If you're reading this then you probably don't think it's entirely wacky to fetch a woman I’ve never met, visiting from Wales, and drive her 2 hours north to a farm in the rural Berkshires of Massachusetts. Just so I could, you know, hang out with the sheep peeps for tea.
But if I told you the sheep farm is Kristin Nicholas' home and studio, and the passenger was Brenda Dayne of the podcast Cast On , it’d seal the deal, right?
I've become friends with Kristin, loved her work forever, but this was my first visit to their farm. We'd joked about people wanting to live her life and thinking her house was just perfect and the sheep were all fluffy and cute, and she plays with yarn all day but in reality.....
well....OMG... it is true. No! just kidding! She and her husband The Farmer work hard, and farm life (as well as working for yourself) is at times difficult, gritty, messy and frustrating. But, on a spectacular spring day, it looks idyllic. You should sign up for Kristin's classes at the farm and see what I mean.
Anyway back to Brenda. Our original plan: I was going to coach her on photography and she was going to interview me about shooting knitting and handcraft books.
But we had way too much fun blabbing, just blabbing, on the way up. And then relaxing with a pot of proper UK tea and then walking the fields with the sheep while she recorded ambient sounds and interviewed The Farmer. We decided we just have to hang out again sometime. (fyi, she sounds just the same, in person, as on her podcast. Mind blowing, it is).
It was a wonderful day. You really really need to try to see Brenda when she passes through your area on her US tour this month. Her classes are sure to be wonderful, but definitely attend her performance piece, A Memorable Yarn. (read about it on Kristin's blog, here ).
True confession: I got that line from Sweet Baby James* , " the Berkshires seemed dreamlike on accounta' that frosting...." as an earworm on the way home. And then discovered, I can remember all the words. No wonder there's no room for important facts in my brain.
I
Had to end with the kitten.
* go listen & look at that video from 1970 . So long ago!
10 comments:
Oh, my brain is a dark and dangerous place. I had the theme from Green Acres as a ear worm the other day. And i knew all the words....
How exciting. I've been following Brenda since the beginning of the podcast. Thanks for being such a good host.
Sweet Baby James. Flooding with memories. I find it hard to sing his pieces with my range, and now I can see why my guitar doesn't sound like his.
What a gorgeous spot, your photos are so beautiful and now I want to visit there!
Inspiring post, Gale! Idyllic spot!
Deep greens and blues are the colors I choose . . . for my knitting and a lot of other things.
We sang it, "rockabye, sweet Karen Jayne" to our little baby back in the early 80's. yes, I know all the words still.
"On a spectacular spring day, it looks idyllic." Sigh. Yes, it does. Also, Sweet Baby James is the perfect background music for this. Beautiful and soothing all around. Thanks.
Beautiful photos! Spent many years in the Berkshires when I was growing up and I'm planning a trip there next Fall. Saw Kristen one year at the wonderful little craft show that Franklin County puts on in Oct. to promote it's local fiber arts businesses.
Not wacky at all...
Jealous! I love Brenda Dayne. Cast On was one of the first podcasts I ever listened to. Thank you for sharing your day and your beautiful photos.
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