Taking a Foliage Tour

Since today is the first day of fall and I am beginning the process of doing the flowers for a wedding this weekend and am super busy, I thought I would re-post my foliage tour of my town from last year.  I hope you don't mind. I'll be back "live" next week :).
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 My  husband gave me a new camera last Christmas to help me create better photos for my business and, perhaps, this blog.  To be honest, I need to take a camera course to take full advantage of my camera but time just hasn't allowed for that.  However, I have enjoyed playing around with it and I do think I have certainly taken nicer photos than I did with my old camera.

Well, the views looking out the windows of my home and driving around town have been so beautiful that I decided to take my camera and shoot a few pictures. To my surprise, it turned out to be lots of fun!

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I started the journey in my own backyard.  The views I see looking out the windows of my house seemed picture worthy, at least to me.  This maple tree is the view I see from my kitchen window.  Truth be told, the maple is getting a bit too big for where it has decided to grow.  Every summer I contemplate having my husband cut it down but, then the autumn comes and I can't bear to do it.  The battle will probably continue next year when it overtakes the driveway!

The side yard



Here you can see the little pond across the street.



Isn't it pretty?  Same little pond...different vantage point



I really hope I never take living in the Northeast for granted, especially in the fall.  It is just toooo lovely!

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I finally decided to leave home and travel down Route 40.  I headed to the center of town.  On the way, I stopped at Gibbet Hill, a lovely hill  featuring a local farm, restaurant and event venue.  I parked and hiked up the dirt path to the top of the hill.

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Almost to the top of the hill and you can see the town of Groton below...



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somewhere to the left (I think) and thirty miles away is Mount Wachusett.  

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Near the top of the hill are the remains of what some call the "castle".  Evidently, the "castle" has a storied past.  From what I have read, the "castle" was originally built as a retirement bungalow for a General Bancroft in the early 1900's.  In 1918, it was a transformed into sanitarium.  In the 1920's, it became a private tuberculosis hospital.  In 1932, a fire, which seemingly was caused by "careless fireworks," left only the stone structure in place.



Now, it is part of the Gibbet Hill Angus Farm property, I believe.  Weddings can currently be been held here.  It's really a cool place!

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Next, I continued on Route 40 to the center of town.  I stopped along Main Street (Route 119) to take a photo and encountered another photographer who decided to take a photo of this vibrant tree along the sidewalk.  I think this is quintessential New England.  I guess the other photographer thought so too! 

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Finally I was able to take this photo of the First Parish Church and part of Lawrence Academy, also in the center of town.  Sorry about the power lines but, not much I can do about it.  Because of the power lines my other photos of Lawrence Academy were not worthy of being published.  Too bad because Lawrence Academy is an impressive centerpiece of the town.





I wanted to take a photo of a farm that runs along Route 119.  Often times they have cows in the fields grazing.  The cows are unique because they look like Neapolitan ice cream, minus the strawberry.  They have large stripes of white, black, white on the sides of their bodies.  It can be a very pretty site. However, the cows were not grazing this day and Route 119 is really too busy a road to get out of your car to safely take a photo.  So, I opted NOT to try that!

Not to sound like a travel guide advertisement, but taking a Sunday drive on Route 119 through Groton and parts north is truly worth your while, especially in October.  It can be totally breathtaking.

Enjoy the ride!