Happy Sunday from the Green Mountains:
“ If you do not find God in the next person you meet, it’s waste of time looking for him further” Gandhi
It’s been an exciting time in the mountains- new kayak routes, more house guests, the first signs of autumn, black bears …and the arrival of little Lucy. Kept the pix down to a minimum this week to reduce your workload……
Lucy- after a month long search, in which Jenn spent all her waking hours looking at dogs on line, we found a keeper, little Lucy, who joined our household yesterday. She’s a little fur ball of half beagle/dachshund and half black lab/Sheppard. The father was the beagle- so we have been trying to imagine the logistics of that particular mating. Dogs are not easy to come by in our parts- most are rescue dogs that are shipped up from the heat of the south-looking for more progressive heath care no doubt. We found Lucy on Craig’s List- a rare puppy offering around here- and made the trek to Port Henry, NY to gather her. On the way home- we stopped at the Farmer’s Market in Rutland to see our friend Robin to see if she had a crate we could borrow and she did- so stopped at her and Scott’s farm to pick it up-where Lucy was chased all over by their two much bigger dogs. Scott is a 65 year old hyper Long Island Jew who has taken up organic pig and turkey farming in Vermont and is clearly Miscpucha (look it up and get current with your Yiddish)
Recreation in Belmont- we went to the annual square dance in Belmont last Saturday night; usually happens in the middle of town, but a lot of rain- so it took place on the tiny elementary school gym. Sixty five people showed up- many of them kids who were summer camping nearby and we had 12 groups of eight …actually learned to do the whole shebang from an 85 year old caller who has been hosting these dances since the 70s. Jenn and I got to dosey-do with two little girls who were so embarrassed to be promenading with a couple of old hippie types…we may now take up the northern square dance circuit.
Wildlife and Kayaking in the mountains- in addition to our frog community, have recently had a massive doe hang out in our backyard and I am slowly making friends with a local hummingbird (she stands in front of me treading air and twirping) and chipmunk (she eats the hummingbird’s food- brazen as all get up). This week , I was coming back from the gym Ludlow (in the armory in a room half the size of my living room) and barely missed hitting an adolescent black bear as it scurried across the road- on its way to visit the Crowley Cheese Factory, I assumed. And of course, the birds are quite fantastic on our kayak trips…the most recent taking place this week along splendid route 100 (prettiest road in Vermont) on Echo Lake…check out the flowers in the lily pads there. Our kayaking trips are all about the same- we kayak for a half hour- attach our boats on the middle of the lake where we eat lunch and doze and then kayak for another half hour and go home…luckily we have a new method for getting boats in and out of Subaru trunk that is pretty efficient and does not result in violence between us.
Plus- I did my first fishing expedition this week. Since Josh next door hangs round all summer with nothing to do- I asked him to go fishing with me to nearby Spring Lake. Josh has bedazzled me with stories of his fishing skills- so I thought I would be in good hands. I brought my new rod and tackle that Steve and Sue bought me last year for our foray into Vermont living. Got to the spot and walked halfway around the remote lake to discover my rod needed line put in…(I’m from the Bronx, what do I know from stringing a fishing rod- I know from guitars and tractors and spark-plugs as I have adjusted to being a country boy, but fishing has thus far escaped me) but Josh says no problem- so we spend two hours trying to get my pole set up…clearly he knows less than I do, and sit around sweating and cursing. Finally a young woman comes down the trail with her dog and nephew and takes on the challenge-also failing, until she finds a spot for her smart phone to work and googles instructions, which work splendidly. She leaves- we get ready and Josh has brought a tin full of worms he dug up for the occasion- but somehow is it just dirt, so I tie on (is that the right phrase? Sounds like getting drunk)this nifty looking fly I find in my box (says it is the best fly ever made- guaranteed to sang every fish in the pond) and do a mighty cast- immediately hooking the largest volcanic rock in the lake….well, let’s just say we caught a lot of rocks, lost a lot of line and went home hungry . A nice gent strolling by us advised he had been fishing that spot for almost 60 years- during which time he had caught three fish…but I’m ready for the next time now.
More Guests at the Mount- we had overnight guests again this week. My old friend, Mark Begin, and his son Miles stopped by on joint motorcycle trip. Mark had driven out from Madison, Wisconsin and Miles drove up from the West Village to meet him. We greeted them after they had a long wet drive through the green mountains and had a nice dinner in town , good catch up and the traditional hearty breakfast before they again left in the rain. We baby sat for Miles a lot when he was a tyke so it is pretty weird to hang with this very adult 33 year old man who is making his way in NYC. Miles mom, Deb, was Max’s delivery nurse and she was 8 months pregnant at the time- so Max’s protracted arrival helped bring about Miles arrival and they were inseparable for the first five years of their life. While he was here, Mark, who is a design fabricator (look it up) took a look at our broken window crank that has no apparent fix, without going on an overseas journey to find a 1970’s part- and proclaimed several fixes- which would be the demise of our two month project to find someone with such a trinket in their basement pile…another of our never ending projects. All in all, another nice visit and if you look on Trip Advisor, I think you’ll find we are again rated as New England’s’ best bed and breakfast.
Autumn is coming- and we woke on August 15th to see leaves changing outside our bedroom window…the foliage season is not far behind. See the pretty leaves in the pix.
I have to go back out to the Pond- as the scum never sleeps…and is coming back in force-so the daily kayak straining trip is in order…and we have to take Lucy out and wear her out, so we can take a nap.
Enjoy the end of summer,
Love,
Stu
