Sunday, October 22, 2023

Our Featured Photographers!

Quabbin Reservoir, Belchertown ~ Photo by Mark Lindhult
(Featured photo for October in the 2024 Head in the Clouds Amherst Wall Calendar)

The 2024 Head in the Clouds Amherst wall calendar, now on sale, features photographs taken by amateur and professional photographers who live in and visit our corner of the world. Each summer, our five-person jury selects the finalists from among all the submissions we receive in response to our spring call for photos.

Our featured photographers are your neighbors and friends - indeed, we're betting you'll recognize at least one name among our 2024 finalists:

Doug Tanner - January
James (Jim) Patten - February
Richard Getler - March & Cover
Linda Repasky - April
Sharon Vardatira - May
Mindy Domb - June
Joshua Wolfsun - July
Andy Churchill - August
Annette Fortier - September
Mark Lindhult - October
Jennifer Lynch Murphy - November
David Sharken - December

While you're musing on which names you recognize, gaze on this iconic fall foliage scene for October 2024, taken by Mark Lindhult. This is Mark's first time appearing in a HITCA calendar! Follow the link to see all the monthly photos (just scroll down the page) or purchase your own 2024 Head in the Clouds Amherst calendar through Etsy.

https://bit.ly/3RGZgl1

##AmherstMA #WesternMA #photography #artcalendar #nature #clouds #weather

Saturday, October 14, 2023

Winter on the Amherst Town Common Holiday Card

Excited to announce I will be adding an assortment of greeting cards to the CloudsAmherst EtsyShop over the next few months, starting with this one!

Winter on the Amherst Town Common Holiday Card
Photographer: Joshua Wolfsun

Come experience a snowy December morning on the Amherst Town Common. Daylight has only just broken through the clouds, and the street lamps and holiday lights are casting a golden reflection across the ice. Later in the day, this scene will be filled with people out shopping and dining, but for now, all is quiet. Photographed by Joshua Wolfsun, this image has a dreamy quality, reminiscent of a painting. Folded, the card is 4.6" x 7.2," printed on premium, heavy-weight matte paper. Inside message: May all the seasons of your life be filled with peace and happiness. Shop here: https://etsy.me/48VWjTy

Sunday, October 8, 2023

Our First Post (11 years ago this weekend)

The post that launched Head in the Clouds Amherst
October 6, 2012

Going back in the archives to my very first Head in the Clouds Amherst blog post, 11 years ago on what was then "Columbus Day" weekend. Lots has evolved in the past decade - on the upside, tomorrow is now Indigenous Peoples' Day in Massachusetts (did not see that coming back in 2012).

Kevin Flood Accessible Trail, Puffer's Pond ~ North Amherst, MA
Photo by Sharon Vardatira

As for fall foliage, however, while the local trees are definitely changing color, it will be another week or two before the foliage in the Pioneer Valley is more orange and yellow than green. And in terms of "finding peak," it's a much more elusive pursuit nowadays. We still have uniquely beautiful autumns in some years, but with the trees now changing color over a protracted period from late August all the way through November, it's unusual to find one area where all the trees are in full fall colors at the same time. We still go in search of peak, but we're more likely to find it in pockets, a single extraordinary tree or a random cluster of trees that cannot help but steal the show from everything in their vicinity. And, every October, it's still one of my favorite quests!

Have a wonderful weekend and month, everyone, with lots of beautiful "peak" moments along the way.

Sunday, October 1, 2023

2024 Head in the Clouds Amherst Wall Calendar Now Available!

Calendar Cover ~ Photo by Richard Getler

GIVE THE GIFT OF A NEW YEAR

with the all new

2024 Head in the Clouds Amherst Wall Calendar

Order online for delivery by mail

$20.00 per calendar
Free shipping with a purchase of 2 calendars or more

Proceeds* to benefit the

Open the calendar on 2024, and treat yourself and your loved ones to the changing seasons of one of the most beautiful corners of the world, from the farmlands to the rivers, lakes, hills and trails of Western Massachusetts.

12 beautiful, seasonal photos of Amherst and the Pioneer Valley by residents and visitors (scroll below to view all pages)
Over 200 daily entries highlighting astronomical, historical, weather, and meteorological events in Amherst and New England from 1620-2023
17" X 11" (full size when open)
Saddle stitch binding
High quality coated gloss, heavyweight paper
Shrink wrapped

Purchase ONLINE at ETSY: https://etsy.me/3rrMNab

Also available for in-person purchase at:

Amherst Books, located in downtown Amherst at 8 Main Street on the Common. Phone: (800) 503-5865. Amherst Books is a locally owned, independent bookshop. In addition to our calendar, they carry new and used books, including an amazing selection of poetry, literature, philosophy, small press titles, literary journals.

Local Pick-Up. For questions, special requests, and to arrange for pick up in North Amherst (payment via Venmo or check), please email Sharon at CloudsAmherst[@]gmail[.]com.

Our Head in the Clouds Amherst Wall Calendar is the perfect gift for cloud spotters, nature lovers, photographers, artists and writers, students here and abroad, locals, and former residents longing for a taste of home. This calendar will have them (and you) falling in love with Western Massachusetts month after month. And this is a gift that will keep giving all year round.

Calendar Cover - Bay Road, Hadley
Photo by Richard Getler

Inside Front Pages
The Tyranny of Blue Sky Thinking - by Sharon Vardatira

Jennison Road Marsh, Wendell - Photo by Doug Tanner

Hampshire College, Amherst - Photo by James Patten

Bay Road, Hadley - Photo by Richard Getler

Quabbin Reservoir, Belchertown - Photo by Linda Repasky

Amherst College - Photo by Sharon Vardatira

Somewhere in Hampshire County - Photo by Mindy Domb

Farm Fields, Hadley - Photo by Joshua Wolfsun

University Drive, Amherst - Photo by Andy Churchill

Ames Pond Nature Retreat, Kestrel Land Trust, Shutesbury
Photo by Annette Fortier

Quabbin Reservoir, Belchertown - Photo by Mark Lindhult

Silvio O. Conte National Fish & Wildlife Refuge, Hadley
Photo by Jennifer Lynch Murphy

Leverett Pond (aka Echo Lake), Leverett
Photo by David Sharken

Back of Calendar

On Puffer's Pond

Saturday, February 4, 2023, 3:35 pm: The past two days have seen record-breaking cold in the area, with the temperature dipping to -14F overnight, Friday into Saturday. To make matters worse, the wind was unyielding, whipping through the trees and driving wind chill readings down to -40F. In a season that had been unusually mild up until that point, it was something of a shock. Local residents were suddenly forced to think about warming up their cars, preventing pipes from freezing, and dressing in multiple layers to walk their dogs. By Saturday, while many were happy to hunker down and wait for temperatures to stop breaking low records, this was the moment that ice fishers and skaters had been waiting for all winter. With temps hovering around 12F (albeit above zero) by Saturday afternoon, Puffer's Pond was the place to be for about 30 people, many of whom were spread out over the ice, either ice fishing or playing hockey. While this is a fairly typical sight at Puffer's in the coldest winter months, our current lack of snow made it unique. No one had to contend with snowpack - the skaters didn't even have to clear a "field" for their game. And with all the hiking paths snow and ice-free, photographers had no trouble capturing water flowing through, under, and around layers of ice on the water. And, still, at 12F, without hand and foot warmers, I did not linger long. The temps will be rising quickly in the coming week, climbing well above freezing, even to 50F in the days to come. So, I'm guessing the skaters and ice fishers also won't be here much longer.

(Read past entries here.)