There is always some date in February when the urgent call of spring renewal defeats the leaden desire for inaction, baked goods and pasta. And when I heed that call, I am compelled to spend some time outside walking and engaging with like minded plants and animals. February 23 was the day this year, when I needed to and had the energy to slug off a long hard winter hibernation.
This is what I saw.
Can you identify my garden plants from their sprouts?
One bird’s love song is another birds dinner bell. The hawk was waiting for dinner to be served. The barn bird had a nest hidden beneath the loose shingle. You can see the buds on the trees in the hawk photos.
It was nearly 60-degrees when I went strolling. Many neighbors shared the roads and pathways with me. Ultimately I put in about 3 miles and was energized more than tired by the excursion.
There are white birch in the woods behind my house, but this one is the one that ventured farthest from the other clusters and closest to our property. And well, pussywillows, need I say more. The barn is the home of many wild birds and once I saw a raccoon had made its home inside as well, but that was when the farm grew more corn.
During a tour of Chris’ Farm Stand, one of Haverhill’s many large tracts of agricultural space, for an article I was writing for a local paper, I noticed that despite the absolutely packed schedule of the day with tentacles of mayhem trying to drag me/pull me into stress and chaos, I felt calm, and what was that sensation…. happiness. Being outside with a farm dog to pat and the explosion of growth in the fields, provides me with a serenity and clarity that little else can. And this is in Haverhill, just a couple of miles from the urban center of our small city, a city more often thought of in terms of its bustling downtown than the agricultural expanses that actually make up more of the city than the downtown area does.
Haverhill is home to over a dozen farms that provide everything from Christmas trees, sunflowers, and raspberries, to eggs, meat, produce, and honey. So it is no wonder I had plenty of choices when it came time to enter the Topsfield Fair Farm photo competition.
And while the chance to share a side of Haverhill that is often overlooked was reward enough, I was pretty dang excited to harvest a crop of ribbons for my efforts. I entered four photos; won three ribbons, including one first place and two honorable mentions in a crowded field.
So I’d like to salute Haverhill’s farms, sustaining me not just through their food, but also through their beauty (I won $10!!! for my first place ribbon.)
The photos of me with my entries were taken by my supportive husband, Jonathan Campbell who knows how to show a girl a good time at the Fair – Learneds Blueberry cobbler, a quart of Leavitts darkest maple syrup, and a willingness to judge (in our own amateur way) the flower entries and dahlias. (c) Jonathan W Campbell
Here are my copyrighted photos of my entries: Tattersall Farm – Farm Equipment (1st place), Chris’ Farm Stand – Farm people (Honorable mention), Kimball Farm – Farm Animals (Mark and Mike) Honorable mention. The photo of draft horses Mark and Mike at Kimball Farm was selected by the readers of my Facebook page, The Heartbeat of Haverhill. Good choice readers. Thank you! I may not have won a ribbon with my fourth entry, but I was so impressed with the beauty of Turkey Hill Farm Christmas trees that I entered an image into the landscape category, and also included that picture in my The Heartbeat of Haverhill calendar last year. All photos (c) by Alison Colby-Campbell
Tattersall Farm — Antique farm equipment in snow. 1st place farm equipment category (c) Alison Colby-CampbellChris’ Farm Stand – negotiating for a pumpkin. Honorable mentionThe Heartbeat of Haverhill’s readers’ favorite Mark and Mike at Kimball farm Haverhill reaped an honorable mention (c)Alison Colby-CampbellTurkey Hill Farm – Unique tree marking technique. (c)Alison Colby-Campbell
I also entered two framed photographs (beautifully and expeditiously framed by Ideal Frame of Haverhill) into the Fine Arts competition, no ribbons there, but was so pleased to see my friends who love photography, arts, quilting, and knitting did grab some top honors. And not surprisingly some of my favorite farms took home ribbons for the wonders that they grow.
Plug Pond Fishing – The Last Cast in memory of my father who made his last cast at Plugs Pond in 2018 (c)Alison Colby-CampbellRelay for Life at NECC Haverhill, my photo captured all these angels dancing wildly at the event. (c)Alison Colby-Campbell
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The Farms of Haverhill, Massachusetts provide a balm to stressful lives. If you are looking for good food for the body, heart, and soul, check them out. (I am definitely missing a few, add names in comments.)
