On the Road: Pioneer Valley

The Pioneer Valley is the portion of the Connecticut River Valley contained within Massachusetts.  It is generally understood to include Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties.  We have visited often over the past few years.

The main impetus for visiting this particular weekend was to catch Judge John Hodgman's stop in Turners Falls on his Road Court tour.  I imagine many of you are already familiar with Hodgman's comedic work.  For those who aren't...

We first got to know Hodgman from his appearances on The Daily Show back in the full-time Jon Stewart era.  These days, among other projects, he has a highly successful podcast, Judge John Hodgman, on which he "dispenses fake internet justice" upon relatively low-stakes matters for his listeners.  At our show, he passed judgment on a man wanting to take flying lessons despite a friend's concerns, a man blowing his nose at the dinner table and one professional wrestler wanting to stage a bout with a friend.  Stuff like that.  Good family fun.  We were not disappointed.  Both Hodgman and his bailiff, Jesse Thorn, are seasoned pros at this point who thrive with a live audience.  

Second priority was the Fall Mum Show at The Botanic Garden of Smith College in Northampton, which runs through November 17th.  The Mum Show is one of two big, student entry events at the Garden, the other being the Spring Bulb Show.  Simple concept: students create hybrids which then get judged by visitors to the show.  Whoever gets the most votes wins.  

Smith has been holding a mum show since 1920 but this will be the last year - I believe this is it for the Bulb Show, too.  The plan for future years is to do smaller events more often.

Someone added an extra adornment to one of the plants:

I voted for entry #86.  

Unfortunately for #86, it was not a successful week in voting for me.

The Smith College Museum of Art is hosting a year-long exhibition of Moroccan artist Younes Rahmoun.

There's plenty to enjoy in their regular collection, too.

Chattering Girls in Spring by Takano Miho

Pink Man vs. Ayudhaya Buddha by Manit Sriwanichpoom

Ejiri in Suruga Province from Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji by Katsushika Hokusai

The Forbes Library, across the street from Smith College, also hosts art exhibits.  I was drawn to Ben James's photo essay Life on the Connecticut - summer '24, chronicling a bike trip along the Connecticut River.  I especially liked this photo:

And, most of all, its caption:

Our final stop before heading back home was the Do Plants Know Math? photography exhibit by Mathematical Sciences Professor Christophe Golé.  

Top view of a Romanesco

A closer view of the same photograph

Golé also wrote an accompanying book: Do Plants Know Math? Unwinding the Story of Plant Spirals, from Leonardo da Vinci to Now.