Nearby autumn walking and hiking

At Blueberry Pointe on the Lake, we are interested in helping our friends and visitors to connect to the pristine natural geography available in our area. Two long stretches of shoreline off our lakefront island are owned and maintained by the Glocester Land Trust. The Glocester Land Trust has a goal of saving 2000 acres of land in our area.

One of the properties located nearby is called the Sprague Farm. Here's information that the Glocester Land Trust provides about hiking and walking on the Sprague Farm trails.

"Sprague Farm is thelargest and most popular property of the Glocester Land Trust and has miles of trails. Whether you have 30 minutes or several hours, there is a trail for you to enjoy. Just print out the easy-to-follow Trail Map and come out to Sprague Farm on Pine Orchard Road, which is two miles west of Chepachet village.

All the trails are easy to walk. You don't need any special clothing, just wear sturdy comfortable walking shoes or preferably lightweight hiking boots. The Trail Description has three walks: a 1/2 mile walk which takes 30 minutes, a 1 mile walk of 1 hour, and a 2.5 mile walk of 2 hours. Each walk takes a different trail.

Please note that deer hunting season at Sprague Farm starts on October 1st. During hunting season (Oct 1 to Jan 31) we recommend that you wear a day-glow/safety orange hat and vest. Basically the hunting season is Archery from Oct 1 to Jan 31, Muzzle Loading weapons in November, and Shotguns in December.

Sprague Farm, and all Land Trust properties, are open year 'round from dawn to dusk.

Questions? - please contact Roy Najecki 647-3631 or Roy@GlocesterLandTrust.orgor the Chair of the Glocester Land Trust at chair@glocesterlandtrust.org "

Sprague Farm Trail Map
Sprague Farm Trail Description

The harvest season of September around Blueberry Pointe on the Lake

It's the season of bounty in Rhode Island. The local farms stands are brimming with produce: deep and fleshy squashes, piles of sugar corn, plump red tomatoes, baskets of multi-colored peppers, vibrant purple eggplants, and crisp wax and green beans. Go to www.farmfresh.org/food/food.php?food=1&zip=02871 for a list of the local farms and the produce that is ripening at this time of year. Or, if you're interested in visiting a local farm stand, try www.rifruitgrowers.org/farmstands/.

The town adjacent to Chepachet, where Blueberry Pointe on the Lake is located, used to be called "Apple Valley." While several of the former orchards have given way to suburbia, many others remain in their original state. Long stands of sturdy trees with branches laden with fruit begin to take on red flames of color in September. We still remember our own joy of picking our own apples in our childhoods, and many families continue the tradition in our area.

Tractors transport groups down into the orchards, where the smells of hay, loam, and fresh air mingle as one. Woven baskets fill, an apple or two is tested, and the clear sky smiles over all. And who can resist a mug of hot apple cider afterward?

If the idea of "pick your own" is appealing, you might also like to choose the best pumpkin from one of the many local area fields. Imagine walking through long stetches of deep green bursting with pumpkins of all sizes around you. Who can decide which is the best? Will you be carving your special find? Drawing a ghoulish face? Thinking ahead to a freezer full of pumpkin pies for the upcoming holidays?

The joy of September is being outside in the clean fresh air and stretching our work-week legs. We hope you'll rejuvenate yourself in the outdoors while touring our little bit of heaven in the local region around Blueberry Pointe on the Lake.

Autumn In New England

Labor Day has come and gone. Warm days and cool nights are back with us again. And across the lake, the first tinge of color is creeping into the trees. What an exciting time of year, as we watch from our deck as Nature paints the shoreline with the riotous colors of Autumn.

Now is the time to make your Fall reservations to share the foliage season with us and visit the Scituate Art Festival on Columbus Day weeked. There are also a few more WaterFire events in Providence scheduled for this year.

Its time for cruising the back roads in search of fresh squeezed apple cider, pumpkins and corn stalks. And of course, the sights and smells of Autumn in New England. After the unusual rains we had at the beginning of the Summer season this year, we are expecting a fireworks display during foliage season this year. Every year is different and we anticipate an especially vibrant display in 2009.



Please come join us!

Fourth of July, New England style

Ah, the blue skies and warm days have arrived in New England.

And the first real day of summer was the Fourth of July, a fitting day to savor the out-of-doors, friends, and-- finally --- fair weather.

We started our day with breakfast for our guests at Blueberry Pointe on the Lake.

Then we visited with friends at an old-fashioned barbecue.

Vibrant perennial gardens reached to the warming sun rays.

Picture a long field of former agricultural land.

Tables were lined with burgers, 'dogs, chicken, potato salad, chorizo, salads, chips, nachos, chocolate chip cookies, cakes, pies, bread pudding, and so many other quintessential items of American fare.

And, oh, the heaps of fresh strawberries! The pool!

The inflatable trampoline!

Thanks to our friends, the Nolans for this annual extravaganza.

Please keep us on the 'to-be-invited' list!

Early summer on the Lake

What's the lake like in early summer? It's peaceful, with the glow of the first blooms having given away to hardy seasonal sprays.

The surprise of butterflies brightens the storm-cloud leaden sky.

It's breathtaking in the early morning, as the dawn emerges through the trees.

It's vibrant, as storms and skies merge into one.

