The Tanglewood on Labor Day Weekend always rocks! This popular and long-celebrated tradition sends summer off on a high note and welcomes that most vibrant time of year, autumn in the Berkshires!

This year’s festival opens on Friday, September 4, with An Evening with Paquito d’Rivera.

Radio Deluxe with John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molskey sets the tone for Saturday afternoon, September 5. With special guests Bucky Pizzarelli, Aaron Weinstein, and Harry Allen, this event will be taped live for a national radio broadcast.

The evening features Reverse Thread with the Regina Carter Quartet as well as Dreaming the Duke with Nnenna Freelon, Harolyn Blackwell and, and Mike Garson.

Swing and sway on Sunday afternoon with A Piano Duet with Kenny Barron, Mulgrew Miller, and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra.

The Jazz Festival concludes on Sunday evening with A Triumph of Trumpets with the Jon Faddis Quartet and The Dave Holland Octet.

And back by popular demand, the Tanglewood Jazz Cafe features exciting new artists performing prior to each show in a relaxed cabaret-style setting, free with a ticket to the mainstage performance.

You can purchase tickets by phone, 888-266-1200, online at tanglewood.org, or in person at the Tanglewood Box Office.

And Birchwood still has good availability!

[I love to wag my tail in time with the music at the Jazz Festival! Quinn]

There are many ways to see the Berkshires [My personal favorite way is hiking. Quinn]. Sightseeing by car, boat, or train are the most common. But floating through the air adds a totally unique perspective.

A couple of years ago, several very special guests and Ellen climbed aboard a hot air balloon from Worthington Ballooning and sailed above Lenox, like floating on a cloud. It was phenomenal to see Lenox from the air and realize that we are really in the mountains! Soaring above local shops, restaurants, and inns was like visiting old friends and seeing them again for the first time. It was especially fun to float over Birchwood Inn and wave to staff! I have always considered Lenox to be beautiful but by balloon Lenox took my breath away!

And now you can fly through the forest canopy from tree to tree while the sounds and sights of nature rush past you! Zoar Outdoor opens in Charlemont in June, the first zip line canopy tour in southern New England. The three-hour long 11 zip line adventure offers an exhilarating trip through the top of a mixed hardwood forest as well as broad views of the Deerfield River valley and its surrounding peaks.

The zip line trend continues to gain in popularity. Berkshire East ski area will open a zip line course this summer. And Catamont Adventure Park in Egremont has opened the country’s largest self-guided rope advenutre course with a handful of zip lines.

If you are tired of same old, same old, take to the air!

Gnocchi with Morels and Snap Peas

We just returned from eating and drinking our way through Napa and Sonoma counties in California! I must tell you that we dined in some of the US’s most incredible restaurants, all of which have cushy carpeting for me to snooze.

The Napa Valley at this time of year is heavenly! The air is infused with roses and rosemary, which are in bloom in profusion.

One of the dining highlights was Martini House in St. Helena, owned by renown chef Todd Humphries. This is where Peter Chenaux will be starting his externship tomorrow, having graduated from the Culinary Institute of America’s Greystone campus. An innovative and tasty culinary experience with excellent and welcoming service.

The ultimate culinary experience had to be at Cyrus in Healdsburg. Everything from service through the eight-course tasting menu was a feast for the eyes and the palate. A sample tasting for you: Thai-Marinated Lobster with Avocado, Mango, and Hearts of Palm; Gnocchi with morels and snap peas; Soft Shell Crab with corn and scallions; Wagyu Beef with burdock and shiso in oxtails umeshu consomme artisanal and farmhouse cheeses; Verjus Sorbet with blood orange riesling soup to cleanse the palate; Strawberry Rhubarb Bread Pudding; and Caramelized Walnut Carrot Cake with yuzu-carrot sorbet. Wait,  there was more! Upon departing, they presented us with a personalized menu and a rich chocolate cake to take home. Each dish was accompanied by Cyrus-chosen international wines.

