By Liz, coming to grips with the end of summer and looking forward to the first pumpkin spice latte of the season….
I’m neck-deep in revisions right now, as well as halfway through the first draft of another book, but with the start of the cooler weather I vowed to get back into one of my favorite habits: Walking the town green with the dogs.
Some of you might know the green was where the idea for Stan’s small town, Frog Ledge, in the Pawsitively Organic Mysteries, originated. It seemed like the perfect place around which to build a town. This town green is actually very interesting. It’s about a mile long, a portion is still being used for agriculture, and a number of historic buildings are positioned around it. The dogs like the gravel path that runs the perimeter.
In the books, Stan lives right on the green, which I always thought would be fun. You get front row seats for all the cool events, from Farmers’ Markets to National Dance Like a Chicken Day (I’m not kidding!). 
People walk, run and take their dogs and kids with them along the path. Shaggy loves meeting all the other dogs along the way. (The boys bark out of jealousy at Shaggy making new friends.)
It’s also a place where you can sit on a bench and read, or meditate, or simply sit and watch the town go by.
It’s quintessential New England – the church looks like it belongs on a postcard, right?
By the time the dogs get around the entire mile, they usually want to rest and enjoy the scenery.
We’re looking forward to an autumn full of walks, colorful trees and scenery, and lots of pictures to share with readers who want to have a good picture of Frog Ledge. We’re grateful to have the green in our neighborhood! 
Readers, what’s your favorite place?
Looks lovely and peaceful, Liz! And, yes, very New England!
Totally, Reine!
What a delightful place to walk, Liz! I hope Stan attends Dance Like a Chicken Day in the next book. (Wait, didn’t you already have some crazy chicken costume day? Aha! [ran and checked], Those were groundhogs.)
I know – Dance Like a Chicken Day is begging to be written about!
Sounds like huge fun with endless possibilities on all fronts! I’d buy it!
this is Cincinnati, so instead of a bucolic town green, we have an old airport within walking distance of our house. It used to be crammed with small planes and the occational mysterious black chopper. Now it’s a park, with walkers, joggers, bikers and skaters using the runways. Hiking on the runways (painted with big X’s indicating airport closed do not land) is surreal. Great birding too, lots of meadow birds and hawks.
That sounds cool, Margaret!
Town greens (or commons as they were called in my part of Massachusetts) were one of the first things I fell in love with when we moved to Massachusetts. In the Midwest, where I grew up, there are lots of small towns with town squares often with a courthouse taking up most of the space. But they aren’t quite as charming as a green or common.
I never lived near one before this, and it is very charming.
I’m so jealous. I’ve never lived anywhere that had something close to that. We do have a nice bike/walking/running path that goes all through town, however. In fact, I do a lot of my running on it. Fortunately, there’s an entrance 1/2 miles from my front door. Unfortunately, in my part of town, the path is fairly close to one of the major streets (like a sidewalk, really) and I have to stop for signals. In other parts of town, it’s on a wash and much quieter/secluded. Still, I could myself lucky I have something like that at all.
That’s neat, Mark! We have something called the Airline Trail, an old rail trail that runs throughout most of eastern Connecticut used for biking, hiking, etc. It’s a neat place.
We love to walk and sit and enjoy the scenery at Westville Dam Recreation Area. It is partly in Southbridge and Sturbridge MA. It is about a mile from my house. They also have the Dam area that you can go to and walk and enjoy the scenery there.
Pretty, Gabby!
Many people despair of the traffic patterns created by our greens, commons and squares, but I love them!
I do, too!
We don’t have a lot of traffic problems around the green here in little old Lebanon, CT – but I think people would still love the green!