Chris’ Farm Stand Known for: Poultry, eggs, veggies (especially corn and tomatoes), CSA and activities. Vendor at Haverhill’s Farmers Market
Crescent Farm Known for: Ice cream, cider donuts, Northeast Tractor Pull competition, supplying silage to feed the Richardson Dairy Cows
Fays Farm and Orchard Known for: pick your own and already picked apples and peaches, cider. Vendor at Haverhill’s Farmers Market
Jon Campbell & I were invited to exhibit some of our photos at the Ipswich River Watershed Association 40th Anniversary event. The reception is at IRWA HQ on Sunday Nov. 5 2017 from 1-4 pm at 143 County Road Ipswich. The Watershed includes 21 cities and towns and the Ipswich River with its 45 tributary streams cover an area of 155 square miles. Both of my photos were taken in Middleton, one of only three communities that rests 100% within the watershed.
“End of Season with Picnic Table” was taken on the Ipswich River in Middleton. What appealed to me in this image was that it looked like a black and white photo until the brown leaves and matching picnic table pop off the page. That snow topped table in relation to the only partially frozen river, instilled in me a certain wistfulness. Winter hadn’t quite taken hold yet, and I had in the back of my head been hoping for one more day of Indian Summer. This scene made that hope seem pretty much hopeless. Finding this photo again in November, was especially poignant as we head back into the season that robs us of dining outdoors options. With effort, I remind myself there is a plus side – it minimizes bugs and ants.
“Misty Trees” was taken in Middleton along the Cuchnea (SP?) trail abutting Prichards Pond. It is one of the few photos of mine that stops me in my tracks every time. It is a photograph that I miss when it’s spent too long in the deep archives of my photo collection. It was never a big prize winner in local photo contests but it continues to speak to me, and I find, a few other people who are drawn to it. I’ve framed it three or four times now, but this new frame is the best of the lot. “Misty Trees” earned an honorable mention in the Middleton Stream Team Competition, and at the competition I learned that within a few days of my taking this picture the area (a tree farm) was clear cut. No one will ever see this image again except through photography.
Exhibits require the very nerve wracking process of updating my bio. Ugh, so much less fun than taking pictures. So I put together the panel below in the hope it said enough.
No such luck. Bios, I am told, need more words. Usually I love writing but writing about myself is such a hideous task. Ultimately I settled on this, at least for expediency’s sake. It will be tweeked again, I am sure, but I just don’t want to look at it anymore.
What started out as a means to keep personal memories alive and share the irrepressible beauty surrounding us, is taking over more of Alison Colby-Campbell’s life. A long career as a professional marketing consultant exposes Alison to composition and messaging, both of which play into the positive stories she likes to tell through her photography, her calendar, blog and Facebook page, The Heartbeat of Haverhill, Alison Colby-Campbell Photography, and her articles for Haverhill Life Magazine. Alison credits The Middleton Stream Team Photo Competitions with encouraging her through a series of wins to place more emphasis on her photography.
Alison and her husband, Jonathan W. Campbell, who live in Haverhill, Massachusetts, find shooting photographs together provides an opportunity for collaboration, support, and competition that stimulates and encourages artistic growth. When she puts the cameras down, she usually finds she misses the perfect photo opp, but it does give her time to care for 2 giant and surly house rabbits, a weed ravaged garden, super lengthy Haverhill Cultural Council meetings, and binge watching Stranger Things.
Awards and Recognition:
November 2016 photography exhibit with her husband at the Massachusetts State House sponsored by State Rep Diana DiZoglio
First Place and a Best in Category at Topsfield Fair fine arts competition, and First Place in Agriculture photography at the Fair, too
The Heartbeat of Haverhill 2016 Calendar was selected for a city time capsule
First Place and People’s Choice Award in the Essex National Heritage Area photo competition
Cover photos chosen for the Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce (GHCC) Members’ Guide, GHCC Visitors’ Guide, and Haverhill Life Magazine
Let’s face it, we wouldn’t enter if we didn’t hope. And that is why after missing the Farm Photo deadline, all my hope was behind the two photographs I entered into the 2017 Topsfield Fair Fine Arts Professional category. And that is why I zoomed passed all the fascinating sights, sounds, and smells along the way to get to the middle of the Fair ASAP. Destination – Coolidge Building.
My pace slowed as my eyes adjusted and then darted in every direction inside the fine art section. The other entries!!! Wow, such stellar talent on display. My expectations deflated with each in the never ending sequence of awesome photos that weren’t mine. I couldn’t even locate my entries. Eventually, I found one, and then the other, neither obstructed by any colored ribbon. I didn’t win, even though I really loved my photos.
I wrapped my head around the fact there wasn’t going to be a long section in my Christmas letter about photography scores this year. But that mood dampening thought dissolved in the presence of pat-loving sheep, Volkswagen-sized pumpkins, and ice cream melting on warm blueberry crisp. Instead the future called to me in the potential to snag a few photos as the sky warmed then dimmed in a way that really showcased the fair’s neon. Is that portion of ferris wheel at sunset a potential winner? I shot until batteries died, then switched cameras until those batteries died, too, then dragged myself and my 10+lbs of equipment to the car. I’d be back again at least one more time this year.
