The B Spring 2024 by New England Newspapers, Inc.

Life in the Berkshires | Spring 2024

Finding Balance

HE ALTH & HOM E S P EC I A L

in the Berkshires

HOW TO LIVE LONGER AND BETTER Tee Time:

Up Your Golf Game The Joy of Hiking

20 Plus:

RELAX & RECHARGE

Life in Balance Spa, Miraval Berkshires, Lenox

THINGS YOU NEED TO DO THIS SPRING

Elevating the classic and the contemporary, creating a home that is uniquely you.

FAV R E A U D E S I G N Award-winning interior designer and star of HGTV’s W hite Room Challenge, Steven Favreau

Serving the Berkshires, Litchﬁeld County, H u d s o n Va l l e y , N Y C a n d b e y o n d . @stevenfavreau

415.971.2219

www.favreaudesign.com

from the publisher

HAPPY 1ST ANNIVERSARY TO THE B!

2024 BERKSHIRE ANNIVERSARIES (please let us know if we missed any)

WAM Theatre 15 years MASS MoCA 25 years Barrington Stage Company 30 years Community Access to the Arts (CATA) 30 years Jane Iredale 30 years Chester Theatre Company 35 years Andrew DeVries Sculptor 45 years Norman Rockwell Museum 55 years Williamstown Theatre Festival 70 years Berkshire Botanical Garden 90 years

Yes, we have been busy B’s (we waited a whole year before dropping that line). Celebrating the Berkshires and beyond has captured the attention of many. In fact, Mr. MagazineTM, a media insider who covers our industry, named The B a “Top 10 Magazine Launch” in the country last year. And we are just getting started. We tip our hats to some of the iconic Berkshire institutions hitting milestones of their own in 2024. And there are plenty on the list here. They are “dreaming a future forward” (this is literally the theme of MASS MoCA’s 25th anniversary celebration) by expanding the circle of voices, reimagining spaces, and engaging audiences in vibrant ways. And The B will be your guide, all year long. The secret to these organizations’ longevity? You. Year after year, you walk through their doors for the cabarets, the concerts, the previews, the baby animals, the Four Freedoms, the 10x10s, and so much more. You and visitors from around the world support the region’s artistic heritage and preserve it for future generations. Stay connected to all of it. Sign up for our new digital newsletter, The B’uzz—and also subscribe to The B’s five print issues a year (berkshireeagle.com/TheB). Enjoy our spring issue, dedicated to your health and home, and buckle up for a vibrant year two!

Berkshire United Way 100 years Wyndhurst Mansion at Miraval Berkshires 130 years Pittsfield Cooperative Bank 135 years Williamstown Public Library 150 years The Berkshire Eagle (originally The Western Star) 235 years

MICHELLE THORPE PETRICCA mpetricca@berkshireeagle.com

B O U S Q U E T P H OTO S : S T E P H A N I E Z O L L S H A N

Green Light juice from Guido’s is my elixir.

Volunteering for good causes brings me joy. volunteerberkshireuw.org

Scan to SIGN UP FOR THE B’UZZ!

I’m always up for racquet sports or a class at Bousquet Sport!

There’s nothing like hiking—check out BNRC Berkshire Trails app.

Spring 2024 • THE B

CREATING SPACES WITH JOY FOR MORE THAN 35 YEARS ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN SERVICES FOR CLIENTS IN THE BERKSHIRES, HUDSON VALLEY, AND LITCHFIELD COUNTY

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from the editor On Our Cover! Rachel Melendez Mabee lives in Pittsfield with her husband, Eric Mabee, and their three dogs. They moved to the area about nine years ago when Eric was offered the position of director of golf at the Country Club of Pittsfield and have made the Berkshires home. Rachel is VP, DEI, Culture and Brand, at Greylock Federal Credit Union. “Equity and Inclusion work is a business imperative for any company looking to stay competitive and relevant,” she said. “But DEI is personal to me…as a woman of color, I take this work personally to continue to advocate for systemic changes that have a lasting and sustainable impact.”

P H OTO : S T E P H A N I E Z O L L S H A N

She played golf in college and worked for the PGA— with her sports background, we knew she would make a fitting choice for our healththemed issue. Rachel was photographed by Stephanie Zollshan at Life in Balance Spa at Miraval Berkshires.

UNTIL I CAME TO THE BERKSHIRES, I had

never met so many people so glad to live where they do. One of the best parts of my job is talking to exceptionally interesting and talented people. Invariably, they share how fortunate they feel to live in this area, whether they are lifelong residents, have come back home, or moved from [insert big city name here!]. The gratitude and delight shine through. That just doesn’t happen in most places. Where you live—or even just spend time—matters. It impacts both your happiness and your health (of course, the two are intertwined). There’s even science to back up the Berkshires’ real benefits. Study after study shows what we know intuitively: that being in nature is good for us. It can lower stress, improve mood, increase creativity, boost problem-solving skills, reduce blood pressure...the list goes on. The strong community ties, farm fresh food, and access to the arts here play a big role, too. This issue celebrates many of our incredible resources and may just inspire you to try something new in the name of your own well-being. Something else that’s good for you? Gardening—and in the following pages, we have plenty of ideas to inspire you when it comes to your outdoor spaces, too. Happy spring!

I get to Greenhouse Yoga whenever I can—which isn’t often enough. This triple-decker plank—with me and the owners, Alex Cosgrove and Jodi Hurwitz—is not a normal part of class! For more on Greenhouse, see page 49.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE B! berkshireeagle.com/theb or scan the QR code.

AMY CONWAY

Spring 2024 • THE B

contributors: The B's Saints & Eccentrics

JANE LARKWORTHY (“Take a Hike”) was a beauty editor for more than 30 years, covering the category at various Condé Nast publications, most recently W Magazine. Currently a brand consultant, she also curates beauty and wellness at Scout House in Great Barrington. Originally New Marlborough weekenders, Larkworthy, her husband, and standard poodle have made the Berkshires their full-time home. KATE ABBOTT (Writer) explores the Berkshires as a freelance writer, editor, and oral historian. A longtime former editor of Berkshires Week and Shires of Vermont, she now writes for regional publications from the Boston Globe to the Eagle and the Hill Country Observer, and she runs the website By the Way Berkshires, btwberkshires.com. ALLISON CRANE (“Welcome Home”) is a native of the Berkshires and the owner of a design and home staging company. Allison’s hallmark is a gifted ability to transform spaces for living, integrating form and function with budget and value, custom tailoring each design to fit the needs of her clients. allisoncraneinteriors.com FRANCES BOSWELL (“Clear Your Mind, Fill Your Bowl”) is a food stylist based in New York City who spends every free moment possible at her house in West Cornwall, Connecticut, thinking about her next meal and cooking for friends and family. A home cooked meal is her natural response to almost any occasion, happy or sad, and she loves nothing more than the barely controlled chaos of an over-crowded dining table.

THE B • Spring 2024

PAGE DICKEY (“Spring Awakenings”) is a garden writer, lecturer, and designer. She is the author of eight books; her latest, Uprooted: A Gardener Reflects on Beginning Again, is about her move north to Falls Village, Connecticut. Page is a Director Emeritus of the Garden Conservancy and cofounded the Open Days Program. She was recently elected an Honorary Member of The Garden Club of America. pagedickey.com KEVIN WEST (“Sun, Soil, Water, Time.”) is a gardener, photographer, and cookbook author living in Monterey. His next book, which is a guide to growing and cooking backyard vegetables, will be published by Knopf next spring. AVI DRESNER (“Up Your Game”) is a personal trainer and freelance journalist. He is a two-time winner of the Rockower Award (known as the “Jewlitzer”) from the American Jewish Press Association. He combined his two careers in his first published article for the Forward about Jewish personal trainers, titled “Wrong Turn on the Way to Medical School.” He lives in Pittsfield with his wife, two sons, and two chinchillas. LARA TUPPER (“Grow Together”) is the author of three books and has written over 50 articles for Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, where she was a faculty member for 10 years. She is founder of Swift Ink Stories, which offers writing workshops and private manuscript development. laratupper.com MIKE MULLAN (“The Good Life”) is an artist and illustrator based in Vermont. Mike studied graphic design at Millikin University and went on to earn an MFA at Savannah College of Art & Design in 2008. Since then, he has worked as a freelance artist. His works have appeared in editorials, advertising, product packaging, wall décor, and murals. When he’s not creating, Mike enjoys trail running, cooking and spending time with his wife, two boys, and dog, Forest. mullanillustration.com

A L L I S O N : K E V I N S P R A G U E ; F R A N C E S : J I M H E N K E N S ; OT H E R P H OTO S : C O U R T E S T Y O F T H E C O N T R I B U TO R S

CHRISTOPHER MARCISZ (“Driving Toward the Future”) is a writer who has lived (mostly) in the Berkshires for the past 20 years. As a staff writer for The Eagle he covered North County, and now writes about the arts here and abroad, appearing in Popula, Hyperallergic, the Boston Globe, Newsweek, and Russian Life magazine. He is passionate about traveling, cooking, and pickup ice hockey.

⋅ R E A L EST S ⋅ REAL ES T S

⋅ FURN GN SI ⋅ FU I R N GN I SI

OEME ⋅ EH⋅OHM DE DE E T T A A

Lisa Vollmer Photography

⋅ F I⋅ NF I N RE RE I S HI S E HE TU TU

BOOK BOOK A DESIGN A DESIGN CONSULTATION CONSULTATION thebramble.us thebramble.us | hello@thebramble.us | hello@thebramble.us 325 Stockbridge 325 Stockbridge Rd, Great Rd, Great Barrington Barrington MA MA

Spring 2024

Features

42 28

The Good Life Living well in the Berkshires is a pleasure. Meet some people who help make it happen.

In Fine Form Madeline Hooper will show you how to care for your garden— and your body.

Driving Toward the Future The historic golf course at Wyndhurst is still in full swing.

Lodge Love A dated post-and-beam home gets a fresh new look.

Welcome Home Make over your mudroom with stylish finds.

Plus!

LANDSCAPING & GARDENING FIELD GUIDE See page 74

In every issue: The Local Life 13 | Voices & Views 27 | Last Look 80 On the cover: Life in Balance Spa, Miraval Berkshires, Lenox P H OTO: ST E PHA NIE ZO L LSH AN

Spring 2024 • THE B

VOL. 2, ISSUE 1 Spring 2024 PUBLISHER

EDITOR IN CHIEF

mpetricca@berkshireeagle.com

aconway@berkshireeagle.com

Michelle Thorpe Petricca

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DESIGN DIRECTOR

Julie Hammill

julie@hammilldesign.com COPY EDITOR

Amy Krzanik CONTRIBUTING COLUMNISTS

Jane Larkworthy Pops Peterson

berkshirebotanical.org/camp

BRING THE OUTSIDE IN

Amy Conway

EDITOR-AT-LARGE

William Li

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Ben Garver Gillian Jones-Heck Stephanie Zollshan

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Kate Abbott

INTERN

Thailia Chee

The B is a publication of New England Newspapers Inc. PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER

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Leonard Bernstein conducts the BSO at Tanglewood in a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, ‘Resurrection’, July 5, 1970

H A N CO C K

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baby

animals APRIL13 through May 5

20 historic buildings • farm animals • Shaker artifacts • art exhibitions • gardens • hiking trails • cafe • shopping

Pittsfield, MA | hancockshakervillage.org | 413.443.0188

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The

Local Life Exploring Our Towns for the Best of the Berkshires

Bon Dimanche Great Barrington At this new shop and studio, you can buy silkscreened prints, clothes, and more— and even watch them being made.

