I conversed with for a few minutes. I gave him the impression I was young and new at driving, though not intentionally. My way of not dying of embarrassment I suppose.
I was a bit sad to find visibility today was really poor even though the foliage wasn’t half bad. Figuring that out I decided to check out some trails. The trails were scattered and strange. Immediately, while I was still a bit skittish from parking, a group of college kids asked me if I could take their photo. I obliged and they complimented me on my T-shirts and hair. I smiled and said thank you and had I not been totally overstimulated in that moment maybe I would have held a slightly longer conversation with them but alas! My mind was drawing blanks, a lot of them. It does that.
From here I made my way to the little observation spot that was set up for birds of prey. There was a big grease board denoting which birds had been seen today. I had no idea we had so many damn varieties of hawks. No wonder those little SOBs were so problematic when I had chickens! There were three sightings of eagles today. I had seen my last one a couple weeks ago while driving around Mason somewhere so I knew they were still in the area. People seemed kind of grumpy and bored here so I wandered off to where the vibes were better. I went down a few trails here and there, following some red dots, and got a few more little views. It was a nice mountain and the foliage was great but the visibility today was piss-poor. Too much humidity clouding up around the trees! Ah well, I did try.
Today was everything I wanted last Friday to be – absolutely amazing. And all I had to do was wander off while trying to go to the feed store for bunny food. I hardly ever just go out to do errands anymore. Somehow I always manage to find myself falling down the proverbial rabbit hole again.
This place was swank as far as trails go! It had a memorial rock right at the entrance as well as a mailbox full of maps and a guestbook. Whoever left this place must have been loaded – as most of Sharon is. And wow! It was breath taking!
I had thought I was alone you see… I mean who else would be here, there were no cars… and that’s when, bitching vocally to the camera, “Focus damn you!” three people came striding by to see my sorry butt in the air, my slacks sagging (from loss of weight and lack of belt) and my drawers hanging out, standing on all fours on the ground trying to get just the right shot of an adorable mushroom I found. Who knows what they think I was doing, either way everyone avoided eye contact. And not long after that a woman came by with her young son. It was all rather sweet.
The trail went on quite a ways and ended at a little bridge where it connected to another trail that went… .who the hell knows! Another trail off the main one was labeled, “woodland trail” and that one was a loop trail. I didn’t get to explore it but this preserve had a sign saying it was still open in winter for hiking. I suddenly need snowshoes. I thought I’d be cooped up for these cold dark months but maybe not. All the women in my life keep yelling at me – for getting lost, for having too much “bravery” to go charging into strange woods alone, for just generally being adventurous, but you know what? If I get eaten by bears then so be it. At least I died doing something I loved. And besides I have yet to see any bears but now that I said that there will probably be a plague of them on my next little jaunt.
Anyway, this place was soooo pretty and relaxing I would suggest it to anyone. Truly delightful. I am calm once again! Even more so my mind is sparked and enthusiastic. I dream of someday owning a property much like this, hopefully with a river running through it, so I may also create a hiking trail for the public, winding through the woods, past fairy houses placed by local artists, and past my little educational farm and back again. I can see it so clearly and I know in my heart working towards this goal is what I am supposed to be doing with my life – giving back, being joyful, becoming the wild child I always knew I was. Anyway, if that is something you would like to know more about feel free to check out my future farm’s page where I work towards this goal, philosophize, and sell my art: 
Today I had to go to Marlborough and decided to let the GPS drag me down some back roads. I am so happy I chose to do this instead of going the way I knew! I ended up on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere (which is always a nice thing for me) and when I passed a cemetery that looked like it was full of old slate stones I couldn’t resist. Oh! This cemetery had the most character of any slate graveyard I have been in! Whoever was carving those old stones must have had quite the personality! I got to see all the usual designs – cherubs, urns, weeping willows, but with so much added extra flair it was unbelievable. Odd swoops and swirls, intricate geometric designs, and even one which had a 3-D face. Totally bizarre! But how wonderful!
