To us (Linda and Phil), owning Brook Farm Inn, in Lenox Massachusetts,  is more than running a business.  It’s also the maintaining  of  the building’s rich history. We researched the history of the inn through deeds, maps, and historical newspaper clippings (also very dusty ancient tax records in the basement of Town Hall), and the results of our search are posted on the website www.brookfarm.com/history.html.   So that’s how we were discovered by Michael Kraus, whose grandfather purchased the property in 1914. Michael’s grandfather was Charles Bleyman, who owned the property until the 1930’s.  Michael and his wife, Susan, stayed with us recently, and furnished  photos of Bleyman and other family members.   So watch for updates to be posted on the Brook Farm Inn’s  history page, and thank you, Michael!

There is poetry here….   And one of our most memorable poetry readings was the one given by Peter Bergman, Executive Director of the Millay Society.  We’re glad to share the Millay Society’s new website www.millay.org.  You can go there to find out about the progress at Steepletop,  Edna St. Vincent Millay’s home in the Berkshires.  There are also upcoming events.  Steepletop is a lovely place to visit any time, where you can walk the Poetry Trail, a wooded path, with poems posted along the way, ending at the peacefully sheltered gravesite.

Peter Bergman reading Millay at Brook Farm Inn

The Boston Globe is predicting a brilliant fall foliage season.  The rainy weather this past summer combine with the cool dry weather in September will yield brilliant colors in October.  Many of the trees in our yard are turning yellow, gold and red.  Below are links to the Globe article and a link to a map that forecasts peak by region.

 Globe article   Peak Foliage Map

Lenox Foliage

Next weekend we plan to go to the Harvest Festival at Berkshire Botanical Garden.  It’s an old-fashioned community event with food, music, crafts, rides & games, and a giant tag sale.  A great way to enjoy the crisp October weather.

The Cantilena Chamber Choir
Andrea Goodman, Director
 
SHAKESPEARE IN WORDS AND MUSIC
 
with

Jonathan Epstein
And Ariel Bock
 
Love in the Afternoon-an Interlude with Shakespeare’s Sonnets
and
Choral Music on Shakespearean texts by Vaughan Williams, Hector Berlioz, John Newell and John Rutter
 
With the Steve Murray Ensemble and Anita Stuart piano
 
Sunday, October 11, 2009, 5:00pm 
Trinity Church 88 Walker Street
Lenox
 
All seats $15.00
www.cantilenachoir.org
Reservations: 518-791-0185
satbchoir @yahoo.com
 
Cantilena Chamber Choir

The Berkshire Bach Society has always been a favorite among guests of Brook Farm Inn.  A special treat will be the Berkshire Bach String Quintet, performing with Simone Dinnerstein, on Saturday, October 3rd at 8 PM.  It’s at Simon’s Rock College in Great Barrington, MA. (The auditorium is comfortable, and there are no bad seats.)  We still have some rooms available, so you can join the guests who have already purchased tickets.

  Bach in a 1748 portrait

“Zany” and “freewheeling” are two of the adjectives being used to describe Shakespeare & Co.’s new offering, opening tonight in Lenox, Massachusetts. “The Hound of the Baskervilles” is, of course, based on the story by Arthur Conan Doyle.  Three actors play 16 characters, including Watson and Holmes.  At Brook Farm Inn, we’ve already purchased our tickets, as some of the guests have done as well, since you can walk to the theater from here.  The play runs through November 8th, and is a welcome attraction for the foliage season. We’ll tell more about it after we see the performance.

Sherlock Holmes (Sidney Paget, 1904)

Here in the Berkshires, we treasure the Trustees of Reservations.  As a conservationist organization, they provide beautifully maintained, scenic hiking trails, historic homes to visit, and lovely gardens.  Among our favorite places is Naumkeag in Stockbridge (a gorgeous Stanford White home with gardens), and also Ashintully Gardens in Tyringham.  This weekend we’ll have perfect weather for hiking some of the trails as well, so at Brook Farm Inn we’ll be glad to provide maps and directions.  All the sites are close to Lenox.