Blue Hour at Quabbin Reservoir

Quabbin Reservoir, Belchertown MA
Photo by Linda Repasky

You are forgiven if you think this is some far flung body of water in some distant land. (We thought so too when we first received this photo submission for our 2024 calendar!) Turns out, this is just “blue hour” at nearby Quabbin Reservoir. According to photographer Linda Repasky, “Shortly before sunrise, the sky and water at Quabbin Reservoir took on a delightfully blue hue. Pure magic!”

The jury initially struggled over whether to include this photo in the calendar, not because it isn’t extraordinary, but because we tend to prefer “recognizable” local scenes. At the same time, we also encourage fresh takes on familiar locations – in Emily Dickinson’s words, we favor photos that “Tell all the truth but tell it slant.”

With Emily’s words guiding the final selection, Repasky’s photo became the featured photo for April in the 2024 Head in the Clouds Amherst wall calendar. No question, this is an absolutely perfect addition to this year’s calendar!

Year of the Dragon

Dragon of Moody Bridge Road, Amherst/Hadley Border ~ Photo by Brian LeClair

Happy Year of the Dragon to all who are celebrating!

To mark the occasion, I have plucked this once-in-a-blue-moon capture from our archives. All credit to the photographer, Brian LeClair. Looked at in a certain way, the cloud is clearly a dragon - you can see it's head curving around and looking back toward the lightning bolt, which is in the general vicinity of its tail. (I promise you, this is not a manufactured/ photoshopped image.) 

This was the featured photo for August in the 2017 Head in the Clouds Amherst wall calendar. Taken along the border of Amherst and Hadley, Brian titled this photo “The Dragon of Moody Bridge Road.”

Nature's Wastefulness

January 24
(All photos by Sharon Vardatira)

January 25

January 27

so Nature’s wastefulness seems quietly obscene.
It’s been doing that all week:
making beauty,
and throwing it away,
and making more.

    ~ Tony Hoagland, “Color of the Sky”

To capture our wild variations on winter over the past week, I photographed my same North Amherst backyard scene on three different days, from January 24 to today. Borrowing from Mark Twain (and countless others over the years), “If you don't like the weather in New England, just wait a few minutes." More beauty appears to be on the way tomorrow into Monday!

Intro to Cloudspotting!

Curious about clouds and the wider cloud spotting community? Learn all the basics in this light-hearted zoom presentation I did for Amherst Neighbors back in 2022. Topics include cloudspotting rules and "manifesto," seeing things in the clouds, cloud classifications (in brief), tips for photographing clouds, cloud spotting resources, and more! Enjoy!

Windy Nights

"There's nothing like stories on a windy night when folks have found a warm place in a cold world."

   ~ Stephen King, The Wind Through the Keyhole 

Yup, that feels about right - the wind tonight definitely has a Stephen King vibe about it. Batten down the hatches, friends! 

"Windy Nights" collections of drawings by 4th graders
at Knockanean National School in Clare, Ireland

Dark and Stormy

- By Marianne Ferrer

It was a dark and stormy night....

Painting by visual artist, Marianne Ferrer captures better than any photo the night we are experiencing right now - wind whipping through the tree branches, rain pelting on the roof, snow all about. Good luck sleeping!