P H OTO : S T E P H A N I E Z O L L S H A N

Spring 2024 • THE B

the local life: Around Town

Prints Charming By Avi Dresner Photographs by Stephanie Zollshan Bon Dimanche may mean “Good Sunday” in French, but any day’s a good one to stop by this eclectic new gem on Railroad Street in Great Barrington. Calling it a store doesn’t begin to capture the je ne sais quoi of the place, which is equal parts retail establishment, art installation, and studio. The multi-purpose space reflects the multiple talents of its owners, Molly and Aurélien de St André. The couple designs and screenprints much of what is sold here, while almost everything else is made by local artists. The first thing that may catch your eye is the enormous antique wooden sailboat mounted on a wooden base that says HOME. Inside it are just some of the whimsical wares for sale, including hand-

THE B • Spring 2024

Molly and Aurélien de St André

woven wallets and purses, a framed set of hand-designed Berkshire-themed postcards and a silkscreened poster of New York City’s High Line. Nearby shelves display handmade pottery, soap, candles, and Berkshirethemed tea towels. Paintings and prints adorn the walls, and racks showcase colorful cotton children’s clothing printed with graphic motifs including pineapples, avocados, and assorted pasta shapes from the owners’ petit pilou line. Molly is from the Boston area and Aurél, as he’s called for short, is from La Rochelle on the western coast of France. They

met in 2006 in Afghanistan, where both of them were working for the Turquoise Mountain Foundation, a non-governmental organization based in Kabul whose mission is to revive Afghanistan’s traditional arts and architecture through education, restoration, and the creation of an economic niche for the fine craft products of the country. Molly’s work involved creating an art school, where masters would teach traditional techniques, and Aurél worked as a graphic designer. “I interviewed and hired him,” Molly said, and Aurél chuckled over how she “hired” him permanently four years later, when they married soon after

moving to the Berkshires (the area was on Molly’s radar from the two years she’d spent at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington). Their new space also serves as the headquarters for the couple’s other businesses—Berkshire Four Poster (you’ve probably seen their delightful seasonal poster series), and Moho Design Creative, which, among other things, specializes in creating logos and branding for local businesses. You’ll often spot Molly and Aurél back behind the jewelry cases, which mark the boundary between the retail space and workshop, designing and printing right before your eyes. The couple has plans to offer silkscreening workshops by the summer and Aurél would also love to share his passion for Afghan cameras—giant, pinhole box cameras, which make beautifully evocative works of art. Peeking through the front window of Bon Dimanche, that’s easy to imagine. B

Home i Lifestyle i Elevated Gifts at The Red Lion Inn Open 7 Days A Week @theshop.aroundthecorner 413.298.1623

Photo by Shannon Greer

5/4 • 7:30PM

at The Colonial Theatre

the local life: Seasonal Events

MAY 16–JUNE 1

at The Unicorn Theatre The Larry Vaber Stage

written by Amy Herzog

directed by Lizzie Gottlieb

5/26 • 2PM

at The Colonial Theatre

SPRING FLINGS 20 Events You Won’t Want to Miss

JUKEBOX SATURDAY NIGHT MAY 31–JUNE 1

at The Colonial Theatre

rd Annual Sourdough 1 3Bread Competition Dewey Hall, Sheffield, March 15 Who will bake the best loaf? Come and taste for yourself.

ThunderFest

A THEATRICAL CONCERT EXPERIENCE FEATURING: BEYOND THE WALL AND MIKE WARTELLA JUNE 27–JULY 21

at The Colonial Theatre

Adams, March 23 (Rain date: March 24) An outdoor festival to cure cabin fever.

3 Spring Hoppening

Berkshire Botanical Garden, Stockbridge, March 30 Egg hunts, food trucks, and photo opps with the Easter Bunny.

in association sociation with Bay Street Theater & Gev Geva Theatre Center

directed by Stuart Ross choreography by Gerry McIntyre

Baby Animals at Hancock Shaker Village Pittsfield, April 13–May 5 It doesn’t get any cuter.

5 Pittsfield City Jazz Festival

Pittsfield, April 19–28 Experience sweet sounds of jazz around the city.

(413) 997-4444 BerkshireTheatreGroup.org 111 South Street • Pittsfield, MA 6 East Street • Stockbridge, MA

Daffodil and Tulip Festival at Naumkeag Stockbridge, April 19–May 12 Spring bulbs by the thousands!

“Foreign Substances” Pop-Up Exhibit The Red Lion Inn, Stockbridge, opens April 20 The innovative works of acclaimed artists Billy Zane and Charlotte Rose.

8 BerkChique

Ventfort Hall, Lenox, April 26–28 Go treasure hunting at the pop-up boutique—and support local nonprofits.

9 “The Plastic Bag Store”

MASS MoCA, North Adams, opens May 9 From Robin Frohardt, an immersive and darkly funny experience looking at our culture of consumption and convenience.

Berkshire Botanical Garden Plant Sale Stockbridge, May 10–11 Take home perennials, annuals, and vegetables from this annual event.

PIG: BEN GARVER

PERFORMED BY

11 “Invisible Empires”

Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, opening May 11 The powerful works of Kathia St. Hilaire.

12 CATA Gala

Shakespeare & Company, Lenox, May 11–12 A party like no other—inspiring, moving, and fun. (From March 1–24, CATA artists will also show their work in “Wild Findings” at Berkshire Botanical Garden!)

13 ArtWeek Berkshires

May 17–27 ArtWeek Berkshires is moving to the spring this year! With more than 100 hands-on or behind-the-scenes events and open studios across the region.

Farmer’s Daughter Gravel Grinder Chatham, New York, May 19 Take a ride to benefit Columbia County organizations.

15 Sculpture at The Mount Lenox, opening May 24 Enjoy art in historic gardens.

MASS MoCA’s 25th Anniversary Community Celebration North Adams, May 25 Free museum admission! Live performances! Family activities!

Berkshire International Film Festival Great Barrington, May 30–June 2 See films from around the world.

DAFFODIL & TULIP FESTIVAL

THURSDAY–MONDAY, APRIL 19–MAY 12 Stockbridge MA | thetrustees.org/naumkeag

18 The Workshop Experience Hillsdale, New York, June 8–9 A weekend of workshops hosted by local experts in gardening, culinary arts, floristry, crafting, and other creative pursuits.

“What, Me Worry? 19 The Art and Humor of MAD Magazine”

Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, opening June 8 A look at the uncommonly humorous— and impactful—satirical brand.

20 Berkshire Yoga Festival

Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, Hancock, June 13–16 The first-ever festival will feature four days of wellness events.

the local life: style

SPONSORED CONTENT

the local life: style

the local life: Out and About Plants for Peace

Refill GB Great Barrington This shop makes upgrading to a more sustainable life easier than ever with a curated selection of household and personal care products—and with a new space in town, it’s even more convenient. At Refill GB, the goal is to help people make choices they can feel good about. The shop offers sustainable packaging options rather than the traditional plastics that can be harmful to the natural ecosystem we all love and enjoy—especially in the Berkshires! The products are all made ethically, free of harmful toxins, sustainable, and made in small batch facilities. The owner, Berkshire native Jamie McCormack, knows that asking people to change their habits isn’t easy, so Refill GB has simplified the buying process: Just order online, and your items will be ready to pick up at the storefront in Great Barrington. In fact, GB Refill’s new home—27 Rosseter Street—even has more parking! There are some special things featured in the store that may not make it to the website, so don’t forget to come in, say hello, and check out what’s in stock. McCormack is dedicated to offering the best items and being as inclusive as possible by supporting minority-owned businesses through her product sourcing. Not only does she want the best for the earth and for her customers, but McCormack wants her employees to “feel valued and appreciated at the end of the day.” refillgb.com

THE B • Spring 2024

If you know, you know: Trade Secrets—a weekend of gorgeous garden tours and a sale of coveted rare plants and antiques—is the ultimate event for plant enthusiasts (Martha Stewart is a longtime regular). It even benefits a good cause: Founded by designer Bunny Williams and gardener Naomi Blumenthal, the annual spring show benefits Project SAGE, a nonprofit in Lakeville, Connecticut, that supports survivors of relationship violence. The 24th annual Trade Secrets event returns May 18–19. On Saturday, six extraordinary gardens open for tours (including Williams’ own property), and on Sunday, some 45 vendors will come together at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville. Native plants are a focus this year, said Kaitlyn Robitaille, director of appeals and fundraising for Project SAGE. For the garden tours, she anticipates 3,000 guests. About 2,000 people will attend the plant and antique sale, run by more than 200 volunteers. Trade Secrets directly supports Project SAGE’s shelter program, which offered housing last year for some 1,700 people, many of them women and children. The nonprofit also offers longer term programming, working for broader change. They support prevention education for children, teaching them the skills to have safe and healthy relationships. Many people who support Trade Secrets feel a connection to this work, Robitaille said. Visitors return year after year—and people will tell her they put the next Trade Secrets on their calendar the day after the last one. —K.A. tradesecretsct.com

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Think Pink

Go Wild in Pittsfield Don’t miss the azaleas’ spectacular show— it doesn’t last long.

P H OTO : K AT E A B B OT T

You have to get the timing right—but for a few days in late May or early June, the wild azaleas bloom in Pittsfield State Forest. And they bloom in the hundreds. Come in from Cascade Street and up the old road to the top, where a trailhead and a pull-off give a view across the Taconics and the state line. You’ll be sitting in the middle of 65 acres of flowering shrubs. The park keeps paths trimmed through the fields, and one winds down a short way to Berry Pond (one of the highest bodies of water in the state). Up above, the bushes have grown wild across the hill, far above head height. The flowers cluster in deep pink waves, the scent is rich and sweet—and they’ll be gone before you know it.—K.A. www.mass.gov

The Central Block Building 75 North Street Suite 170B, Pittsfield, Ma. 01201 • 413.441.8453 Instagram / Facebook @ Silversolutionsmedspa Website www.silversolutionsmedspa.com

the local life: Food and Farms Pour It On!

The Sweetest Season Does local maple syrup just taste better? Definitely.

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More Maple! Mike Patten’s team at Woodlife Ranch and Farm Market in New Lebanon, New York, is adding flavor to their sustainable forestry. At their farm store, you can try their syrups for breakfast on weekend mornings, with French toast and pancakes (and eggs and sausage). They also work with organizations that support Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Breakfast served 8 to 11:30 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays (kitchen open for lunch and early dinner every day)

woodlifefarmmarket.com

P H OTO : W O O D L I F E FA R M M A R K E T

Enjoy transformative wellbeing in your own backyard.

It can be aged in a bourbon barrel, whipped with butter to spread on corn muffins, laced in a marinade with sriracha…around here, maple syrup has a life beyond pancakes (though the pancakes joyfully remain). Rob Leab and his wife, Missy, have been tapping their trees at Ioka Valley Farm in Hancock since midwinter, whenever the weather warms enough to encourage sap to flow. They open their farm “Calf-A” for maple brunch on weekends through the sugaring season, into early April. They are the third generation of farmers at Ioka Valley Farm and their spring sugaring breakfasts have grown over the years. On Massachusetts’ and New York’s Maple weekends, March 16–17 and 23–24, they will share some new recipes to sample—sauces, granola, ice cream, and more. Early in the season, they see the lightest syrup, Missy said. They save much of theirs for maple cream and candy. As the season goes on, and the trees wake and their internal ecology changes to prepare for the growing season, the syrup naturally turns amber, with a bolder flavor. Later in the spring, the syrup becomes dark and robust, good for baking. The season ends naturally when the trees’ buds open. Attention to flavor makes them aware of time. At Ioka, the Leabs are working to adapt to the changing climate and care for their trees. A practice that began with an outdoor fire pit and a kitchen stove has grown into a sugar shack with state-of-theart, energy-efficient equipment. They now use a process of reverse osmosis to remove water from the sap, concentrating the liquid to reduce the boiling time. Some things change—but the barn still fills with families on early-spring weekends, pouring fresh syrup over their pancakes. —K.A.