The Fair though it spans 10-days was over almost as quickly as my blueberry crisp and it was time to retrieve this year’s best hope. One photo could not be located. Hey what?! I loved that picture; you have to find it. And then hope crept back in as I haltingly queried: “Is it…possible… it sold?” Without knowing me, I got the impression the woman assisting me had sized me up as a procrastinating non-winner, she seemed disengaged. In her defense, she probably had lots to do to tie up loose ends with this Fair and prepare for the next in 346 days. She went back to look, again. I wanted to shout after her – “I can explain. I couldn’t come to the official pick up day because my dad went into the hospital, yes I am a procrastinator but not this time… he’s doing better by the way.”
She came back empty handed and made a call. Then with a simple quiet comment let me know that the other photo had sold. What!!!! I tried to match her professional and quiet demeanor by tamping down my enthusiasm and withholding loud statements like “WOOHOO! Where are the confetti cannons, the marching band, the interviews on TMZ?” This subduing effort subsequently exploded my brain as I took an email address from her to get more information and promptly lost it even before completing the series of calls I made in the parking lot to hopefully interested family members. I sold a photo, the very first time I offered one for sale at Topsfield Fair! Whoever bought it, you rock.
I had a day to get over that excitement (okay, I’m not really over it yet) when I received a request asking my husband and me to be part of a new regional photography exhibition to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the 21-city and town Ipswich River Water Shed Association. And that just jump started my excitement all over. And my Christmas letter, as I write it in my mind, is sounding pretty good!
A recent surgery required that I not lift anything over 10 lbs for 2-3 months. During the first week of my recovery that was fine; I hadn’t been inspired to stray too far from my bed, much less bring a camera with me. But then my real life started seeping back in… a walk to the back deck required a telephoto lens to help identify a bird, my little container garden was offering up the lush orbs of my better looking than tasting purple cherry tomatoes, the deck spider’s web was bedazzled in mist and security light …. I relocated my camera bag.
It is a short distance to carry my camera bag from the top floor to the back deck, but per doctor’s orders, I reviewed the contents for possible editing: extra cameras out, extra lenses out, tripod gone, extra batteries out… no wait I need those, and so first one then another slid into my pants pockets (pocket stuffers can’t count as lifting, can they?) The concern was ignored that fatigue might see me tossing the pants and batteries alike into the hamper upon my return to rest.
From there I road shotgun with my husband just glad to see something visible beyond our plot of land. He carried the bag to the car and waited within for my mini excursions to tire me out. I wiggled out of the car in my new more cautious gait with a single camera and my battery. Foolishly I’d culled even my phone and edged into the woods on a broad short trail. Prizes winners? Probably not, but at least I’d have something to enter into the Middleton Stream Team competition.
Days in bed meant I missed the cut-off for the Topsfield Fair Farm Photo contest, but that would not prevent me from checking out the beautiful backdrop of early autumn at Smolak Farm with an eye to next year, plus I still had a couple of days to switch out my Fine Arts photography entries if I captured something I really loved. Then like a donkey chasing after a carrot on a stick, I edged from one heavily laden antique apple tree to another absolutely perfect display of apples that was just out of range of my one lens.
Between the Middleton wetlands and the farm fruitlands, I probably walked a mile over uneven terrain, up and down modest inclines, knowing full well the next day would, by necessity, be a day of rest…. but I’d be back out the day after that with one camera, one all purpose lens and as many batteries and memory sticks as I can jam in my pocket. Can’t wait until the sun shines again because adding a flash just isn’t in the cards right now.
Tattersall Farm in my city of Haverhill, MA at 542 North Broadway needs to occupy a lot more of my time. I photographed there basically as a fly by, stopping to preserve my mood after a kid missed the bus to the high school or on my way to hike trails elsewhere, or to check out the community gardens.
This photo retrospective reminds me there’s a lot to see in any season. Disclaimer – My initial thought “well, maybe not spring”, shifted when I wrote a recent article for Haverhill Life Magazine on the trails here. I was delighted by the surprise of single daffodils peeking out above the grass and dandelions to mark the trail across the field.
With hiking trails, community gardens, wild flower areas, arguably the oldest living oak on city property, heritage apple trees, a daffodil lined path, and bobolinks, tree swallows, turkeys and hawks arriving for their photo ops along with a few deer, even the barren trees offer a beauty worth sharing.
If you are interested in purchasing prints of these images contact me through this blog. Prices range for matted prints: Up to 90 sq inches $50, Up to 150 sq inches $80. For larger sizes or to license photographs for digital or commercial usage, please call for a quote.
alison colby-campbell photography 