It's a good news/bad news sorta day.
In those mixed blessings is our lilac bushes, which look like they've seen better days. So we reach out to UMass Extension Plant Pathologist Nicholas Brazee to find out if this is a normal occurrence, or if something more sinister and flood related is happening. But what we find out about the plant and tree life in the area is far more alarming than we'd imagined.
And that knowledge surely needs a chaser. So we head to West Springfield where Table & Vine Ambassador Michael Quinlan comes to our rescue. There we explore a grape that is much maligned, even by ourselves.
Towards the good, for Live Music Friday Franklin County duo High Tea joins us this Bandcamp Friday, ahead of their show at Hawks & Reed on Sept. 2nd. They're delightful and powerful, and are a recent addition to the lineup for the River and Roads Festival coming to Easthampton on Sept 9th, where they'll share a stage with Dar Williams, Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls, and more.