From Tap to Table At Cello, a new restaurant in Lenox, co-chefs Sarita Orobia-Wolff and Raymond Stalker change their menu daily, improvising with the fine ingredients that local farms offer, even in the cold season—greens from Indian Line Farm in Great Barrington, locally raised meats from Sky View in Sheffield. In spring, their menu grows with native and foraged flavors, too. Here are two ways they suggest maple syrup can take a savory turn in your home kitchen: Maple Vinaigrette: Whisk together a basic vinaigrette (3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar) and add finely chopped shallots, a touch of soy sauce, and a drizzle of maple syrup. Maple Glaze or Marinade: For a glaze for roasted root vegetables or chicken wings, combine maple syrup, sambal, sriracha, and butter to taste. To marinate pork or beef, replace the butter with oil.

cellolenox.com

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HILLTOWNLANDSURVEYS.COM • 413-634-0244

the local life: Out and About

ANIMAL L INN 120 Hubbard Ave, Pittsfield, MA Text or Call 413-442-3472 animalinnoftheberkshires.com

Woven With Tradition

Shear Delight A celebration of all things sheep comes to Cummington every spring. In early March, most of Shawn Thayer’s new lambs will be nosing around their pens and nursing with shaking tails. At Splendorview Farm in Cummington, her family has raised sheep for generations—and an annual celebration, too. Fifty years ago, after a long winter, a group of local farmers wanted to show their new lambs and get together in the spring. Thayer’s parents were among the group that formed the first Massachusetts Sheep & Woolcraft Fair, in 1974. And she still helps to keep it going. The 48th Fair (given a break in the pandemic) will return to the Cummington Fairground on May 25 to 26 this year. There are more than two dozen different kinds of sheep, including heritage breeds, says Susan Williams, who is also a member of the Fair committee and raises her own sheep and spins her own wool in the hilltowns. Dorsets with spiraling horns share the barn with Shetlands, Jacobs, and many more. Visitors can come close enough to touch. Kids and families show their sheep (many working with local 4-H clubs), and artisans show their crafts. A sheep shearer tells stories while he trims, and a shepherd is there with her working sheepdog. Artists are spinning, weaving, making lace, dying wool. There are hands-on workshops—and some also grill lamb or serve sheep cheese and sheep’s milk ice cream. —K.A. masheepwool.org

P H OTO : C H R I S T I N E F O W L E S

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Voices & Views These Stories Can Only Come from the Berkshires

Homegrown Monterey Radishes pulled from Kevin West’s vegetable garden. For more, turn the page.

P H OTO : K E V I N W E S T

Spring 2024 • THE B

voices & views: Homegrown

Sun, Soil, Water, Time. Your getting-started guide to vegetable gardening. See how simple it can be to “sow flavor and gather meals.” Text and photographs by Kevin West Spring dawdled in 2020, with snow flurries the day before Mother’s Day and a frost on May 21. My Berkshires vegetable garden, which at summer peak is a riot of colors and flavors, looked hopeless. How could such little plants, nearly smothered by mulch, ever grow into a bountiful harvest? I fretted to my mother, a lifelong gardener who first taught me how to pick backyard cherry tomatoes at an age when I called them “tommy toes.” Don’t worry, she told me, saying, “a seed wants to grow. Nature wants to bring it forth.” Of course she was right. By Memorial Day that year I had salad bowls full of lettuce and arugula. By July 4, there were new

THE B • Spring 2024

potatoes to eat with the last of the English peas. And August walloped me with bushels of tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers. But I don’t believe I have a “green thumb.” Instead, I believe what my mother taught me: that many of our favorite backyard vegetables are robust plants, eager to grow, productive, and tolerant of less-than-perfect care. It’s reassuring for any home cook who wants to experiment with growing vegetables and herbs at home. A seed wants to grow. My gardening philosophy is simple: sow flavor and gather meals. By selecting varieties with the most flavor—see my suggestions opposite—I get the most good eating out of the least garden work. Then, by

following the old dictum that “what grows together, goes together,” I make a meal from whatever is ready to harvest that day: baby lettuce plus fresh tarragon leaves, or cherry tomatoes plus basil, or cucumbers plus dill. It couldn’t be simpler or more satisfying. When you’re just getting going, start small. If you can set aside 10 minutes a day plus a half-hour on the weekend, you can cultivate a garden with lettuce, herbs, chard, and cherry tomatoes. Not enough to feed a family, perhaps, but enough to brighten many meals with your homegrown vegetables. And if the gardening bug gets you, you can always go big next year.

And So It Grows For any cook tempted by the thought of brightening a meal with garden gems—or any parent who wants to see real-life proof that kids will eat what they grow—here are the basics. These simple guidelines will work with a raised bed, a container, or a small, in-ground patch.

SUN | Vegetables and herbs need as

much sun as you can give them. Place your garden, bed, or container where it will receive eight hours a day of direct, unobstructed sunlight. Six hours at midday (9 a.m.–3 p.m.) will do. Plants will struggle with four hours or less.

SOIL | Good soil makes good flavor. There are many paths to gardening nirvana—rich, well-drained soil—and they all lead through the compost pile. When starting out, you can buy bagged compost wherever you buy seeds or plants. Mix it with equal parts native soil when refilling the hole around a transplant. Mulch with more compost. Use a two-inch layer for seedbeds, and fill your containers with it. For a mid-season fertilizer boost, scatter another inch of compost around the growing plants.

WATER | Most vegetables need the equivalent of one inch of rain per week. I water every three or four days unless there has been a good, soaking rain. Poke your fingertip into the ground: if the top inch of soil is dry, it needs water. Containers dry out more quickly; check daily.

TIME | A garden takes time in both senses of the phrase. Check your plants daily—give them a few minutes of your time—to make sure they are well watered and happy. But also be patient, because a garden needs enough time to grow at its own pace. Baby lettuce, arugula, and radishes can be ready to harvest in as little as three weeks after sprouting. Some types of corn and winter squash, however, need three months or more to mature.

Delicious Choices Begin with herbs, which are easy to grow and available in spring as potted “starts.” Lettuce, arugula, and radishes are rewarding when sown from seeds. A half a dozen chard plants will keep you in cooking greens all season because as you harvest the larger outer leaves, inner leaves unfurl to replace them. And two cherry tomatoes, one red and the other yellow, will fruit continuously until frost. Here are recommendations for a flavor garden. Herbs: Basil, cilantro, dill, chervil, chives, and tarragon are fragrant kitchen allies. Radish: Red ‘Cherry Belle’ and pink ‘Lady Slipper’ are crisp and mild with peppery tops.

Lettuce: ‘Little Gem’ is a crowd pleaser, weedylooking wild arugula has spicy flavor, and frisée is subtly bitter

Cherry Tomatoes: Yellow ‘Sungold’ tastes like tropical fruit and red “Sweet 100” is prolific.

Chard: The rare ‘Perpetual Spinach’ is mild and sweet, with ‘Silverado’ in second place.

Spring 2024 • THE B

voices & views: Kitchen Wisdom

Clear Your Mind, Fill Your Bowl A meditation on cooking—quite literally. Our writer contemplates the process of making, and the joys of sharing, a pot of stew. By Frances Boswell Photographs by Jim Henkens

Lucky are the bears who pass the waning weeks of winter in deep slumber. For me, with a proclivity to ruminate over the state of my 1099s and state of the world in equal measure, this is an angsty season, and the budding signs of spring propel productivity. And yet, the earth is quite possibly still frozen, perhaps blanketed by snow. I am a cook at heart, food stylist by profession, and acupuncturist in schooling. I seek inspiration in local produce and farmers markets. Oh, how I crave the minerality and snap of an asparagus stalk or the ease of a meal built simply on bitter greens that free the Liver Qi. Truth be told, there is not much on offer yet other than a rather dismal wintered-over parsnip—maybe two. And so while April might seem like an odd month to celebrate stew, that is exactly what I do, turning my desire to embrace this creative time of rebirth and renewal into a quasi-culinary meditative endeavor. Many stew recipes call for onion. I welcome the April might cathartic cry. The sting is seem like an made worse with rubbing, odd month to better to let salty tears celebrate stew, run free. Then there is the ritualistic peeling of the but that is just garlic. The stickiness of the skin can be annoying. I try what I do. not to engage. There are steps that take a fair amount of focus or intention (in meditation speak) to get just right. Searing, for one. To do it correctly the pan must be preheated, the oil shimmering, and meat or vegetables ever so lightly floured and well seasoned. Only then do you get the desired caramel crust—juices locked in and sweetness let out. Sometimes it is necessary to deglaze, adding liquid, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, and watching the cookedon goodness (the sucs) dissolve into pure flavor. The insouciant me relishes a furious boil. “Double, double toil and trouble.” Thoughts come and go. The

THE B • Spring 2024

Virgo side maybe sides with the controlled agitation of a simmer. There are pros and cons to this persnickety Earth sign. An essential component to all of this, although based solely on my rudimentary understanding of the nervous system and not hard science, is the role of our olfactory senses in cooking. Think for a moment what happens to our breathing when we stumble into a good cook’s kitchen at the dinner hour. How we suddenly wish to linger. How differently we inhale and exhale. How quickly we connect to a sense of well-being. This is the parasympathetic “rest and digest” in action—or a more poetic sedation in the form of browned alliums and majestic spice. Safety distilled. Incense does not hold a match when it comes to the calming effects of a simmering stew. Ghormeh sabzi might sound like a mantra to be repeated when cooking, and while I absolutely encourage whatever soothes your soul, it is in fact a delicious Persian herb stew. With copious bunches of parsley and cilantro in need of a good washing and methodical picking, and the transformative aroma of dried lime, it is an ideal dish for our meditative purposes. Serve it with saffron rice, the precious spice said to anchor the spirit. This family recipe was given to me by the husband of a dear friend. I have tinkered with it, increasing the amount of beans and eliminating the lamb, to make it vegetarian. (Left to my own devices, I tend to eat plantcentric. That said, I will eagerly eat meat when someone has time-stakingly cooked it for me, gratitude being paramount to happiness and community.) And that in the end might lead me to the answer of what to cook this time of year, especially with respect to health and wellbeing. The dietary tenets of balanced, local, organic, and humane all hold true. Not all foods work for all people. But eat assured there is no superfood, supplement, powder, or elixir that nourishes the diner, and indeed the cook, like a bowl of this stew. It is redolent with tastes that inspire the imagination, provoke curiosity, and prompt conversation between those of us with a shared interest in—but perhaps a different understanding of—how the world turns and all that we can be. It’s peace, one spoonful at a time. B

Persian Herb Stew (Ghormeh Sabzi) Serves 6 to 8 This is delicious served with tahdig (Persian crunchy rice), or you can simply add a pinch of saffron to the water while cooking your favorite type of rice. 1 cup dried kidney beans, soaked in several inches cold water for 12 hours or overnight 2 large yellow onions 1 head garlic 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning ¼ cup olive oil 2 teaspoons ground turmeric 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek 6 cups parsley leaves, about 3 large bunches, washed and spun dry 6 cups cilantro leaves, about 3 large bunches, washed and spun dry 1 bunch spring onions, root ends trimmed, slivered several times lengthwise, and finely chopped 1 bunch chives, finely chopped 3 dried Persian limes (available at specialty food stores), stabbed several times with a sharp knife

Drain soaked beans and transfer to a large saucepan. Cover with about 5 inches of cold water. Slice 1 onion and the garlic head in half and add to the saucepan. Set over high heat and bring to a boil, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface. Reduce heat to a steady simmer and cook until beans are just tender, about 45 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and simmer for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Set a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed saucepan over medium low heat. Add olive oil and warm until shimmering. Peel and thinly slice remaining onion and add to Dutch oven. Add turmeric and cook, stirring often, until onions are very soft and starting to caramelize, about 20 minutes. The turmeric should smell toasty and delicious. Season onions with a generous pinch of salt. Add fenugreek and cook, stirring, for a few more minutes. Fish garlic halves out of bean cooking liquid and squeeze the soft cloves from the garlic skins into the Dutch oven. Press cloves into a paste with the back of a wooden spoon. Use as much or as little garlic as desired, depending on personal taste. Working in batches, pulse parsley and cilantro in a food processor until very finely chopped—do not over process, the herbs should still have a little texture. Add chopped herbs, chopped spring onion, and chopped chives to the Dutch oven. Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture is dark green and velvety, about 15-20 minutes. Drain cooked beans. Add beans, Persian limes, and 6 cups of water to the Dutch oven. Season with a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 45 minutes, pressing down on limes to submerge and release their flavor. It is fine to tear open the limes—just discard seeds as they are bitter. Adjust seasoning with salt to taste. Serve hot with saffron rice.

