Photo: Western Massachusetts Farm Fields and River

This photo was taken on November 21 in Deerfield, Massacusetts, near Greenfield. It shows farm fields, the Connecticut river, and several nearby towns. The photo was taken in the Mount Sugarloaf State Reservation: www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/central/msug.htm. To enlarge the photo, click on it. photo by Eesha Williams

Workers Fight Back

In the Valley this week, 140 grocery workers voted to join a union, mental health workers rallied for a fair contract, and a Northampton solidarity action was announced for striking Wal-Mart workers. These photos show a November 16 rally by workers at the Brattleboro Retreat mental hospital; some 500 workers there belong to the United Nurses and Allied Professionals Union www.unap.org.

Photos: From the Mountaintop

These photos were taken on November 14 near Brattleboro and the Massachusetts state line. They were taken from from the summit of Mount Olga in Vermont's Molly Stark State Park. The first photo shows Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire; the second is looking west toward New York state.

Photo: Owl Near Amherst

This photo of a Saw-whet owl was taken recently at a Kestrel Land Trust preserve in Belchertown, Massachusetts, near Amherst. Saw-whet owls sleep during most of the day and stay awake at night. They eat mice, insects, and other very small creatures. The owls are silent except during their springtime mating season.

Photo: Springfield Victory

Usually, when a giant corporate bank wants to evict a low-income family from the family’s home, that’s what happens. But on October 12 in Springfield, the family won. More than 100 people took part in a protest in front of the home. More than a dozen people had committed to risking arrest for non-violent civil disobedience to save the family’s home at 27 Talmadge Drive.

Nuke Protesters Hit Dozens of Interstate Overpasses in Valley

Traffic was heavy on Interstate 91 south in the Valley on the afternoon of October 8 as tourists from Connecticut returned home from seeing the fall foliage in Vermont over the Columbus Day weekend. The motorists saw dozens of giant "No Nukes" banners held by activists standing on bridges over the highway. The Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant is three miles from Massachusetts and a stone's throw from New Hampshire. More information is at www.NukeBusters.org. To enlarge a photo, click on it, then scroll down and click "see full size image." photos by Eesha Williams

21 Arrested at Valley Nuke; Chamber of Commerce Occupied

In recent weeks, 21 people were arrested at the gates of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power reactor for non-violent civil disobedience. Yankee is three miles from Massachusetts and a stone’s throw from New Hampshire.

On September 23 at Yankee, 10 people were arrested. The protest was organized by the Burlington Quakers www.BurlingtonQuakers.org. On September 12, also at Yankee, 11 protesters were arrested in a protest organized by the Shut It Down Affinity Group, which can be contacted via Frances Crowe of Northampton, or www.NukeBusters.org.

Photos: March, Rally in Springfield for Justice, Against Big Banks

On September 5, there was a march in Springfield to protest banks that are forcing poor people out of their homes while paying their executives millions of dollars a year. The first photo shows some of the marchers in front of a building at the corner of Maple and Central streets. The march was organized by the same group that organized a rally on July 31 that drew more than 200 people.

The group’s web site is www.SpringfieldNoOneLeaves.org. Last year, the group organized non-violent civil disobedience at Bank of America in Springfield.

40 Arrested at Valley Nuke Protest

Forty anti-nuclear activists were arrested July 1 for non-violent civil disobedience at the entrance to the Vermont Yankee nuclear power reactor. Supporters cheered from nearby. Vermont Yankee is three miles from Massachusetts and a stone's throw from New Hampshire. It's owned by Entergy corporation of Louisiana.

The protest was organized by www.NukeBusters.org and other groups. Similar events are planned in the future. These photos were taken on July 1 at Vermont Yankee by Eesha Williams. To enlarge a photo, click on it, then scroll down and click "see full-size image."

Photo: Fiddleheads

This photo was taken on May 4 at a park in Greenfield. It shows fiddleheads next to a stream. A fiddlehead is a baby fern. Some of the kinds of fiddleheads that grow in the Valley can be eaten. Fiddleheads must be boiled or steamed before eating them. This photo was taken at the 200 acre Griswold Conservation Area, which is owned by the town. Fiddleheads should not be taken from the park.

Camping in the park is allowed with written permission, according to a sign in the parking lot. Details are available from the mayor's office:

www.greenfield-ma.gov/Pages/GreenfieldMA_Mayor/index