Didn't do much today at all, but i noticed in the late afternoon that the skies were finally clearing and lo and behold it was warm outside.

On impulse i grabbed my bike helmet and away i went for a ride around town. Thought i'd see what progress they've been making at the former state mental hospital grounds.

It's the size of a college campus with huge brick buildings, but the place has been vacant since the 1980s. The state gave it to the town a few years ago, and there are plans to renovate one of the buildings and make it our town hall. They put some softball fields there and a large indoor sports facility is going in, too. The local hospital will set up some kind of offices there as well. Some buildings are being demolished cus they're in too bad disrepair, and others will be salvaged. Asbesthos remediation is ongoing.

After years of study and surveys, one thing is for certain: the townspeople want NO residential development there and they want most of the space devoted to town needs, including recreational.

It was still a gloomy day out, not much light, but here are a few shots...












And on the way home, a view of Hawley Pond from the little bridge. It's just a 5-minute drive from my home, and close to the center of town. Mary Hawley is the town's benefactress. She built the town hall and the library and left money in her will for the library's trust fund.


Here's another view of the same park. It's known as Ram Pasture, so called becus during colonial times, the farmers would communally graze their sheep together, and this is where they'd graze.