Spring 2024 • THE B

voices & views: On a Lark

Take a Hike Our writer swears she’s really lazy—but that doesn’t stop her from being an avid hiker. By Jane Larkworthy

THE B • Spring 2024

I didn’t expect to sweat so much. I loved how clear my mind felt afterwards. Hikes might make you one with nature but they also make you one with your thoughts. You can sort things out on a hike, assess issues more clearly, work out solutions, and devise plans. When my husband and I hike, the conversation is usually the dinner plan and what TV show to watch next. Hiking solo, however, I’ll find myself playing out a conversation with someone I might be in conflict with. More fun, I’ll belt out a tune or two. My friend Holly takes a more chill approach. “I’ll stop to look at the view—the trees, a rock, the path, the clouds,” she said. “I drink it in, while connecting with how being outside has felt since childhood.” Being outside. Shouldn’t we be outside more? Every time I mention to anyone that we’re avid hikers, a chest-pounding timbre weaves through my voice, as if to say, Aren’t I the healthy athlete? Truth be told, my hikes are more like walks—they just happen to be on dirt or grass, with the occasional sections of rocky obstacles. But they get us out there, get our hearts racing, and might even get a bit of sweat running down the back. And we pat ourselves on those sweaty backs because we gave our bodies what they needed. Even some singing. B

Favorite Hikes (but please don’t share)

Excellent Views Monument Mountain, Great Barrington. Tip: Park around the back (on Route 183) where it’s significantly less populated.

Higher Degree of Difficulty Alford Springs, Alford. The Father Loop is 4.3 miles, offers a variety of topography, and has more uphill challenges than your first entry-level job.

Most Narnia Looking New Marlboro Preserve, New Marlborough. With verdant pines and sweeping drops that flow down to various bodies of water, you’ll think you’re in New Zealand.

The Hidden Gem Roaring Brook Trail, Williamstown. The only frustrating element of this trail is that, due to being off the beaten path, it can come with downed trees. Consider it nature’s obstacle course.

I L LU S T R AT I O N : M O L LY D E S T A N D R É / M O H O D E S I G N C R E AT I V E

I first visited the Berkshires when I was in my thirties. A friend invited us to her parents’ weekend home just over the border in Canaan, New York, and we’d spend the annual weekend going to Tanglewood, gathering dinner groceries at Guido’s, and maybe throwing in a visit to the Lee outlets. Often, our host would also plan a hike. Equally as often, I would roll my eyes. Hiking? Boring. Not that I preferred heading out and running miles on a bucolic country road or Googling the nearest gym. No, I’ve always been preternaturally lazy, but I also happened to view hiking as an activity that grandparents and bird watchers did. No offense to octogenarians or ornithologists, but I was neither, so driving to a trailhead and following a path determined by swipes of paint or tiny yellow buttons on trees seemed as interesting to me as wearing Birkenstocks. Ah, stupid, naive, close-minded younger me. I currently own more pairs of Birkenstocks than I can count on one hand, and I sometimes even wear them when I hike if I know the one I’ll be embarking on is easy, flat, and dry (my preferred kind of hike. Did I mention my sloth leanings?). It took a visit to Mexico’s Rancho La Puerta for the hiking gods to bestow their magic upon me. Nestled against a mountain range that isn’t too unlike the Berkshires (except their hills are tree-less), I spent the first day or two begrudgingly keeping up with my pack as we climbed and climbed, reminding myself that a massage or facial (my preferred spa activities) were the subsequent reward.

Gear to Go Jane’s curated a list of her must-haves for your next day outdoors.

The Water Bottle You’ll Want Forget the Stanley. Owala FreeSip Water Bottle is leakproof, comes in a variety of sizes for both backpack and car accommodations, and is available in an assortment of colors. owalalife.com

The Williams Inn: Your Premier Destination for Unparalleled Comfort, Exceptional Dining and Unforgettable Events. 101 Spring Street · Williamstown, MA 01267 413.458.9371 · williamsinn.com

Dual Duty On mercurial-weather days, REI Co-op Sahara Guide Convertible Pants turn into shorts with a quick unzipping. rei.com

Application Required Sunscreen preferences are subjective, so find your favorite and be sure to use it liberally (but MD Solar Sciences Mineral Creme SPF 50 is a super luxurious formula). mdsolarsciences.com

Post-Hike Relief Finally made it to the summit but your legs and back are resenting your zeal? Pour a packet of Nature of Things Fortifying Magnesium Soak into a hot bath and let the magnesium chloride and tangerine and lavender oil work their magic on your overworked limbs. Scout House, Great Barrington

spring into Get Cozy spring with at

voices & views: Pops’ Corner

The Power of Positivity A healing journey led Carole Murko to discoveries that she wanted to share. By Pops Peterson

her belt, she was not the type to simply sit back and let a diagnosis leave her hopelessly blind. She scoured the internet and sought advice from a plethora of experts: medical doctors, herbalists, an acupuncturist, a spiritualist, and more. She eventually found what resonated with her, and more important, what worked for her personally. The core of her discovery was the power of her own thoughts to impact her mental and physical state as well as her external environment. Now, despite her “incurable” diagnosis, she has vastly restored her eyesight. And her work life, helping others, is more fulfilling than she ever imagined. “Change your mind and change your life,” she said of the positive-mindset program “Carole’s World” (2013) by Pops, featuring Carole on her property, Boulderwood, with some of her livestock and her late canine companion, Bertie. she developed from her self-healing journey and now teaches. It is a mix of Dr. into each pursuit with ferocious passion, Doing “The Berkshire Shuffle” is how locals Joe Dispenza’s meditations and prayer, skill, and optimism. Her love of cooking label holding down multiple jobs at once Wim Hof’s guided breathwork, cannabis inspired Heirloom Meals, a multiplatform to move ahead in life. The same term can coaching, and other modalities in which food program she hoped to blossom into also allude to the many talented people she has become accredited. Her methods a multimedia company. Ambitions of here who pursue their passions in different are intended to undo negative thought becoming an alternative to Martha Stewart professional directions. A prime example of patterns to improve one’s entire life, not were not fulfilled, but nonetheless her the latter is my friend, Carole Murko, who only physical health concerns. “Through “Heirloom Meals” specials were featured on has evolved from real estate broker to life mindfulness, self-care, and the power of PBS for 10 holiday seasons. coach, as the owner of Love Eat Heal, with food for healing, we can create a life that’s As Heirloom Meals was winding down, many cool professional stops along the way. truly worth living,” she professes. Carole was recruited to be the membership “I’m seeing miracles happen to people all the Carole hosts weekend seminar retreats director of the ultra-exclusive Westmoor time,” she said, and in this new role as coach at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Club on Nantucket. “I called that job, and healer, I’ve never seen her glow with Stockbridge; at her own Berkshires property, ‘Grace,’” she said, “because it such quiet confidence and pride. Boulderwood; and at various showed up exactly when I needed “I help people My husband and I met Carole as the perky corporations, where the the luxury of a salaried job in broker who sold us our commercial building activate their emphasis is on healing paradise—as I had just been in Stockbridge back in 2005. Then she cultural dysfunctions to inner healer diagnosed with a theoretically went on to provide guidance as an interior enhance productivity. I incurable eye disease.” designer. Over the years, I’ve watched Carole because I know planned to attend a retreat A Smith graduate with an become a successful TV producer and host, but, before I had a chance, healing is an MA in international political a podcaster, webmaster, on-air talent for found myself standing in dire inside job.” economy and 15 years as a Wall a cooking segment on Albany’s Channel need of prayer. My newborn Street financial analyst under 13 News, and more, throwing herself grandson had recently —Carole

THE B • Spring 2024

undergone open-heart surgery. For him still to be in such a delicate condition, still in danger of never making it home, was freaking me to my bones. How grateful I was when Carole invited me into her prayer group, a “Miracle Zoom,” where believers worldwide meet online to pray for individuals in need. Call it a miracle or just a miraculous set of coincidences, but, we got amazing news the very moment we were praying: My grandson was being released from the hospital! Just like that, the dark weight of the world was lifted from my heart. He is alive, growing up to be the brightest beacon of love in my life.

Advancing health and wellness for everyone in our community. berkshirehealthsystems.org

Pops and Carole on Nantucket

You may believe in angels or not, but Carole Murko has absolutely been an angel in my life. She is a friend who has done so much more than just cook countless delicious meals for us to enjoy with her husband, Jim Finnerty, and their kids. She models for me anytime I ask, has let me stage a major photo shoot in her dining room, negotiated my first important photography commission (26 framed pictures!), booked my first TV news interview, and even drove me to the TV station at five in the morning! She has selflessly shared her love and made my husband and me feel that we have family here in the Berkshires. If you ever have a friend like Carole in your life, you will believe in miracles! B P H OTO : P O P S P E T E R S O N

For Carole’s workshops and other events, visit loveeatheal.com Pops Peterson is the owner of SEVEN salon.spa in Stockbridge and an award-winning artist.

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WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS GROUP

EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR

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voices & views: Fresh Start

Spring Awakenings As her Falls Village garden comes back to life, a master gardener delights in the beauty—and promise—of the season.

I know March is a month in New England most wouldn’t mind escaping—gray, muddy, cold, with lingering patches of ice and dirty white snow. But if you are a gardener like me, what you see are signs of spring everywhere. Birds are suddenly singing again, buds are swelling on lilacs and dogwoods, swamp maples are a haze of red, vernal and hybrid witch hazels are in full-tasseled bloom. After loving the idea of no gardening all winter (a vacation!

THE B • Spring 2024

I can cook! I can read!), suddenly I am hit with spring fever and want nothing more than to prowl around outdoors, seeing what’s happening. In our wet woods, skunk cabbage is beginning to unfurl its almost prehistoric-looking spears, thrust out of the earth red-streaked, but now the freshest green. When the leaves expand into huge bouquets in April, carpeting the wet forest floor, it is so handsome I think of it as our native hosta.

I should backtrack a bit and say that, until eight years ago, I didn’t have wet woods with skunk cabbage, or any land in a wild state. For the previous 34 years, I lived blissfully in North Salem, New York, on a three-acre plot, every inch of which I gardened. And then, in a laughable attempt to downsize due to age and finances, my husband and I moved north (most people our age move south), ending up in Falls Village, Connecticut, with an

P H OTO : PA G E D I C K E Y

By Page Dickey

ATE

SHAKE IT UP:

A Shakespeare

by Lee Blessing

Cabaret

Directed by James Warwick

JUNE 21 – JULY 21 Outdoors at The Roman Garden Theatre

old church, 17 acres of fields and woods, and a view of the Berkshire hills that took our breath away. I was over the moon about living in this gorgeous part of the world, and having a property rich in biodiversity to enjoy in its natural state. But, of course, I couldn’t just be content with that—I had to have a garden, if more modest in scale this time. And it is this garden that really gets my juices stirring in March. Snowdrops are up and nodding in the front beds by the house, the ordinary single (Galanthus nivalis) and its fat double, showing green-tipped white crinolines. It is one of my favorite flowers, possibly because it is the first of so many spring delights, and because I love its winsome beauty. When we moved here to Church House, I brought a clump of snowdrops from the old garden where we had drifts of them along a shaded path. The first spring at our new home, as soon as the earth was dry enough, I pulled apart that clump, carefully teasing out each small bulb, and planted them along the foot of a stone wall by our kitchen. Two springs later, those single bulbs had formed clumps, and again I dug up one of the patches, just after it bloomed, pulled the bulbs apart (this is easy and fun to do), and planted them singly farther along the wall. It is a deliciously inexpensive and gratifying way to propagate and plant snowdrops—by now I have small puddles in the back of the beds throughout the front garden. Curiously, they are particularly showy on an overcast day—I think this is true in general of white flowers—and as I stand *