Memorable feasts!

Stunning Shakespeare. Bold Voices. Fantastic fun. This is what Shakespeare & Company has planned for it’s 2009-2010 line up.

In May, there is a limited run of Shirley Valentine, part of the Diva Series, featuring Shakespeare & Company’s own Tina Packer. (May 27-31). The popular Golda’s Balcony is back, another part of the Diva Series (June 17-Sept. 13).

This season’s play bill includes Hamlet, Othello, Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, and Measure for Measure. The summer schedule also includes Pinter’s Mirror (3 of Pinter’s best one-act plays), The Devil’s Advocate, White People, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and the world premiere of The Actors Rehearse the Story of Charlotte Salomon. And more!

The Hound of the Baskervilles runs through October and November while December features Cindy Bella. The new year features Les Liaisons Dangereuses from Jan. 29-March 21.

Shakespeare & Company is just a mile from Birchwood Inn! [I know because that is one of my favorite walks! Quinn]

A true harbinger of spring in Lenox, MA,  is the re-opening of The Mount, author Edith Wharton’s restored 100+ year-old mansion, on Friday, May 1.

The first female Pulitzer Prize-winning author designed and built The Mount in 1902, based on her theories of proportion, harmony, simplicity, and suitability. Restored in the late 1990s-early 2000s, The Mount sits elegantly on 50 acres of lush gardens and greenery.

Tour the mansion and stroll the gardens. And The Mount’s newest exhibition, “Shaking the Foundation: Edith Wharton and the First World War,” opens on May 22.

Just as Tanglewood is the “must see” in Lenox, The Mount is the “must do.”

[From late June on, you can enjoy the view of Edith's gardens while having a light lunch on the marble patio. [The patio is ideal for me, offering a great opportunity to cool off on the marble and possibly munch on a tidbit, inadvertently dropped. Quinn]

Remember to ask your innkeeper for your $1.00 off  the $16.00  admission fee.

Experience dance from around the world performed at Jacob’s Pillow, a national historic landmark, celebrating its 77th season!

The 2009 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival season opens on June 20 with the the annual gala, “the best party in the Berkshires,” “A Jazz Happening.” Then it’s on to Spain and the Mujeres and the passion, driving rhythms, and soul of flamenco. From Spain, it’s on to Slovenia with Romeo and Juliet set to the music of Radiohead. Onwards to Taiwan and the humor and poignant humanity of Lafa & Artists.

The season moves from the Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet to France and the evocative production by Groupe Emile Dubois; to David Rousseve/Reality, inspired by dances from India, Indonesia and West Africa.

In the midst of the around the world dance tour, Merce Cunningham Dance Company celebrates its 90th birthday at Jacob’s Pillow.

Back to the tour and Les Grand Ballets Canadiens de Montreal, one of the most significant forces in international ballet today; Ballet Hispanico and its fusion of Latin, classical ballet, and modern dance. And so much more! The whirlwind season runs until August 30.

[This venue may be called The Pillow but you won't be caught napping! Quinn]

Everyone loves Piper!

I maybe Top Dog at Birchwood Inn, but, alas, I’m not the only dog. Piper, an 11-year-old “Blab,” a beagle and black lab mix, used to visit for short periods of time with Ellen’s son Peter. But four years ago, Piper arrived for what appears to be for good. Reminds me of “The Man Who Came to Dinner.”

Piper does know her place. She knows not to touch my tennis balls, which is okay with her because she prefers trees! Most dogs like to chew on sticks, but Piper chews on trees. Really! The bigger the branch the better. When she finds one in the garden, she tries to bring it to the inn, but she invariably hits a sign post along the way. Picture a beagle-size dog with a 10-foot branch in her mouth. Hilarious!

Piper also loves to chew on my old toys. At breakfast time, she often has the whole menagerie out in the dining room. Watch out for the stuffed elephant!

