Subject: More Rambles on Living in Vermont
Good evening all:
It has been an interesting week in our hometown, Mt. Holly Vermont. We just got home from our first venture to the famous Weston Playhouse where we saw a great musical drama called “Next to Normal”- a Pulitzer Prize winning play- in one of the country’s most prestigious summer stock venues. These performers are certainly headed to Broadway, and the music was incredible- even though they keep the musicians in the basement and out of sight (I thought it was just a good recording for most of the night). We get the Vermont resident discount which makes it incredibly affordable and it takes us about 15 minutes to get there. Coming back the traffic was a bit slow- we passed two cars coming in the opposite direction. We will be regulars for the rest of the summer season.
On Saturday we spent a pretty typical Vermont weekend day- headed to Rutland in the morning for bull goose Looney of all farm markets and made arrangements to participate in a community farm share program. We stopped at Charlie’s Treasures on Route 7- where Charlie appears to have many treasures but is never there. Then we headed to Ludlow for some thrift store diving and found the beautiful Buttermilk Falls near the Okemo ski resort- a series of three beautiful walls a short walk from the car- each with its own little swimming dam. We wound up the day with a dinner at the local town hall- family style with all the locals (who are the dam flatlanders with the Ohio plates?)- we met our local state rep who immediately hit us up for votes. On Sunday we headed out to White Rocks State Forrest to take a really nice two hour hike to the panorama view and the (duh!) white rocks-see pictures from the top. We came home and did our second mowing- down to 2 ½ hours this week as we may have discovered some of Karin’s’ secrets to the yard -whack and trim more than ride.
We have become good friends with the chicken flock next door who hang out at our house most days chasing Tripod around the yard. The two red mama chickens have taken a real liking to us- and appear to want to join us for dinner in the house (as guests, not main courses). One has discovered a mirror we have stood up in the barn for working out- and spends a lot of time primping in front of it. When I lay down on the lawn to do stretching- they both circle around me and cheer me on. I think they believe that Tripod is one of them –as he walks similarly with his missing leg.
We have received our first invite from June, a thrice divorced ingénue, who has invited us to her hacienda on Lake Nineveh for drinks, dinner and swimming. She will be our new best friend. I have advertised at the local store and on the local list serve to find a pond boy to help me (or better yet- replace me) with the formidable task of cleaning the pond out. We bought a floating raft to be able to clean the middle parts out- which are pretty deep- and very dirty…not much response yet, but we remain hopeful. Several people saw my ad and told me to call them when we find a pond boy- as they want one too (perhaps a business opp. For me in my semi retirement?).
I went to the folk music club for the second time and have been signed up for a role in the fall performance. Jenn went to a monthly woman’s’ group dinner and met many European exotics. Tomorrow we head to Albany to fly down to Asheville, NC for a family reunion- and we are already missing being away for five days from our little house in the hills…will the chickens forget who we are? Will the pond get dirtier? Will our new best friends forget us? Stay tuned.
BTW- we have all the spare beds neatly made up- so if you can pond clean- please come soon. We’d love to have visitors.
Stu
