mulberryshoots

Today, my daughter and I spent the day together, driving out to our alma mater town, Northampton, MA. where both of us went to school, a generation apart.

On Tuesdays from April to November on Tuesdays, a farmers’ market opens in the town’s courtyard at 1:30 p.m., the bounty of which comes from the rich soil of the Pioneer Valley (Connecticut River) in the surrounding area.

Even though there are only about a dozen vendors, the selection is of superior quality, ranging from vegetables to flowers, organic eggs and baked goods including small fruit tarts for dessert. Today, we had a leisurely lunch at our favorite Japanese restaurant, the Osaka and finished just in time to go to the market when it opened.

It was a good thing too, because a thundershower front which looked ominously dark approached us. We made it out of town just in time, sharing a fresh fruit tart and iced coffee in the car. When we drew into our yard, the thunder began to roll in while we ran from the car with our bounty before the rain came down in a torrent of water.  

What a wonderful day it’s been – filled with music that I played at home and then in the car as we chatted and caught up on our activities while she’s been in Europe on vacation these last few weeks. We’re planning to get together again next week to see Meryl Streep and Rick Springfield in “Ricki and the Flash,” a movie about a mother who abandons her children while they’re young to follow her dream of singing with her rock band.

The thunderstorms rolled through the state, large hail falling and trees being uprooted all around us. But we moved through the day under a halo of sun that didn’t darken until we got home, safe and sound.