P H OTO : N G O C M I N H N G O

Skunk cabbage in the woods

Directed by Allyn Burrows

JULY 2 – 7 Tina Packer Playhouse

OU TD OO R

the

TH EAT E

the

WO RL DP RE MIE RE

Islanders

by Carey Crim

Directed by Regge Life

re espea mory Shak illiam ate Kohler A

by W

ed by

Direct

JULY 13 – AUGUST 18

JULY 25 – AUGUST 25

Outdoors at Arthur S. Waldstein Amphitheatre

Flight of the Monarch

Tina Packer Playhouse

RE GIO NA L

by Jim Frangione

PR EM IER E

Directed by Judy Braha

OU TD OO R

An Enhanced Staged Reading

TH EAT ER

by William Shakespeare Directed by Tina Packer

AUGUST 21 – 25

AUGUST 3 – 25

Outdoors at Arthur S. Waldstein Amphitheatre

Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre

MIE

2024 SEASON at

THREE TALL PERSIAN WOMEN by Awni Abdi-Bahri

Directed by Dalia Ashurina

AUGUST 30 – OCTOBER 13 Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre

Tickets Available at 413.637.3353

SHAKESPEARE.ORG

voices & views: Fresh Start

Bring on the Bugs (and Birds) It is important to include some native plants in our spring gardens not only for their nectar, fruit, and seeds that the birds love, but because of bugs! The caterpillars (or larvae) of butterflies prefer the leaves of native plants, and they provide the protein birds need to feed their broods. (As an example, a chickadee needs at least 6,000 caterpillars to raise one clutch of young.) A good rule of thumb when planting our gardens is: “Two-thirds for the birds.” Narcissus ‘Thalia’ and ‘Winter Waltz’ rise above the fresh greens of perennials.

leaves after they bloom. Two serviceberries (also known as shad trees or shadblow, varieties of Amelanchier), cast a delicate shade above these bulbs and perennials, and add welcome structure to the garden. For a time in April, they are covered with clusters of elegant pink buds that finally open to a haze of white from fragile, five-petaled flowers. This is a graceful small native tree—another favorite of mine—that is seen in the wild around here at the edges of woodland. The blooms give way to clusters of red fruit in June, and suddenly our trees are covered with feasting cedar waxwings. Many birds

In June, native baptisias and amsonias line the front garden path after the spring bulbs have faded.

A FEW OF PAGE’S FAVORITES FOR SPRING

THE B • Spring 2024

Snowdrops

Narcissus

Galanthus nivalis

‘Winter Waltz’

‘Rip van Winkle’

‘Thalia’

G A R D E N S : PA G E D I C K E Y; FAV O R I T E S : S H U T T E R S TO C K

admiring them, which I do a lot, I think about where I’m going to spread them next in the garden. Other bulbs join the show soon after, species crocuses that the rabbits and chipmunks have missed, blue scillas, and that lovely, pale grape hyacinth called ‘Valerie Finnis.’ April brings daffodils (happily ignored by critters because, like snowdrops, they are poisonous to eat), early sorts such as ‘Winter Waltz’ with flared-back petals and ‘Rip van Winkle,’ which looks like a fanciful dandelion. I weave in later varieties, like the exquisite white ‘Thalia,’ in the middle and back of the beds where the foliage of emerging perennials will hide their yellowing

rely on this sweet tree to sustain them through breeding season. If you have a garden bed where a little light shade would be welcome, by all means, plant a shad. Or several, where your lawn meets woods. Underneath the shads, I have gentian-blue lungwort (Pulmonaria angustifolia), which flowers all of April, and our native white bloodroot, the double-flowering sort, which blooms for half a minute but is worth it. Every year I replant some perennial spring phlox here too, Phlox Just about divaricata, a fragrant and charming woodland native every day in that the rabbits like as much March and April, as I do. If you don’t have rabbit new perennials trouble, plant it in drifts in the back of your borders in sprout up in the lavender or white for some front garden, and guaranteed enchantment. Just about every day there is the thrill in March and April, new of discovering perennials sprout up in the front garden, and there is the old friends and thrill of discovering old friends the occasional and the occasional unfamiliar unfamiliar leaf... leaf, wondering if it is a weed or some treasure I’ve forgotten I planted. (I have a rule: I don’t toss out a plant unless I absolutely recognize it as an unwanted weed.) I’ve added a lot of natives here close to the house in order to enjoy the birds, bees, and butterflies they attract—baptisias, amsonias, penstemon and veronicastrum, asters and sunflowers. A gravel path threads through the plantings, and certain flowers seed in the stones every year. Johnny jump ups and columbines, mulleins and foxgloves. If you are, like me, not too tidy a gardener, these unexpected bonuses will be your reward. Soon enough, the heat waves will start, and bugs and disease will make their unwelcome appearance, but for now, in early spring, all is freshly green and full of promise. B

Serviceberry

Lungwort

Amelanchier

Pulmonaria angustifolia

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Spring

Picturesque Botany (Morning Glory, Poppy, Dandelion, Tulip, Fern, Crocus, Pollinators, etc), 2023 Julia Whitney Barnes Hudson Valley Watercolor, gouache, India ink and cyanotype on cotton paper juliawhitneybarnes.com @juliawhitneybarnes Carrie Haddad Gallery | Hudson, NY March 1-April 28 Hancock Shaker Village | Hancock April 13–November 3

Spring 2024 • THE B

T HE

Many people come to the Berkshires and surrounding areas to take care of themselves—whether for a few days at a wellness resort or retreat, for an enriching getaway with art and nature, or for a lifetime. And some people are here to take care of others—meet a few of our talented local pros who do just that.

THE B • Spring 2024

ILLUSTRATI ON: MIKE MULLAN

GOOD LI F E

Spring 2024 • THE B

T HE

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The specialists at Lenox’s UltraWellness Center are experts when it comes to longevity—and as Dr. George Papanicolaou explains, there’s a lot you can do to optimize your health. By Amy Conway for cutting-edge science and research, not to mention skill and finesse, to create the best plan for an individual. The UWC provides testing and treatments that you do not get from your conventional providers. Functional medicine is often sought as a way to treat chronic disease or solve medical mysteries that have evaded conventional treatments. Dr. Papanicolaou and his colleagues do help many patients in that way. But, he said, the approach is also excellent for prevention—staying healthy in the first place. It’s about “finding out how your body’s operating, and then recognizing and identifying those things that are going to put you at risk for developing a disease,” he said. Indeed, there are ways to optimize your health for a good, long life. While there’s no one-sizefits-all approach, Dr. Papanicolaou shared some fundamentals with us.

Life Span vs. Health Span Longevity experts often use the term “health span”—while life span is how long you live, health span is how long you live in good health and free from disease. Prioritizing your physical and mental health and incorporating some new habits into your everyday may help increase your health span—and that’s the goal.

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Sleep Quality shut-eye doesn’t just make you feel and function better, it directly affects your health. If you have trouble sleeping—and Dr. Papanicolaou says 35–40% of Americans have some kind of sleep disorder—the UWC may suggest an inhome sleep study to figure out what’s keeping you up. We are meant to follow a circadian rhythm, he said: “Keeping our biological clock synchronized with the natural light-dark cycle promotes the release of sleep-regulating hormones.” Get exposure to natural light first thing in the morning, and establish a good bedtime routine that could include a warm bath or shower, sipping herbal tea, reading a book, doing breathing exercises, or meditating. These steps, he said, can help you support your circadian rhythm and improve sleep quality. At least seven hours of shut-eye continues to be the standard. But not everyone is what he calls an “efficient” sleeper, which means that to get your full seven hours, you may need to spend eight to nine hours in bed. Want to wake up at 6 a.m.? Work backwards: In bed by 9 p.m.

PH OTO: STEPH ANIE ZOLLS HAN

The culture and natural beauty of the Berkshires aren’t our only compelling draws—people come from all over the world to see the experts at the UltraWellness Center (UWC) in Lenox. When it was founded in 2004 by Mark Hyman, MD, IFMCP, it was a groundbreaker in the emerging field known as functional medicine (Dr. Hyman remains the director and is also the head of strategy and innovation at Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Functional Medicine). It’s still at the forefront, and the team in Lenox includes devoted physicians, physician assistants, nutritionists, nurses, and coaches who see functional medicine as an important paradigm shift. One of those physicians is George Papanicolaou, DO, IFMCP, who defines functional medicine as “getting to the root cause of disease instead of just treating the symptoms.” Sounds simple—and smart—but this is a hyperpersonalized approach that calls

Nutrition Aim for a whole food, antiinflammatory diet with a focus on balance. For many people, “the Mediterranean diet is the way to go,” said Dr. Papanicolaou. (Nutritionists at UWC can help figure out which eating plan is best for you.) The Mediterranean diet emphasizes whole, minimally processed foods including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish and lean meats, legumes, nuts, seeds, and olive oil, while limiting red meat and sweets. This diet consistently gets top marks from doctors and dieticians for its numerous health benefits, including reduced risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Dr. Papanicolaou said you can “supercharge” the regime with intermittent fasting, or time-restricted feeding—eating in a certain time window, like between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Intermittent fasting, he said, has been shown to promote weight loss, improve metabolic health, and enhance mental clarity, among other benefits. The secret to eating well? “You have to develop a habit of cooking. Shop and cook.”

Exercise There are two key categories, said Dr. Papanicolaou: muscle and cardiorespiratory, or aerobic, health. “Muscle mass is the currency of aging. It’s where you make all your energy,” he said. “It’s needed for a healthy metabolism and for

strength.” We all lose muscle as we age, and in extreme cases, everyday efforts like carrying your groceries or walking to an airport gate become a struggle. Strength training combats this (he recommends two or three weekly sessions) and together with that, plenty of protein. Recent research, he said, points to at least 1.6 milligrams of protein per kilogram of body weight to stimulate muscle protein synthesis. “For the average adult, you’re talking about 90–100 grams per day.” The other piece is your cardiorespiratory health. At the UltraWellness Center, they rely on a measurement of your VO2 max—this refers to the amount of oxygen you get into a cell at maximal exercise—to assess your cardiorespiratory fitness. When your VO2 max drops over time (which it will) you won’t be getting sufficient oxygen into those muscles to do the work you need to do. Though ideal, you don’t have to know your VO2 max to plan your exercise routine—generally, people should be doing two types of cardio training, said Dr. Papanicolaou (and everyone should check with a doctor first). The first is Zone 2 exercise: You get your heart rate up and feel out of breath, but are not at peak intensity. For example, you’re running or walking briskly, and can get a sentence or two out but not chat comfortably. Aim for 150 minutes per week or more.

The second type is high intensity interval training (HIIT): brief bursts of activity with rest in between. Starting out, said Dr. Papanicolaou, a 1:3 ratio of work to rest is recommended. For example, run on a treadmill for 30 seconds, then rest for 90 seconds, and repeat. Try to get in 20 to 40 minutes of HIIT a week.

Relationships Your connections—with your family, your community, your sense of spirituality, and above all, with yourself—really count. Dr. Papanicolaou’s patients often open up to him about familial trauma in their background, and he sees the impact. “It shapes the way you look at the world,” he said. “If you don’t trust people, you start to live this limited life.” His advice: “You can’t have toxic relationships in your life. If you have unreconciled relationships, find a way to reconcile them, to bring peace into your heart.” And as parents, help kids find their authentic selves. Teach them to meditate, process, consider others. To forgive and have patience. “That,” he said, “is where it really all begins.”

