Last year Holly came with us and we journeyed to the flagship Yankee Candle store in Deerfield and also went pumpkin picking.
This year, both Holly and Natyra ventured along for a day of numerous Deerfield sights. For years, living on the South Shore, we would take the turnpike and Route 9 out west. But now that we are on the North Shore, the most convenient route is Route 2, the Mohawk Trail. Like Route 44, it is a very old Native American path, linking Massachusetts to New York (or in the case of Rt 44, linking Plymouth to Providence, and beyond). The road is gorgeous, and at some points near the town of Erving, Millers River (a tributary of the Connecticut River), comes right up to the road. Just beyond that is the French King Bridge, which crosses over the Connecticut River itself:
We then drove to Historic Deerfield, where we took tours of the historic homes and learned about the families of Deerfield. I even managed to be mistaken for a colonial ceramics expert and collector, much to the amusement of my friends who knew better! At the visitors center they had a craftsman making pottery and a demonstration on how to make colonial hot chocolate (which was very strongly flavored!). We walked along a path which went by a farm and Deerfield Academy, and explored the old cemetery where we located the mass grave of the 56 colonists who were killed at Deerfield during the attack on their town during the Queen Anne's War on 29 February 1704 when French and Native American soldiers burned the town just before dawn, and brought many of the captured women and children to Canada.
We then went off to a local farm stand to obtain pumpkins, vegetables, mums, and apple cider, and then went to Yankee Candle for our autumn and Christmas candles.
We then went off to a local farm stand to obtain pumpkins, vegetables, mums, and apple cider, and then went to Yankee Candle for our autumn and Christmas candles.
