Kristen Tool and her husband, Chris Wheeler, keep six hives near a massive apple tree that has lived here, like his family, for a hundred years. They are building contemporary ways to support their family farm — and food systems and food security in the Berkshires at the same time.
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Wild Soul River brings healing into Williamstown
On the corner of Cole Ave and Hall Street in Williamstown, the old general store is now a gathering space and an ‘abolitionist herbal shop.’
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Exploring Cummington and the hilltowns in summer
It’s quiet up here. Sometimes I’ll come up to the ridge to get away for awhile, out the back roads … and find unexpected and creative places.
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Farms offer maple syrup in sap houses — and online
Syrup and sugared nuts and fudge-like cream … the sap is boiling, and maple growers are expanding in the Berkshires with web shops. You can stop in for a quart or order one from home.
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MoonCloud seasonal cocktails bring warmth home
How about a drink with a kick for a night with frost in the air — a touch of pumpkin, honey spiced with ginger and cloves? At Moon Cloud in Great Barrington, you can pick up a carefully blended bottle to bring home.
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The Berkshires Farm Table Cookbook savors local stories
On a warm and quiet day, Elisa Spungen Bildner was sitting with Kim Wells, the farmer at East Mountain Farm in Williamstown. They had walked up into the woods where his pigs forage in summer …
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Only in My Dreams gives the Berkshires in a package
Imagine fresh coffee, or tea and honey, coming to you as a gentle surprise. Oskar Hallig and his husband, Michael Zippel, have evolved Only in My Dreams in the pandemic to offer locally sourced gift boxes and care packages.
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Reclaiming Land, Reclaiming the Body: Z Estimé and Roots Rising
Z Estimé reflects on their experience with Roots Rising and the importance of connecting their body’s health with the environment.
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Remember the feel of clay or wool or hand drumming
We have a chance to touch this weekend, and listen, and taste. Artists and artisans are coming out, with care, to show their work, from Hancock Shaker Village to Hilltown6 potters to the Lenox Art Walk …
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Farmers markets find hybrid models fertile
In Pittsfield on a September day, you might have heard Yo-yo Ma and Emmanuel Ax give a pop-up concert, as volunteers prepared orders of new potatoes, ginger and honey. Across the Berkshires, farmers markets are adapting to a new world.
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