Stress Stress is the “apex predator” of our health, said Dr. Papanicolaou. It can begin a cascade of negative effects: If you are stressed, you may have trouble sleeping. If you don’t sleep well, you aren’t going to eat as well or exercise as much. And there’s a good chance you’re not taking good care of your relationships. “It’s important to find peace, to nurture it every day,” he said. That’s where meditation comes in. The data shows that the practice has a positive impact on so many aspects of your health—including cognitive flexibility, creativity, and anxiety (even your gut health and immune system!). A few minutes a day is enough to make a difference. It doesn’t have to be traditional eyesclosed meditation— though that is what Dr. Papanicolaou prefers. “It’s an opportunity to process stuff,” he said. But walking, running, or rowing can get you into a meditative state. What matters is that you feel “that inner balance happening.” The inner life: It’s important. Part of stress management is figuring out who you really are, he said, and getting yourself on that fulfilling path of living authentically. B

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At Canyon Ranch, Mark Kovacs and his team of pros combine cutting-edge science and skill to help you get better at the things you love to do. Tennis, anyone? By Avi Dresner

An iconic 19th-century Berkshire estate seems an unlikely temple to 21st century athletic performance, but it is, and Dr. Mark Kovacs is its high priest. Kovacs is the vice president of health & performance at Canyon Ranch, the health and wellness resort with properties in Tucson, Arizona; Woodside, California; Las Vegas, Nevada; Fort Worth, Texas; and here in the heart of the Berkshires, at the Gilded Age Bellefontaine Mansion and estate in Lenox. In his role, Kovacs travels to every location, overseeing their health and performance services. With a Ph.D. in exercise physiology, six books, and more than 50 scientific articles and book chapters to his name, Kovacs summarizes his job description as “looking at the latest science and

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performance down to several essentials, bringing that back to the Ranch” to help upon which everyone can improve. guests optimize their physical, mental, Kovacs defines performance as and spiritual health and performance. optimizing what you do on a continual Indeed, Kovacs isn’t just an academic. basis—whether picking up a grandchild He is a sought-after performance specialist or running a marathon. He lists the main who has worked with dozens of top NBA, components as aerobic conditioning, NFL, and MLB athletes. strength training, mobility, sleep, nutrition, As a Master Tennis Performance mental health, and spirituality. “The unique Specialist and consultant for the United aspect of Canyon Ranch,” he said, “is the States Tennis Association, he has worked integration of our full-time with legends such as two-time experts, who are on the property Olympic Gold Medalist and every day, working with guests 17-time Grand Slam Champion Learn from across these different dynamics.” Gigi Fernandez, and rising Kovacs! Canyon Ranch’s performance superstar Coco Gauff. As a Mark Kovacs will specialists use the most advanced player himself, Kovacs was be in Lenox for equipment and techniques an All-American and NCAA the Canyon Ranch to measure guests’ aerobic doubles champion who Doubles Camp, capacity, force production, and then turned pro. No matter June 11-14 the like. “We then simplify the what your level, he boils

PH OTO: STEPH ANIE ZOLLS HAN

U P y o u R ga m e

information to put the plan together based on the data we have: ‘Here are the things you can easily do to start the journey of improving these metrics.’” When it comes to tennis, “you want to get the ball in the court more often than your opponent, and that usually correlates to being in very good aerobic shape. Improve your cardiovascular fitness to be able to last during matches and maintain quality of stroke production and movement.” Another crucial area, he said, is fine-tuning your stroke mechanics. This will not only improve accuracy, but will help prevent injury. In other words, it’s not always how much you play that leads to injury, but rather how you play. Kovacs said many recreational players try to imitate a professional, but don’t have the skills or body to do it. For example, they try to add more topspin to their backhand—completely changing their technique to do so—and then wonder why they have elbow, wrist, or shoulder problems. “So what we do,” said Kovacs, “is have individuals go through an assessment that provides a comprehensive profile of their movements on the court—both strengths and opportunities for improvement— to help them achieve optimal swing mechanics.” It can reveal things like poor rotation in the shoulder, or an inability to properly load the hips which, in turn, can lead to injury. “We personalize the instruction, and that can usually help players improve the quickest.” Finally, Kovacs recommends picking a performance goal, something you can control on a day-to-day basis, like the ability to hit a backhand right where you want it 10 times in a row. Once you check that box, go to the next objective. That’s how you move up the ladder of skills and, as you stack your skills, start getting better. “Every good athlete has outcome goals,” he said. “But day to day, they’re focused on performance. ‘What can I control today? How can I get better today?’ And if you can get better every day, that’s 365 improvements a year, which most people would take.” B

n at u r e

h ea L S And Rachel Hailey wants everyone to be able to access and experience its power and beauty. By Kate Abbott

Rachel Hailey and her daughter, Aria, were out on Florida Mountain, heading up the Hoosac Range Trail with their dog. The slope grew steeper, and Aria, 8, slid and slogged her way up. “We got to the top of the hill,” Hailey recalled. “And Aria said, ‘Mom, I feel like that was like a big climb, and that’s a big deal, because I did it, and I know that I can do big things.’” Living in the Berkshires has helped to give her a sense of adventure, Hailey said. “Nature lets us connect with ourselves and with others,” she said, “in a space that is good for our bodies and minds.” Knowing the vital connection, Hailey wants to open the door for everyone to explore. In the heart of the pandemic, Hailey founded DEI Outdoors in North Adams, a consultancy for diversity and equity work with outdoor recreation, a big category that can include activities like skiing, as well as farms, camps, and more. Across the country, places and people see the need for her work—in the past three years, her venture has quickly grown into a national organization with a team of 10 people between the East and West coasts. She has worked with everyone from hiking and zip-lining groups to land conservation organizations, from small nonprofits to nationwide corporations. They share a commitment to welcoming diverse communities and sustaining change within themselves. Her reach is expanding. The company is piloting a new training-certification program, and in 2025 they

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harder times. She first came to the Berkshire woods in a time of transition. She was freeing herself from an abusive marriage. “One of the things that saved Aria and me in that early tumultuous time, before we left and moved to North Adams, was the outdoors,” she said. “There were certain trails where we could go and play and not have to think or worry about anything. There were places that sheltered us and provided us with purpose. My connection to the outdoors here has been one of healing and care.” She wants even more people to know these magical spaces. She wants anyone to feel they belong—to feel welcome, know their way around familiarly, see people who look like them, and speak the language they speak. “Outdoorsy can look a million ways,” she said. “Outdoorsy can be the kid in the garden at the end of the row house.

Partners in Progress DEI Outdoors works with Berkshire outdoor organizations who are growing their partnerships with BIPOC organizations (and other historically marginalized identity groups), including Berkshire Family Hikes, the Berkshire Natural Resources Council, and Latinas413.

Outdoorsy can be the single mom who seeks out green space in her city. Outdoorsy can be the deep backwoods conservationist out in the field, up to their elbows in muck.” Someone who has never had the chance to explore may never have imagined themselves in natural spaces, she said. And she knows from her own experience that the disconnect may go back further, for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ folk, for veterans, and others in this country who have not had resources or access to land. “We have a history that says ‘I’m not welcome here,’” she said, “‘so therefore I can’t even see it as possible.’” A connection with nature can make a vital difference in connection among people. Hailey’s sense of belonging has increased here as she engages with more people in this work. “One of the benefits of human beings connecting to nature,” she said, “is that when we’re all healthy and happy and supported by nature, then peace is really possible. People can start to see a new future without conflict, because they feel good.” B deioutdoors.com

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PH OTO: DEI OUTDOORS

are planning to launch a guided program for people from historically marginalized communities who want to get outside in the Berkshires. Hailey knows the physical benefits first-hand. “It’s a public health issue,” she said. “Where folks have access to clean water, clean air, all those things, they generally live much happier, healthier lives.” And she herself has felt deep mental and emotional lifts in the woods. As a child, she moved from Roxbury, an urban, diverse neighborhood in Boston, to a small town near the south shore. It was a shift and a challenge, more rural and far less diverse. She was one of very few BIPOC students in her high school. A summer camp and a ropes course helped her through, and helped her to grow a sense of adventure and confidence. Later, the outdoors sustained her in

G R OW T OGET HER At the new Greenhouse Yoga, students and instructors alike are flourishing. By Lara Tupper

What if I can’t do it? What if everyone else is better? What if my yoga pants are wrong? Alex Cosgrove and Jodi Hurwitz, owners of Greenhouse Yoga in Great Barrington, are well aware of these types of fears, especially when it comes to first-time yoga students. “There’s this false scary thing about yoga,” said Hurwitz. “But it’s basically a game of Twister. That’s why we don’t have levels at Greenhouse. There’s no way to be good or bad.” This winter, Greenhouse Yoga moved into a new space on Railroad Street—right around the corner from their old studio— and their first class was sold out with a waiting list; 150 people turned up for their *

P HOTO: STEPHANI E ZOLLSHAN; H AI R AND MAKEU P: SONYA HEIMANN

Jodi Hurwitz and Alex Cosgrove in their new studio

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Thanks to Mom and Penélope Cruz Cosgrove has been practicing since she was a teenager. “Credit to my mom. She hoped it would make me feel good in my body, and she was right. Now that I’m a mom, I get it. And it’s been a throughline for me, a consistent and constantly evolving practice.” Hurwitz, who worked in the film industry, came to yoga another way. “I have to give credit to Penélope Cruz. We were shooting in England, and she asked me to find her a yoga studio. I’d never done yoga before, but I started practicing every day.” Once Hurwitz became certified, she found it to be “a profoundly special calling and responsibility.” Hurwitz and Cosgrove met through a mutual friend. “It was kismet,” said Hurwitz. “We’re very different, but that challenges us. It was this unspoken realization: together we’d be so much stronger.” In their former space, with its exposed brick wall, twinkle lights, and small entry area, they attracted a loyal following, drawing people from all over South County looking for the camaraderie and challenge of hot yoga. The new space is open and light, with an expansive reception area that encourages lingering. They plan to use this area for events like book clubs and talks in the future.

Try It Out! The $50 one-week unlimited intro pass lets you sample everything Greenhouse has to offer.

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The room is warmed using radiant heating panels, which heat surfaces (bodies) versus the air, so they provide a more comfortable feeling than just being in a hot room—similar to the sensation of the sun warming your body. The heat helps ready your muscles to stretch and relax into the poses.

Beginners Welcome! How do I start? Keep Breathing: The Benefits of Yoga The two instantly agree on the most important component of yoga: the breath. To emphasize this point, the entrance to the new studio says Inhale. The exit says Exhale. “We want you to take a deep breath when you enter,” said Cosgrove “Whatever happens on top of that is a bonus.” Breath awareness leads to body awareness. “One of the benefits is learning to accept what nature gave you,” said Hurwitz. “I think of Alex’s tree pose. Her legs are four times longer than mine. It’s not going to look like my tree pose, right? So, we don’t model the poses the whole

Breathe. “Bring your lungs!” says Hurwitz. “We’ve got the rest: mats, blocks, straps, props.” Try to accept the newness, says Cosgrove. “It’s okay to be a little uncomfortable, emotionally. That’s part of yoga.” Be curious. “Come with curiosity about what’s going to happen and curiosity about getting to know yourself. You may be surprised,” says Cosgrove.

CLAS S: GREENHOU SE YOGA; EXTERI OR: STEPHANI E ZOLLSHAN

opening day. They attribute this turnout to “warmth,” and not just the literal kind; their hot yoga studio is heated to 90 degrees. “We know everyone’s name. We know their dogs’ names. We know their favorite music,” said Hurwitz. The most common refrain she hears from first timers: “I can’t wait to come back.”

LI ST EN UP! time. We’re always moving around the room.” “The practice meets you where you are, no matter what,” said Cosgrove. “And that’s a beautiful thing. And it’s not just within these walls. We’re bringing something out into the community.”

Community Counts Alex is on the board of Railroad Street Youth Project and Hurwitz serves on the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce. They’re excited about local partnerships. “That’s a big driver for our new studio,” said Cosgrove. “We now have literal space to do all of the collaborative things that we dream about. Jodi is especially good at this. She’s a big dreamer.” They’re planning Pinot and Poses, a yoga class followed by a wine tasting, and Popcorn and Postures with the Triplex Cinema/BIFF. “Fun is our guiding light at the moment,” said Hurwitz. “We take the practice seriously, but we try not to take ourselves too seriously.” They’ve already partnered with many local businesses, including Marjoram + Roux, Calyx, Home Love, and Farnsworth Fine Cannabis. (The latter gave out new product samples during a free yoga class.) They’ve had group meals at Baba Louie’s and housed retreat participants at The Red Lion Inn.

