Author: stumberry

Ola:

“Over railroad tracks…wild geese fly by…..low on a moonlit night”……………………………………………………………………….Shiki

“Everything will come….exactly as it does”…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Zen Proverb

“When shall we live, if not now”…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Shirley Jackson

“Be an idiot on your own time”……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Lauren Butch Cross (to husband JR)

Ola:

“Over railroad tracks…wild geese fly by…..low on a moonlit night”……………………………………………………………………….Shiki

“Everything will come….exactly as it does”…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Zen Proverb

“When shall we live, if not now”…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Shirley Jackson

“Be an idiot on your own time”……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Lauren Butch Cross (to husband JR)

Leaves forever…..the gift that just keeps giving….the week has been filled with falling and turning leaves, as we scampered up north to extend the magnificence of Autumn….and….took way, way too many pix….forgive the indulgence….and…by the way….

THE POND….is BACK!!!!!!!!!

Last Sunday led to one more walk up the hill to catch the late afternoon shadows…SHADOWS….of the season…not a long walk up the Bowlesville road…..but quite the blow getting up there for the view….found little men hiding in bushes with bows at the ready to bag their five pointers (bright clothing a requirement for any walk at the moment)….came home to prepare for our long awaited (thrice cancelled ) Jenn birthday dinner reservation at the legendary Downtown Grocery (for real) in Ludlow (with our handy dandy birthday gift certificate from Tess and Jake that we had been trying to use all summer)….BUT NOT….ten minutes before we walked out the door they called to say we ware their only reservation and they were going to close up rather than serve us ….only in the mountains……we then spent an hour trying to find somewhere open on a Sunday night in shut down, Stick Season…all dressed up with nowhere to go….eventually winding up at old standby, Harrys ’Café just up the road apiece….

And, speaking of Stick Season…..indeed it is….just returning from a rainy, bare tree excursion with Ry, Lauren and our little darlin’ Quinn-Lily, who made a quick weekend visit…our last hurrah of friends and family…since we are on the 12 day countdown to THE RETURN….todays adventure started with a visit to Farmer Jeff to send the family back with winter meats from the free range-organic- grass fed- poison free hill farm….thought it was to be a quick visit…but Farmer Jeff had some very expansive opinions about how to divert water to THE POND…which led to an hour long manifest on all things spring-fed like……from there it was on to the glory of the Vermont Country Store…for the Emporium of Tchotchkes…and filling Quinn up on samples of every sugar imaginable…she managed to find a broken package of tiny air darts and proceeded to delightfully terrorize the rest of the happy shoppers….along with a howling Lucy, who was enthralled by the sailing darts….now back home, she is parked in front of Elmo….and possibly headed into nod off mode….

The kids arrived yesterday on a sunny, chill autumn day….and hung out (playing with Quinn a dozen varieties of Papi generated marble games) until it was time to go into Rutland…for the annual Majordomo Halloween parade extravaganza….over two hours of floats, marchers, masked Donalds….and an astounding level of mayhem and tomfoolery…..before escaping to Ramuntos for pizza……Quinn quite the site in her little pumpkin outfit…..and despite having no bag or sack prepared, she came home with enough candy for the millennium..…moved home to needed but unhappy bed time……conquered with a rousing rendition of “Where the Wild Things Are”…….

The rest of the week was devoted to our final Fall outing…the annual trip up the Islands. Yes, we really have Islands in Vermont…sort of the like the Lake Erie variety, for you flatlanders…and similarly, they are a very unique culture…not quite the Caribbean variety, but quite different than the mainland lifestyles…..before leaving Jenn had her now -up- to -five minute- ice cold shower together with her newest guru….Sven.. the invincible (I climbed Everest barefoot in the blizzard, in four hours with no food or water guy)…I am desperately trying to capture these moments on record, as they are not to be believed without hearing them…. Then on up through Burlington and across the bridge to the very quiet an empty Islands (South Hero, Grand isle, North Hero and Alburgh)…to our regular cottage stay on the banks of lovely Lake Champlain…120 miles long, 12 miles wide at it widest and 150 feet deep at its deepest….coming in just short of qualifying as one of the Great Lakes…but majestic nonetheless….AND…it was amazingly PEAK fall colors everywhere we went…which combined with sunny, 60 degree weather (unheard of), and nobody around….was simply pure magic….we had a deck on the water, a fireplace and a great view of the Big lake and the Adirondacks behind…which is really the way to end Autumn…

