Abby Epplett, Historian

On the same day I saw the daffodils at Parsons Reserve, I went down the road to Frank Knowles Little River Reserve in Dartmouth, MA. The 194 acres of the preserve, now with 9 miles of trails, were purchased by Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust (DNRT) across four parcels between 1996 and 2010. The first of these parcels was donated by Audrey M. Gillum, who served as Trustee of the Ellen Knowles Jackmen Trust. Despite the name in the title, DNRT provides no information about the man on their website. I speculate that Ellen Knowles Jackman, who was buried at Maple Grove Cemetery of Westport, MA in 1994, was the daughter of Frank Knowles, as many other women have donated their inherited properties to New England preservation organizations. After the 1967 death of her husband, Charles William Jackman , she lived at 573 Potomska Road, a quarter mile from the current preserve entrance.

In April, I visited Parsons Reserve in Russells Mills Village Historic District, Dartmouth, MA to visit its locally famous daffodil fields. Part of Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust , a local ecological preservation organizations that has operated since 1971, the thirty-two acres of trails and blossoming fields bring a sense of wonder and whimsy to the otherwise quiet area.

On the third day of my long weekend trip to Western Massachusetts, which I took back in March 2026, I visited The Clark , an art museum in Williamstown, MA. Like my trip to MASS MoCA taken on the day before, my summary of the experience will be divided into three parts. In the first part , I described artwork found inside the museum building. In this second part , I covered the architecture of the building, a nearby historic building, and some outside sculptures. In the third part, I will describe the rest of the outside sculptures and give tips on how to visit the museum.

On the third day of my long weekend trip to Western Massachusetts, which I took back in March 2026, I visited The Clark , an art museum in Williamstown, MA. Like my trip to MASS MoCA taken on the day before, my summary of the experience will be divided into three parts. In the first part , I described artwork found inside the museum building. In this second part, I will cover the architecture of the building, a nearby historic building, and some outside sculptures. In the third part, I will describe the rest of the outside sculptures and give tips on how to visit the museum.

While creating the instrumental for “The Story of the Ring”, I brought back musical themes and motifs used in previous sections while introducing new themes. In this essay, I will describe the history and inspiration behind the new themes for Sauron, Ringwraiths, Gil-galad, and Men of Westernesse while demonstrating how these themes fit together to create a cohesive score.

On the third day of my long weekend trip to Western Massachusetts, which I took back in March 2026, I visited The Clark , an art museum in Williamstown, MA. Like my trip to MASS MoCA taken on the day before, my summary of the experience will be divided into three parts. In the first part, I will describe artwork found inside the museum building. In the second part, I will cover the architecture of the building, a nearby historic building, and some outside sculptures. In the third part, I will describe the rest of the outside sculptures and give tips on how to visit the museum.

On the second day of my long weekend trip to western Massachusetts in March 2026, I visited MASS MoCA , the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams. Due to the size of the museum, I am covering this visit in three posts. The first part described the building, local history and ecology, and artwork on the exterior. The second part described the my favorite exhibits at the museum. This third part will describe the permanent Sol LeWitt exhibit and give tips on how to visit the museum.

On the second day of my long weekend trip to western Massachusetts in March 2026, I visited MASS MoCA , the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams. Due to the size of the museum, I am covering this visit in three posts. The first post described the building, local history and ecology, and artwork on the exterior. This second part will describe the my favorite exhibits at the museum. The third part will describe the permanent Sol DeWitt exhibit and tips on how to visit the museum.

The War of the Last Alliance was referenced by Gandalf as a major event in the history of the One Ring. Both Gil-galad and Elendil died in the Siege of Barad-dûr, the fortress of Sauron, along with many Elves and Men. While Isildur survived and killed Sauron by cutting off the finger wearing the One Ring, Isildur kept the ring instead of destroying it and was killed by Orcs two years later during the Disaster of Gladden Fields. This was a paradoxical location. The Gladden River was a tributary of the Great River Anduin, the longest river in Middle-earth, and the Gladden Fields were formed where the Gladden reached the Anduin. The soil in this area would have been fertile, perfect for growing plants, hence the many gladdens flowering in the area. At the same time, it would be remembered for generations as a place of death.

On the second day of my long weekend trip to western Massachusetts in March 2026, I visited MASS MoCA , the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams. Due to the size of the museum, I will cover it in three posts. The first post will describe the building, local history and ecology, and artwork on the exterior. The second part will describe the most long term an short term exhibits at the museum during my visit. The third part will describe the permanent Sol DeWitt exhibit and tips on how to visit the museum.