Growing in the Greenhouse

PHOTO: DR. JOSEP H COONEY

To celebrate this connectivity, they’ve placed a 10-foot tree in their new reception area, along with a comfy couch. Students, new and seasoned, add photos and notes to the branches. “It’s a family tree,” said Cosgrove, because the studio and greater community “truly do feel like a family. We’re the luckiest two women in the Berkshires right now. We’re so humbled and every day we pinch ourselves. We’ve been growing week over week, month over month, year over year. They just keep coming.” B greenhouseyogaberkshires.com

Being a good listener is an important part of being a good communicator. And, says Dr. Joseph Cooney, founder of Berkshire Center for Whole Health, in Stockbridge, it’s crucial for doctors. Here, he explains why— and how we can all sharpen those skills. Listening is at the core of doctoring. It makes everything possible. The doctor is trained to help, but the doctor is not the point—the patient is the point. We are not here for the doctor to ply their trade (or to keep to their schedule), we are here for the patient to receive care that is relevant to them. Listening gives space for the patient to reveal themselves and share their experience. Listening also quietly expresses care. When both parties are open to each other, a bridge forms. Now there is a connection. With connection, the first healing gesture occurs.

Know that listening to someone is a gift to them. To impart information to someone may seem like you’re doing them a favor, but arguably the bigger favor is to help them express themselves.

Create quiet time in your life. Being a better listener to yourself will help you be a better listener to others. I am a proponent of quiet time set aside every day to look inward. Control of your thinking and inner calmness are supported by this habit, and are great for listening.

Work on your health habits. Listening is challenging. One needs to be well rested to be able to listen. To be a good listener means you need to take your health seriously. Healthy habits can help make you a good listener!

Practice listening. Enter your day with a goal to practice listening to someone. Check in with yourself at the end of the day. Wherever you put your attention, energy will flow. Know that listening is healthy for the listener, as well! We are typically very interested in our own story and marginally interested in anybody else’s. Practicing flipping this dynamic by engaging with someone else’s story.

Put down the phone. It’s a bit of a revolutionary step these days, and you send a strong message of intent to engage when you do.

Be okay with where you are. There are times when we can’t really listen because our needs are too great. That’s okay. It gives a chance for someone else to be of service to you. Be sure to express your gratitude when someone lends an ear to you.

Berkshire Center for Whole Health is an integrative, patient-centered, primary care practice that works with a concierge business model.

berkshirewholehealth.com

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WA L K I N G C U R E A local psychologist shares a simple technique that we can all use to help solve problems: Take them outside. By Michael Lipson

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For 35 years, I sat in an office, talking with people about their personal troubles and triumphs. Then COVID-19 happened; we couldn’t meet in my office for a long while. So we went outdoors. That’s the short version of how my patients and I began to find ourselves tromping through the beautiful Berkshire woods instead of sitting still in a comfy office by the fire. I haven’t looked back. Now, about half of my counseling time is spent in the woods—walking, talking, and discovering a new relationship between the natural world and the world of psychotherapy. It makes a difference. In the woods, whether we walk side by side or in single file on a narrow path, the pressure of face-

to-face communication is diminished. We are absorbed, not in each other’s every facial expression and physical gesture, but in the birds that sweep through the treetops, the clouds that shape-shift in the sky, the sounds and smells and coloration of nature all around us. Our conversations on the path feel held and supported, but it’s not the same feeling that the walls of the office provide. We marvel at the spring blooms, at the mysterious snowfall, at a deer prancing or a hawk soaring, and we feel ourselves accompanied by a living world. There is something egalitarian about being outside together. The sun and the rain fall on us both; we both negotiate the mud and the fallen tree-limbs blocking

the path. As we look out at a placid Lake Mansfield, we are simply humans, together facing life on a changing planet. It’s been shown experimentally that the moment you enter the woods, the stress hormones in the blood sharply decline. But we don’t need those results to notice that problems and challenges look different in the woods. As we look out at the far hillscape from the top of Haley Road, or notice how high and fast the Green River is flowing, personal anxieties are soothed, angers right-sized, and sorrows absorbed. I often suggest that my clients slow down, and walking in nature helps this project. More than slow down: I ask them to linger, ponder, savor, wander, and wonder. Everyone can benefit, even without therapy, from taking their troubles to the woods, and feeling the accompaniment of nature. It can also be an excellent place to have a difficult conversation with a friend or relative, or simply to be together and feel closer. Any existing connection between humans is enhanced by a shared immersion in the more-than-human world around us. B

Michael Lipson, PhD, is the author of “BE: An Alphabet of Astonishment,” available at The Bookstore in Lenox and on amazon.com. You can join his weekly meditation group by signing up at michaellipson.org. He is currently working on a new book, “The Walking Cure.” He and his wife live in Great Barrington.

Wilding-White working with students at Lenox Memorial High School—which happens to be the Lenox native’s alma mater.

M EN TA L MUSCLE

By Tom and Jerry Caraccioli

P HOTOS: STEP HANI E ZOLLSH AN

As a 13-year-old gymnast, Tiffany Wilding-White approached the apparatus that would make her a national champion, and told herself, “I own the beam.” By the end of the day at the YMCA National Gymnastics Championships in San Diego, California, she stood atop the podium with winning trophies in three categories: beam, floor, and the coveted all-around. Her father had given her good advice. “Dad always said, one way to conquer your fear is to ‘own’ the event—whether it was learning to ride a bike, giving a presentation, or sticking my beam routine,” Wilding-White explained. “That gave me the confidence to get up there and do harder and harder skills.” That was before she knew there was such a thing as a mental mantra, or had the academic training to understand why it works. But the experience set the trajectory for her career as *

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a mental performance coach. Three decades later, she is the owner of Mind Over Motion, based in Lee, and has trained thousands of athletes and teams to build a winning mindset. Along the way, the lifelong athlete competed as a Division I gymnast at Cornell University and earned a master’s degree at Ithaca College, where she specialized in sport psychology. She also authored the mental training book “Golfing with Your Eyes Closed.” Though it’s said that 80% of performance is mental, many people aren’t exposed to sport psychology training. Skills such as deep breathing, visualization, and positive self-talk aren’t just for Olympians, though. “We are all performers,” said Wilding-White. “Some of us are athletes, some are actors or musicians. Whatever your challenge, mental training can build confidence and resilience. We can do mental exercises the same way we do physical exercises. It’s very satisfying to empower others, from youth and high school athletes, right up through world qualifiers.” B mindovermotion.com

LEARNING F ROM UNCERTA INT Y The CEO of Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, Robert Mulhall, shares wisdom gained after the center’s recent damaging flood, which necessitated a two-month closure. Kripalu re-opens March 29.

Create a Mantra That’s your power phrase, a personal slogan that helps you develop belief in yourself. ‘I can do it’ or ‘I own the beam’ are the two mantras that make me feel powerful and confident. Saying them helps me block out negative distractions and focus on the present. Ink It, Don’t Just Think It Become aware of your thoughts by writing them down. Then you can drill down and see how best to rid yourself of negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones. Track Three Positives Develop a regular practice of writing down three things you did well each day. Keeping track of your small wins builds a mental savings account you can rely on when you need it. Reset Your Mindset Between every stimulus and response there is a space. That space grows when we develop awareness. This awareness gives us the power to choose our response rather than doing what might come automatically. Build New Paths Imagine the brain as having grooves where we can get stuck in negative or simply worrisome thinking. To build new positive paths, use visualization. Visualization is a confidence-building tool because mental rehearsal activates the same neural pathways as physical rehearsal.

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In late January, when a burst pipe caused us to close our main building, Shadowbrook, and do extensive repairs, we took a moment to breathe and ask ourselves what the experience could teach us. We saw it as a gift, an initiation from the spirit of water— not as something that happened to us, but rather as something that happened for us. We have used this time to lean into agility, community, and care. Holding the highest perspective has helped us not get ensnared by doubt, fear, or collapse, even as this time has naturally brought up many emotions. This is what we all can do when life invites us into a chapter of uncertainty—we can slow down, see from the highest altitude, and lean into love. As a result we are feeling an even greater sense of staff community, a greater gratitude for each other and our beloved building, and a sense of being supported and held in all of this. Additionally, we have been able to make a lot of enhancements, such as new windows to help with climate control and reduce our energy impact, and flooring and fresh painting to bring more beauty to our space—to name just a few.

Berkshire Day Pass! Berkshire residents (or those who live within 45 miles of Kripalu) can visit at a discounted rate every Wednesday and Thursday for $75 per person—this includes a full day of yoga, 3 delicious meals, and workshops, as well as discounts in the shop and on Healing Arts.

PH OTO: STEPH ANIE ZOLLS HAN

Tiffany’s Top Tips

MORE WAY S T O T HRIV E Start the Day Right Carrie Taylor, RDN, LDN, leads the nutrition team for Big Y, and she loves a sunrise hike. Heading out early doesn’t stop her from having a good breakfast. She brings it with her—maybe a thermos of oatmeal made with milk and topped with mashed banana, with some beef jerky and grape tomatoes on the side. It checks off the four components she recommends having in every morning meal: Protein—30–40 grams of it—whole grain, a vegetable, and a fruit (plus water—it’s important to hydrate when you wake up, she said). Mix and match to power up your morning: Protein: Eggs, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, beans, nuts and seeds, nut butter, lean meats/sausage Whole grain: Oatmeal, whole grain bread, brown rice, quinoa Fruit: Apple, berries, banana… whatever you like! Vegetable: Baby carrots, grape tomatoes, or celery sticks are an easy way to get that veg in

Teach Kids Mindfulness Elizabeth Heller had been teaching mindfulness, meditation, and yoga for years but lost most of her work with kids and teens due to the pandemic—when her students needed it more than ever. Determined to help them, she created the Super Journals (and along the way, she moved from Boston to the Berkshires, and also completed the EforAll Berkshire County business accelerator program, winning top prize for seed money). The Kids Super Journal and Teen Super Journal help kids self-manage their emotional and physical wellness with breathing, body movement, and journaling exercises designed to be easy and fun—while resulting in some serious benefits like increased self-esteem and stress reduction. Here’s one exercise you can try at home:

Journal Jar n Find a big, glass jar or jug. n Have everyone write down journal questions on slips of paper (try choosing a theme and including questions about feelings). Place the papers in the jar. n Every day at a designated time (like before dinner at home), have kids and teens take turns choosing a question from the jar.

PHOTOS: PEXELS; DOG: JULIE HAMMILL

n Set a timer for 5 minutes and everyone (including adults) can journal their response (drawing counts as journaling so small children can also participate). n Keep the Journal Jar in an accessible place along with markers and paper so kids can use it whenever they want to!

Keep Pets Healthy, Too! Affordable medical care for pets keeps animals out of shelters—and it’s easier to access in the Berkshires than it used to be, thanks to Berkshire Humane Society’s expanded Wellness Clinic in Pittsfield; it offers preventive and nonemergency urgent care for families who need it. Here are a few tips for when the weather warms up, from one of their new vets, Dr. Melissa Brady (a native of Dalton, back in the Berkshires!). Make sure you use a tick preventive especially if you hike with your dog (ask your vet which is right for your pet). Give your dog fun flavored ice cubes— try chicken broth!—to cool them down on those hot summer days. Wipe down their paws when they come indoors to remove allergens. —Thailia Chee

Protect the Skin You’re In May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month— and Berkshire County residents should indeed be aware. Basil M. Michaels, MD, FACS, of Berkshire Plastic Surgeons, says he finds our population has a higher incidence of melanoma than expected; one reason could be that people here love to be outdoors. Dr. Michaels suggests sun-protective clothing—“nowadays, there are very light items that are easy to wear”—with generously (and repeatedly) applied sunscreen on exposed areas. If you have had significant sun exposure in your life, yearly skin exams are important, he says. “Finding a cancer early can save your life.”

thesuperjournals.com

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IN FINE FORM B Y

F E L I X

C A R R O L L

Madeline Hooper is on a mission: To show us how to take care of our bodies while taking care of our gardens.