It's a gift of nature and patience from the long winter bundled into one. It's the hope of the hot weather, the afternoons in the sunshine, the lazy bending blooms of tiger lillies, and the lush green lawn and perennials against the deep blue sky.

It's the first glimpse of reconnecting to the green world after the long season of gray. We savor, soothe, and give thanks for these long days and pervasive smiles.

Our friends at Brown & Hopkins Country Store

Guests at our private lakefront retreat often ask us, 'What's there to do in the area?' A destination we always recommend is Brown & Hopkins Country Store, which is located in the center of Chepachet Village. We were so honored recently when Liz mentioned us at Blueberry Pointe on the Lake in her daily blog.

http://webmail.aol.com/43524/aol/en-us/Suite.aspx

[How do you find the time, Liz, to blog daily? We give you so much credit!].

We love Brown & Hopkins. It has a wonderful array of primitive and colonial reproductions; Rhode Island souveniers; jams and relishes; candles and lighting fixtures; crafts and quilts; and, of course, the famous 'penny' candy counter. Moreover, the store is designed so artistically, carefully, and creatively. It is always a soothing sensory experience to walk through Brown & Hopkins and to savor the atmosphere.

But, if you don't want to take our word for it, why don't you read the article below? Published in the February 15, 2009 issue of the Boston Globe, the article by Paul Kandarian was titled, "R.I. Landmark Stocks Old Memories but also Rings in New Sales."

http://www.boston.com/travel/explorene/rhodeisland/articles/2009/02/15/ri_landmark_stocks_old_memories_but_also_rings_in_new_sales/

We're so lucky to have one of the oldest continually running general stores, Brown & Hopkins Country Store, in our town of Chepachet, RI. Congratulations on your 200th anniversary! And we look forward to many more years of your contributions to our community.

Carolyn and Steve

What are 'free-range eggs?'

Often, our guests are curious about the eggs we serve at Blueberry Pointe on the Lake, which we call 'free-range.' In a recent month's edition of Martha Stewart Living, the 'Ask Martha' column offered a section to help readers demystify the labels on egg cartons. I thought that language was helpful, and I'd like to share it with you.

"If an egg carton bears a U.S. Department of Agriculture (UDSA) shield, the producer is audited annually and the labels hold true. Claims on carton without a shield are not guaranteed to be accurate. 'Cage-free,' as defined by the USDA, means the hens are not confined in cages and have a constant supply of food and water, but they can't necessarily go outside. 'Free-rage' chickens live by the above standards and have access to the outdoors.'

We purchase our eggs from Stamp Egg Farms, 816 Greenville Avenue, Johnston, RI (map), (401) 949-3600, Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri: 9-5 pm (closed 12-1 for lunch)Sat: 9-3 pm,Wed, Sun, holidays: 9-noon. Edible Rhody published an article about Stamp Farms which you can read by clicking the url below.

http://http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.farmfresh.org/img/farms/94_2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.farmfresh.org/food/farm.php%3Ffarm%3D94&usg=__g8b21P8R_7VJ-b_HfP5sOKSMUPU=&h=182&w=250&sz=28&hl=en&start=3&tbnid=-KJQw3Z4P8rg0M:&tbnh=81&tbnw=111&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dri%2Bchickens%2Bstamp%2Bfarms%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

Welcome to the 'Blueberry Pointe on the Lake' Blog

Hello all,

Welcome to our new blog from Carolyn and Steve at Blueberry Pointe on the Lake. Because so many of our guests contact us periodically with questions about the season and recreational opportunities here on the lakefront island, we've decided to create a blog where we can post periodic items of interest.

You can access our website at http://www.blueberrypointe.com/

As some of you already know, we are situated on a peninsula of land that juts out into a freshwater lake. Our property looks across the lake to long tracts of Nature Conservancy land, and, so, we have our own movies out the windows of wildlife and waterfowl. For example, although today is March 1 and we are still entrenched in winter's clutches --- with snow flying around us as we write --- we've seen the first signs of spring. Yesterday, two Canada geese flew in and landed on the open water edges of the ice. Over the years, we've figured out that Canada geese send an advance team to locate open water, hence, lake bottom feeding opportunities. All through the late afternoon, we could hear their honks back and forth from the far shore and the three season spring that is fed by melting snows and rainfall. We're unsure if their fact-finding for good feeding was successful, as tomorrow's temperature forecast is for single digits.

Today, when Max and I were retrieving the suet cage from the lawn --- we have a never-ending battle with the yard squirrel, and it usually wins by unhitching the cage from its hanger --- we disturbed a flock of mergansers from the edge of our property by the dock. They shrieked all the way to the next cove in a real frenzy, with the winds and snow swirling as they took flight. By the time I returned inside and grabbed the binoculars, they were out of sight. They, however, were another small sign of the oncoming joy of longer days and increasing sunshine.

This weekend, in the juxtaposition of winter and spring, of frozen land and new lives entering our periphery, we took hope. Nature reminded us that the long New England winter will end and that our love of the warm outdoors and green nature will soon be rewarded.

We'll keep you posted on other signs of spring as they emerge. Please feel free to forward the link to this blog to others who might be interested in learning about the seasons and happenings at Blueberry Pointe on the Lake.