Piper, moreover, has wanderlust and has been found all over Lenox. We do try to keep her at the inn, but age hasn’t slowed her down. Open the door, and there she goes. We’ve had calls from Kennedy Park, where she loves to hike; from Belvoir Terrace, a girls’ arts camp nearby; Lenox Coffee; and Lenox Library. Everyone knows Piper! She makes sure of that. Last summer she made her acting debut, streaking across the stage of an outdoor production at Shakespeare and Company. No stage fright for her! (Only despair for Ellen!)

Piper has several favorite haunts. She loves the expansive lawn at St. Ann’s Church. It’s great for rolling on her back, to the amusement of passers-by. And in nice weather, she loves to frequent Haven, a local breakfast/lunch restaurant. She sits at one of the outdoor tables and waits for someone to sit down to talk with her. She claims she doesn’t eat anything, but what are those telltale bits of sugar on her whiskers?

And everyone except Ed, who lives across the street, loves Piper. Go figure!

[Photo to come when we figure out how to download it]

I’m sorry to interrupt you, Quinn, but I would like to tell your fans about a wonderfully engaging book I just finished — Pulitzer Prize winning author Geraldine Brook’s People of the Book.

It happens to be a wonderful coincidence that I read this book just before Passover. The famed Sarajevo Haggadah (a Haggadah is the book read during the Passover Seder) is most likely more than 500 years old, and amazingly it has survived the Inquisition, exiles and wars.

The Haggadah was most likely created in Spain, and its journey to Sarajevo is shrouded in mystery. Brooks takes you on that journey, the one she that she imagines based on known facts.

Just returned from the international innkeeping conference in Atlanta. Wow! Do those innkeepers ever work hard to keep improving your bed and breakfast experience!

We did take some time out for fun and went to the aquarium. This is probably the third or fourth aquarium I’ve been to, and since the viewing area is quite low for children, I can see the various fish, including sharks! I am always mesmerized. [I also recommend the Maritimes aquarium in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.]

Then on to Coke. They do put on a great exhibit, and you get to sample Coke-owned beverages from around the world. Ellen really seemed to like the carbonated apple drink from China since she kept going back for more! So, if you’re ever in China…

The exhibit was the prelude to the Coke Store. Anything you can think of is available with the Coke logo! They and Disney are the best at branding!

It was weird in Atlanta as we rarely saw people on the street in the heart of downtown. There were some very nice homeless people who greeted me each morning on the closest patch of grass.

Ellen and I are dashing out right after breakfast, heading to Atlanta for the international innkeeper conference [You would not believe how crazy innkeepers can get when they are together! Quinn]. Meanwhile, the guests are raving about this morning’s waffles.

This recipe came from our friend Lynnette, who owns the very lovely William Henry Miller Inn in Ithaca, NY. She found it via Rachel Ray who “stole” it from a restaurant in Chattanooga, TN, with the unlikely name of Aretha Frankensteins!

Waffles of Insane Greatness – You Have to Be Crazy Not to Eat Them!

Makes 4 large waffles

3/4 cup all-purpose flour/1/4 cup cornstarch/1/2 tsp. baking powder/1/4 tsp. baking soda/1/2 tsp. salt/1 tsp. cinnamon/1/2 tsp. ginger/1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg/1 cup whole milk or buttermilk/1/3 canola oil/ 1 egg/ 1 1/2 tsp. sugar/ 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Mix well. Add the milk, oil, egg, sugar and vanilla and mix well. Let the batter sit for 30 minutes.

Preheat the waffle iron. Do not use non-stick spray on the waffle iron since the oil in the batter will allow the waffles to release easily. Follow the directions for your waffle iron to cook the waffles.

Serve immediately.

At Birchwood Inn, we spike the Berkshire maple syrup with lightly toasted pecans and a couple of splashes of bourbon.

[And if you just happen to drop a piece of waffle on the floor. Call me and I'll be right there! Quinn]