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P HOTO: GARDENF IT PRODU CTI ONS, LLC

etting down in the dirt had never been a problem for Madeline Hooper. Getting back up again, that was a different story. Along with her husband, Ian, Hooper transformed a weed-choked, historic homestead in Canaan, New York, into a sterling stopover along the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program, and has since transformed her aches and pains from gardening into a nationwide crusade. The co-host of “GardenFit,” a television series of her own creation that premiered on PBS in 2022, Hooper has barnstormed the country with a film crew and personal trainer to evangelize what she knows to be true: the human body is “the most important gardening tool.” The second season premieres this month. A retired public relations specialist and founder of the Manhattan-based marketing public relations firm DeVries Global, Hooper has been a generous supporter of our local cultural institutions and other nonprofits that, as she says, are “doing important work in our society and the planet.” That includes Berkshire Botanical Garden, where she and Ian serve as trustees and where their gardening education eventually took the form of an obsession—much to the benefit of their Canaan home, Rockland Farm, which they purchased 42 years ago.

Their gardening has also been enriched through their friendships with famous plant people including Renny Reynolds, Fergus Garrett, and Fred Callander. It was Callander, of Callander’s Nursery & Landscaping in Chatham, New York, who installed the Hoopers’ first mixed border. “When he saw how entranced I was, he invited me to work alongside him while planting,” said Hooper. Rockland Farm includes about 200 acres, eight of which they tend as a series of stunning garden “rooms.” Taking advantage of rock formations, natural contours and distant views, the gardens include an enchanting arrangement of perennial beds, vegetables, woodland plants, trees, and water features. Among the highlights: a 450-foot-long, 35-foot-tall hunk of limestone coughed up in an impressively executed geological Heimlich maneuver *

Madeline pruning her perennial border in mid summer.

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Alliums in the perennial border in late spring.

during the last glacial retreat some 13,000 years ago. The Hoopers bushwhacked their way up and over it, in the process exorcizing it of a veritable hirsute invasive species. For Hooper, gardening became a stress relief, a way to creatively connect with nature, foster a sense of well-being and mindfulness, and recognize the balance and coexistence within ecosystems. But her gardening eventually would lead to bodily wear and tear, particularly pain and stiffness in her shoulders, neck, and upper back. “I had gotten to this point where I thought, ‘This is ridiculous. I should not be in this much pain,’” she said. In 2020 she visited a personal trainer, Jeff Hughes, from Chatham, who guided her toward proper body mechanics

Follow @getgardenfit on Instagram and GardenFit on Facebook for tips and short videos on proper posture and modifications for lifting, hoeing, weeding, carrying, planting, pruning, and more.

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and modifications to her gardening techniques. A month later, following Hughes’ advice, the pain was gone. Hooper was back gardening four to five hours a day. Two years later, with Hughes co-hosting, “GardenFit” was born. In the new season, Hooper is joined by personal trainer and author Adam Schersten. Hooper hadn’t been looking to start a second career. She and Ian were happy to be gardening, doing volunteer work, and traveling around the United States and overseas touring gardens. “But the way I am, when I’m excited about something, I need to tell people,” said Hooper. “I needed to tell people they don’t need to be in pain. Since I’d spent my PR life behind the camera, finding myself in front of it has definitely been novel.”

PHOTOS : GARDENFI T PRODU CTIONS, LLC

Madeline and Ian’s vegetable garden in early summer filled with plants started from seeds.

Take a class! Season one, which featured 13 professional gardeners and farmers—and their unique soreness and discomfort—included two local close-ups: Brooke Bridges of Soul Fire Farm in Petersburgh, New York (and her foot-and-lower-back pain), and sciatica sufferer Matt Larkin, the lopper-wielding mastermind behind Black Barn Farm, a topiary garden in Richmond. The second season focuses on professional artists from across the country who also are passionate gardeners. Among the 13 episodes is a visit to the farm-to-table pioneer Alice Waters, in Berkeley, California. Local stops include the floral designer Jenny Elliott of Tiny Hearts Farm in Copake, New York; culinary artist James Gop of Heirloom Fire in Richmond; interior designer Bunny Williams of Falls Village, Connecticut; and flautist and piccolo player for the Boston Symphony Orchestra Cynthia Meyers, who has homes in Wayland and Lee. “As ‘GardenFit’ fell into place, a lot of the experience seemed familiar, especially finding and visiting gardens,” Hooper said. “I love that.” B

Hooper has a class coming up at Berkshire Botanical Garden showing how to use your body to garden without causing aches and pains, Saturday, May 18, from 10-11:30 a.m. Register at berkshirebotanical.org.

A Selection of Season Two Guests

Jenny Elliott Floral Designer and Farmer Tiny Hearts Farm, Hillsdale, NY

James Gop Culinary Artist Heirloom Fire, Richmond

This move helps stretch Madeline’s back and leg muscles. It’s a great warmup for gardening.

Frances Palmer Ceramic Artist, Weston, CT

Nicholas Varney Jewelry Designer, Stanfordville, NY

Bunny Williams Interior Designer, Falls Village, CT

Season 2 premieres on PBS stations in March. For more information and to stream episodes, visit gardenfit.fit.

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Driving Toward the At the historic Wyndhurst golf course, Miraval Berkshires is bringing their mind-body approach into play. By Christopher Marcisz

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PH OTOS: BERKSH IRE EAGLE ARCH IVES

olf is never just about whacking a little ball into a distant hole. It’s a lifelong obsession to master your swing, and the constant frustration of coming up short. It’s about dreaming of the perfect shot—which must be only a few mechanical tweaks away—instead of being satisfied with that good-enough shot on a beautiful day in the fresh air. The course at Wyndhurst in Lenox has hosted generations of weekend duffers and seasoned pros over the past nearly 100 years. Wyndhurst mansion was designed in 1894 by Boston architects Peabody and Stearns as a classic Gilded Age Berkshire “cottage” for the family of John Sloane, who made his fortune in New York importing rugs and furniture. The grounds were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who was also the mind behind the grounds of 30 Berkshire properties including Wheatleigh and Elm Court in Lenox, not to mention Manhattan’s Central Park. In 1925 the Sloane family sold the estate to developers who created the property’s golf course the following year. It was designed by Wayne Stiles and John Van Kleek. They may not be as famous *

Future

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as their contemporaries Donald Ross or A.W. Tillinghast, but they created many beloved courses, including Taconic Golf Club in Williamstown and Wahconah Country Club in Dalton. Wyndhurst features many aspects of their style: meticulous attention to existing landscape, not-too-long fairways that are kind to most players, and deceptively challenging greens with false fronts and unexpected contours. Over the decades, the property evolved. From 1939 until 1975 it was a Jesuit-run prep school named after Edward Cranwell, who bought and donated the property. Later in the 1980s it became the Cranwell Spa and Conference Center. Miraval took over in 2017 and transformed the property into an all-inclusive wellness resort.

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In keeping with Miraval’s emphasis on mind-body care, it offers mindful golf sessions (see opposite). Luke Salvatore, the resort’s director of golf and recreation, said the course—with the front nine holes winding out into the woods—is a natural for this type of training: “The seclusion makes it pretty easy to get in that zen state.”

Daily play is open to the public, along with the opportunity to book private lessons and clinics with an introduction to the resort’s Mindful Golf practice. Full Mindful Golf sessions are available only to guests (overnight or on a day pass).

PH OTOS: BERKSHI RE EAGLE ARCHI VES

After the estate became the all-boys Cranwell Preparatory School in 1939, nine holes were preserved while the rest of the course became overgrown. A group of teachers and students began to reclaim the entire course in the years before the school closed in 1975.

Make It Mindful: Three tips from Luke Salavtore

MIRAVAL & GOLF: MIRAVAL B ER KSHI RES RESORT & S PA; LUKE SALVATORE: STEPHANIE ZOLLS HAN

Why Do You Play? That question is the starting point for the mindful golf sessions that are available at Miraval Berkshires’ Wyndhurst Golf & Club. The Luke Salvatore program, said Luke Salvatore, director of golf and recreation, encourages golfers of any age or skill level to break down what is really happening when they walk up to the tee. It is about noticing how a player goes through their pre-shot routine or reacts to a terrible shot. The idea is to recognize these patterns and replace them with more positive and effective narratives—beginning players start without frustration and self-doubt, and advanced players learn how positive reinforcement and visualization can let them trust their process and their skills. One workshop focused on putting, “Swinging Under the Stars,” takes place after dark. Players practice their short game with a glow ball, while barefoot so they can notice the topography of the green. “It’s amazing how good people are when they are able to take their eyes out of it,” said Salvatore. B

Remove the word “try” from both

Having a functional pre-shot

You play golf for you, whether you

your inner monologue and your outward comments. “I’m going to try to hit it over the water” allows doubt to creep in. “I’m going to hit it over the water” is much a more committed, confident approach.

routine with intent is so important. Do it each time to prepare to hit a golf shot, even if it’s just a measure to loosen you up and relax.

are a scratch player or weekend warrior. It’s for you, against you. Be the best teammate you can be to yourself. Even in a competitive environment, the only thing you can control is you. Same goes for everyday life.

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LODGE

LOVE BY AMY CONWAY

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOHN GRUEN

It’s amazing what a coat of white paint can do. Or, rather, a coat of whitish, whisper-gray paint, a hushed and understated tone that instantly welcomes and soothes and envelopes you in its warmth. A paint that can transform a space, giving it a whole new look. A fresh start. A mix of mid-centuryinspired furnishings and transitional pieces keep the focus on the outside mountain views.

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That paint was an appropriate choice for Jess Cooney— principal and founder of Jess Cooney Interiors—to make for the renovation of this Pittsfield post-and-beam home, purchased by a newly divorced mom to be used as a getaway for her and her kids. “We wanted it to feel soft for her,” said Cooney, “while keeping some of those strong lines.” Finding balance was what this house was all about. “Not going too far in any one direction,” said Cooney, whose goal was mountain lodge chic, not Colorado rugged. Painting much of the yellow pine that dominated the space—while highlighting some beams with a dark stain—set the tone and “changed the whole architecture of the place,” she said.

The original stone fireplace is a focal point in the living space, framed by stained beams and set off by the newly painted walls (the color is Farrow & Ball Ammonite).

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The kitchen balances light and dark with a blueblack island (Farrow & Ball Railings), stone walls, and pale greenish cabinets (Farrow & Ball Pigeon).

Completely reconfiguring the kitchen, which had felt formal and at odds with the rest of the house, was another priority. The cabinets and island, stoneveneer walls, and a mix of linear and rounded design elements play off each other beautifully. “Nothing’s taking itself too seriously,” said Cooney. Throughout the house you’ll find playful touches, engaging patterns, and cozy corners. The living room, with its soaring ceiling, has a blend of textures—stone, metal, wood, leather—all combined in a restrained way. “A big open space can easily feel visually cluttered and overwhelming,” said Cooney. Strategic choices keep it calm—and don’t distract from the view, to the forest and beyond. B

A tufted caramel headboard in the primary bedroom is balanced by the playful multi-colored area rug and throw pillows.

An alcove in the primary bath is a serene spot for the metal and porcelain soaking tub; behind it, a Phillip Jeffries grasscloth wall covering adds big impact. With its limestone floors, oak vanity, and black accents, the room is a tranquil space to begin and end each day.

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Floor-to-ceiling-custom cabinetry was designed for the mudroom space, with a long bench to tuck ski boots underneath. The walls here are whitewashed—not painted—so the grain of the pine shows through.

“NOTHING’S TAKING ITSELF TOO SERIOUSLY.”

A chaise and wallpapers in complementary large and small prints transform a nook into a comfy reading alcove.

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Wallpaper with monkeys and a bright pop of paint color are fun accents in one of the bedrooms.

Berkshire Roots is normalizing the elevated side of motherhood, where cannabis is not just a choice, but a statement. Step into sophistication with our curated strains, designed to complement your style. Break free and embrace the chic side of cannabis culture. PLEASE CONSUME RESPONSIBLY. IF YOU FEEL DIFFERENT, YOU DRIVE DIFFERENT.

This product has not been analyzed or approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). There is limited information on the side effects of using this product, and there may be associated health risks. Marijuana use during pregnancy and breast-feeding may pose potential harms. It is against the law to drive or operate machinery when under the influence of this product. KEEP THIS PRODUCT AWAY FROM CHILDREN. There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product. Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgment. The impairment effects of Edibles may be delayed by two hours or more. In case of accidental ingestion, contact poison control hotline 1-800-222-1222 or 9-1-1. This product may be illegal outside of MA.