The Swanery: A dog-friendly home on the CT river

The Swanery is a charming house on the CT river. It's walking distance to Turners Falls, ten minutes from Greenfield, 20 minutes from Brattleboro VT, and 30 minutes from Northampton. Private upstairs! 2 bedrooms, living room w/TV, fridge/freezer and microwave, bathroom. (Full kitchen downstairs.) Front bedroom has a lovely view of the river and the Turners Falls bridge. Living here are 2 adorable cats and 1 extremely & adorable friendly dog who LOVES other dogs. Fenced-in back yard 4 dogs! A cross between a California Bungalow and a New England farm house, the house is beautiful and rustic. Guests have the upstairs to themselves (only the sitting room, which is attached to the guests' private bathroom, has some of the host's belongings.) The upstairs bathroom is small & difficult to photograph, but it contains a toilet, sink and shower and it is entirely private. Guests may venture downstairs to share the large kitchen, music room and living room (with lots of sun and a picture window looking out over the river) and the large front porch. (Update! Due to Covid, there is now a small fridge/freezer and microwave upstairs in the private area. There should be little reason to access the common areas downstairs, but if you do please issue a warning, and wear masks. Your hostess is fully vaccinated and hopes that you are too, but will wear masks anyway.) Laundry is available although guests must notify the host before using the dryer, as it is in a private space. The kitchen is large and beautiful. There's a music room with a piano and various other instruments. It looks out over the river (and the driveway.) An attached living room has couches and a large picture window looking out over the river, and... at 5pm it's the doggie parade! Everyone in the neighborhood walks their dogs past the house and it is fun to watch them. Constructive feedback (there is a suggestion book and a guest book) is always appreciated. The Swanery is always, and always will be, a work in progress. If you return you will likely see some of your own suggestions implemented! Small improvements are always in the works. Please park in the driveway, as far to the left as you can, to make space for other cars. If you have multiple cars you can also park on the side of the road, right next to the driveway, or across the street. Be carful to NEVER park in front of any neighbors’ houses. In wintertime, if it snows, all cars must be in the driveway so that they don’t interfere with plowing. Then the plows will leave a snowbank in front of the driveway, which must be dug out. Instructions for the keypad front door lock are on the front door. You will have a code that either you made up or I will give you before your arrival. Please be careful not to let the cats out at all. The black-and-white cat, Miss Penance, loves to come to the front door & think about going out, so look out for her. She’s the friendly cat and will probably keep you company upstairs if you allow her to. You can bring your things straight upstairs & make yourself at home. You are welcome to make use of the downstairs, though there may be people hanging out and due to Covid it will be necessary to all wear masks. Your host lives in the two rooms behind the kitchen, so those are the rooms NOT to enter w/out permission (the dryer is back there too, as is the door to the back yard.) If I/we do not want to be bothered, the door to the back rooms will be closed & it will say “Private” on the door. If the door is open you are welcome to knock & say hello &/or ask for things. The best way to access the back yard is through the gate at the end of the driveway. Be sure to keep the gate closed & hooked shut at all times (except, of course, when you are entering or exiting.) I can keep to myself or socialize with the best of them, depending on the wishes of my guests and my own energy levels. Within reasonable hours I am always available to answer questions or show things to guests. The Swanery is in a quiet little neighborhood of Gill, MA called Riverside. Down the road and around the bend is Barton Cove, a state park where you can rent boats and admire all sorts of waterfowl, and sometimes a beaver. Up the road the other way is the beautiful Turners Falls bridge, which crosses over the dam. The falls (and the house!) are viewable from the bridge. It's an easy walk or a two-minute drive to the burgeoning arts community of Turners Falls. The Swanery is just blocks from Route 2, with easy access to routes 91 and 5. Guests will need to have a car if they hope to go anywhere. Other transportation is extremely limited. An excellent bike rider could easily make it to Greenfield though, and of course Turners Falls. There are several bikes available for guests to use... they just may need some dusting off and pumping up. Inara, the world's cutest dog, lives at The Swanery with two great cats, and they all love visitors! At night, the house lights up with color. Many of the colored lights can be switched to plain white or yellow, for people who prefer something a little less whimsical. Riverside is a great neighborhood for walking. If you walk down the road, where it bends there is a lookout, which was the foundation for a bridge to Turners Falls which was washed away in a hurricane long ago. Now you can enjoy standing on the foundation, or picnicing there, where you can see from the current Turners Falls Bridge to Barton Cove. On the cove there are swans and Canada geese, and many other waterfowl. If you want to actually put your toes in the water there is a tiny beach, about 10’ long, that you can access after the bend in the road, just after the end odf the guardrail. There is a boat launch which you can access by car, by going out to Route 2 and driving until you see the sign for Public Boat Launch.