Fruitlands Museum (my 12+ photos)

Today is the 12th of November - if you are doing the 12 on the 12th in 2012 this is the penultimate picture taking day for your project.  We are expecting a beautiful day here with the temperatures may get into the 70s.  I hope you are having good weather as well.

This year has turned out to be somewhat complicated and I haven't kept up with some of the projects such as "12-12-12" that I had hoped to do - but the new year is nearly here so I may try again!

This weekend, we attended an event at the Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, Massachusetts.  Fruitlands was the site of the short-lived utopian community that Bronson Alcott (father of Louisa May Alcott who wrote Little Women) and Charles Lane attempted in 1843.  I've written about Fruitlands before - it is a fascinating place with a unique combination of collections.  You can read the earlier posts by clicking HERE.

There are several buildings that house various parts of an eclectic collection (Shaker, Native American, paintings...) in addition to this farmhouse where the Alcotts stayed during their attempt at living off the fruit of the land.

The vines have gone dormant for the season but the porch was decorated with pumpkins and cornstalks,

Can you see the nest in the vines?  Apparently it was used by two families of birds this summer - one right after the other.

The museum grounds have a wonderful view and the hillside is rather steep.  I had to take a photo of the John Deere "gator" that is used to help ferry people up and down the hill is the conditions are too challenging for them to walk.  My Dad used to sell John Deere equipment so I always watch for green tractors when we are out and about.

We were there in the afternoon and with the time change, the shadows grew long quickly.  The light was very pretty in this bedroom at the farmhouse.

I also liked the way the sun highlighted this bust and also cast a pair of shadows on the wall.

This slate has a quote from Louisa May Alcott's diary from 1843.  I usually like the sound of rain on the roof but after Hurricane Sandy it doesn't seem quite as appealing...

This simple bench is outside near the well.  When I looked at these photos to edit them I thought it was funny that the bench back pieces were lined up nearly perfectly with the fence behind the tree.

There are a number of large sculptures on the grounds by this year's artist-in-residence, Andy Moerlein.  You can see more photos and read his artist's statement about the work HERE on the Fruiltands website.

This is one of the most prominent pieces, called "Centering," and it looked wonderful in the sharp afternoon light.

The view from the top is spectacular as you look out over the mountains.  The sculptures on the right at called "Snow Haiku" and there is a bit of white snow in the crook of the branches,

The branches are bright blue and there are tiny red birds at the top of each branch (you can see them more clearly in the photo on the Fruitlands website HERE).

We were treated to a very dramatic sunset as we visited the last couple of buildings.

The temperature dropped very quickly once the sun had set.

If you are in New England, this is a great place to visit.  The buildings are not heated so the season is over until April of next year but there are some events that take place on the grounds during the winter months.

I spent some of the weekend clearing out and reorganizing kitchen cupboards - trying to get everything in good shape before the holidays.  I did have a little time to get crafty and, as you can see above, there was glitter involved.  I'll show you the project tomorrow.

Are you hosting a Thanksgiving feast this year or will you travel somewhere to be with family?  Thanksgiving is early this year so it feels a little bit rushed to get everything ready.

Have a wonderful Monday!

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