Lenox, MA

We have been many a mile since I last updated this blog.

From Joy and Walt's we drove into Sturbridge and had
lunch with Joy and Walt, Nancy and Alan Stanhope,
Jack and Rosemary Robinson. They are all cousins of
Robert. We had a very pleasant chatty lunch and then
Robert and I drove to Wellfleet on the Cape. Jo Walsh
and Alf McDonnell have a lovely cottage there.

We really had a good time with Jo and Alf; Alf was in
some pain from a bicycle disaster, but was a good
sport about it. We went into town several times and
had clams and oysters and more clams and oysters
and other seafood, too. We took several walks, but
mostly ate and talked!

From the Cape we drove north through Boston to
West Newbury to the Farm where Sue and Dick
Berkenbush live. The Farm is an institution and
Robert and I had just read a book about the history
of the Farm. It was started in the early 1900s as
a religious retreat and commune. The fellow who
started it had figured he would supply the farm
and the young people would come down from
Harvard and work the farm. Well, indeed they
did come, but work was not what they had in mind.
The Farm had many hard turns, but eventually Dick's
father arrived on the farm and turned the place
around, married the farmer's daughter and kept
the place going.

It still is a gathering place for many, many people.
While we were there Dick's cousin Nancy was there;
his daughter lives in an apartment in the house and
she and her partner, Mike, live there as well as Sandy's
daughter, Erica. As we left Mike's family was due to
arrive as well as Dick's sister and her husband.
The summer had been like that all summer.
I don 't know how Sue stands it. There
is a lot of work involved with so many people all
expecting meals to appear. Assuming people pitch
in and help it's still a lot of planning and logistics.

We left there yesterday and arrived here last evening
about 5 PM. Elske greeted us with open arms and we
had a great time catching up. Robert has known Elske
and her husband, Henry, from way back. Henry died some
years ago. We visit Elske whenever we come east. She
has had quite a career. Her last posting was at the U. of
Virginia at Richmond. She was Dean of Women there.
Her field and love, however is astronomy.

This morning we took a walk in Kennedy Park. This is
a lovely park in the center of town. I don't know how
many acres it has, but many. We walked probably
two miles and made a big loop.

We'll leave here tomorrow morning and shall wander
a bit, on our own. We are both tired and need some
time to ourselves. We love visiting all of our friends,
but we do get tired.

I plan to call Renee at some point and arrange to spend
a couple of hours with her family in Essex, Vermont before
we head back to Boston.

On the 23rd we pick up Patricia and Thomas at the Boston
airport and have a day with them before our Elderhostel
tour begins in N. Falmouth, MA.