This photo was taken on August 8 near Brattleboro. It shows construction workers preparing concrete molds on part of a farm field while farm workers hoe lettuce nearby. Between 1982 and 2000, the Connecticut river valley lost 27 percent of its farmland to Wal-Marts, parking lots, vacation houses for rich people, and other forms of so-called "development." That's according to a report by the Trust for Public Land, "The Connecticut River: Quintessential New England." Land trusts that are working to save farmland in our area have web sites at:

www.KestrelTrust.org

www.vlt.org

This photo was taken on July 20 in downtown Holyoke. Holyoke is home to about 40,100 people. Holyoke has the 2,200 acre Mount Tom state park, which has excellent hiking trails and vista points:

www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/massparks/region-west/mount-tom-state-rese...

One of the best restaurants in Holyoke is the Fernandez Family Restaurant:

www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g41614-d583730-Reviews-Fernandez_F...

On July 11 in West Springfield, people protested at Wells Fargo Corporation, which has been forcing poor people out of their homes, while paying its CEO millions of dollars a year. The protest was organized by www.SpringfieldNoOneLeaves.org. It was at 171 Park Avenue. To enlarge a photo, click on it, then scroll down and click "see full size photo." photos by Springfield No One Leaves

This photo shows people from Springfield, Northampton, and Amherst. They were arriving at the statehouse in Boston. The photo was taken on July 10. They were lobbying in favor of the Trust Act, which would help immigrants. “If it comes into law, the Trust Act would establish a limit on state participation in deportation, delineating specifically when local or state police will participate in the work of Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” Bliss Requa-Trautz told the Valley Post. She works for the western Massachusetts chapter of Jobs With Justice www.jwj.org.

This photo shows the Deerfield river in Charlemont, Massachusetts. The Deerfield is one of the cleanest rivers in the region. It runs from Stratton mountain in Vermont to the Connecticut river in Greenfield. It's about 70 miles long and it drops about 2,000 feet in elevation. The information in this article is from www.DeerfieldRiver.org. The photo was taken on July 7. To enlarge the photo, click on it, the scroll down and click "see full size image." photo by Eesha Williams

This photo shows people on bicycles, on foot, and in a hybrid car, waiting for an Amtrak train to leave the Brattleboro station. The train stopped for less than five minutes. The photo was taken on June 22. Next year, Amtrak will travel much faster between Brattleboro and Springfield than it does now. It will stop in Greenfield and Northampton. To enlarge the photo, click on it, then scroll down and click "see full size image." photo by Eesha Williams

On August 10, activists in kayaks and canoes will protest near the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, which is on the Connecticut river. The public is invited to join the protest. Vermont Yankee is three miles from Massachusetts.

The event is being organized by the same group that organized a protest against Vermont Yankee in Brattleboro last year that drew 1,500 people, 137 of whom were arrested for non-violent civil disobedience. The group’s web site is www.SAGEalliance.net. More information is available by calling Deb Katz of www.NukeBusters.org at (413) 339-5781.

These photos were taken at Robin Hood Park in Keene on May 15. The 130 acre park is less than a mile from downtown. Many historians believe that Robin Hood lived in England roughly 900 years ago. A popular book, “The Adventures of Robin Hood” by Howard Pyle was high on the Amazon.com bestseller list on May 15. A novel based on the real person, the book says Robin Hood stole from the rich and used the money to help poor people.

On May 4 in Springfield, hundreds of people marched from the federal building on Main Street to City Hall. They were calling for passage of the so-called "Trust Act" by the Massachusetts legislature, which would reduce deportations of immigrants, and for federal reforms to help immigrants. More information about the Trust Act is at:

https://www.aclum.org/news_3.19.13

More information about the federal immigration reforms that march organizers are seeking is at:

www.jwj.org/blog/standing-workers-immigration-reform-may-day

This photo was taken in Dummerston, Vermont, near Brattleboro on May 4. It shows tulip flowers growing outdoors. In Amsterdam between 1634 and 1637, "a single bulb of the most prized tulips fetched a price greater than the grandest canal houses in the city." That's according to:

www.pbs.org/thebotanyofdesire/tulip-beauty.php

To make the photo bigger click on it, then scroll down and click "see full size image." photo by Eesha Williams