Summer Stories
Day-tripping
Summer time - it's a season of long days, hot sun, kids out of school for weeks on end. How do you fill up the hours?
Pick your picnic: Five great spots to enjoy summer's bounty
A thick slice of bread, a knife blade's worth of soft cheese, and a juicy nectarine can become a picnic, when eaten in an inviting location.
Biking the Valley
Every weekend, scores of cyclists fly by our house. We live on a quiet street in the flat section of Whately, not far from the Connecticut River. It turns out that our road is noted a "perfect byway" by a number of cycling books and maps.
Bug off: keeping insects at bay
As Lyme disease and mosquito-borne illnesses seem to be on the rise - or at least talked about more - the number of insect repellents on the market has kept pace.
From a cappella to rock, music for all tastes
You'll find music concerts in all corners of the Pioneer Valley this summer, from the weekday folk performances at the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum in Hadley to the weekend Wormtown rock festival in Greenfield.
Picnic menu fare: plain and fancy
What can you eat at a picnic?
Making summer days cool as a cucumber
Who doesn't love a cucumber?
A Norwottuck Rail Trail primer
The Norwottuck Rail Trail is another great option for local biking. You can choose a section of it, and then move off to explore a nearby community.
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