So….what do you do on the Islands for three days in very low season….well, you drive around the lakeside dirt roads, take 200 pictures, look for the best foliage and bird boxes (an islands thing) you can find, hit he Dunes at Alburgh State Park, take a bunch of little hikes….and naps at the cottage…there is a little store to pick up lunch and have a lake picnic….and we have discovered a remote smokehouse down a dirt road, which raises and butchers their own elite chicken and beef…so we had an extraordinary smoked chicken pot pie….enough to feed eight…back at the shack for dinner one night….there is good WIFI…a moderate phone signal and cable tv….and…Tuesday night was the promised land night of the year in my book…Game one of the World Series (Go Nats) and the start of the NBAs season (go Cavs….really???)…a very happy respite before taking on the last days of prepping, schlepping and cavorting to leave the mountains foe the winter……

And…a tale of two meals…up at the islands, we discovered the quaint and lovely Ransom Inn (Alburgh)…blink and you miss it…and we were the only people there…where they wined and dined us at a candlelit, fireside table for a lovely evening. Food was just decent, but a most welcoming and intimate experience. Then, Friday night we had our re- scheduled dinner at the Grocery…..which was loud, disorganized and chaotic..…service as terrible…but the food was magnificent…and…they bought us dinner…for the Sunday night cancellation…quite the dueling dining experiences……..

Quinn-Lilly is demanding attention….and this has probably been a most disjointed blog…as I have done it in between bursts of two-year-old energy lapses….so….enough for now…

Until next time,

Papi

Good Sunday to all:

“Among corn stalks…wind rippling….just for the corn”…………………………………………………………………………………Soen Nakagawa

“ The distant mountain reflected in his eyes….dragonfly…………………………………………………………………………Issa

“When the thumb of fear lifts…we are so alive””…………………………………………………………………………………………..Mary Oliver

“Excuse me…while I kiss the sky…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Jimi Hendrix

On the countdown….snow- birding to winter in the heartland in two and half weeks(OY)…but…..this…..has been an interesting week here in the Greens…..Started last weekend with the peak autumn glory of Cider Daze….then down the hills to Albany mid-week for a whirlwind three day trip to very rainy Seattle…and back to winter-like conditions as he we approach Stick season and the leaves leaving for another year, here in the Greens…and, what day is this?

The annual Mt. Holly/ Belmont Cider Daze Festival brought hordes of leaf peepers to our tiny town Green last Sunday for the second day of a magnificent weekend…many thought best fall colors in many years, and somehow it held on an extra two weeks for the event….The Queen presided over the Fest this year…and was in absentia for three days….I snuck off to R-town with The Jewish Fish Monger for the Sunday night ritual Chinese Feast at East (CFaE)…

And…the Jamaicans were here for the weekend….the previously condemnable house looks incredible….they even have furniture and curtains in now….and all the little Jamaican children made a trip over to the festival…providing quite a visual, and adding much needed color to our neck of the woods….

Speaking of the Jamaicans….the uber-politically correct Jenn stopped down to talk to Stefan, the clan leader and owner …..and managed to instead have a conversation with his brother..…not realizing her mistake……to which she later related to me…”well , they all kind of look alike”…..Holy Cow…..what ammunition…. It’s now up on the bulletin board….

After spending most of a week in the basement stronghold of the local quasi-computer fixer guy….I am moderately back in working order….and have recovered 80 per cent of my lost data…which has made me a whole lot less cranky….can you say dependence?

Autumn leaves…….. Autumn leaves….….Autumn leaves……..Autumn leaves……..Autumn leaves…..……All work and no play make Jack a Dull Boy………..

Wednesday was our littlest granddaughter, Bebe Sloane’s, first birthday….WOW…..had a portal in the morning before I took off for the unfriendly skies…..quite the little lady….and……our…. big girl, Quinn, is coming for a visit next weekend with her parents…completing the circle………………………….the whole thing is kid of a miracle, NO?………………………..

So, hit the skies Wednesday for two nights in Seattle…who thought that would be a good idea…..Wonderful Casey annual conference…got to duck through raindrops and see all the peeps I’ve worked with for the last 15 or so years….and swap war stories /share brilliant ideas……despite feeling like a traitor, had a great stay at the brand new downtown Hyatt Regency there……with spectacular view from the 35th floor. Aside from much Yenta-ing for two days…..went to small reception at a local millennial hangout/ ping pong salon….which led to some images I should probably not be sharing (but, Hell…it’s MY BLOG)…it is safe to say that despite my advanced years.. I am still easily influenced and misled……And can you say JET LAG….up both Seattle mornings at 4 am….and then 12 hours of travel back……………………where am I exactly?

So….whilst I was gone…The Queen was in full pursuit of her latest health regimens…..which have lately included deep breathing, ingesting various micro herbs form the southern hemisphere and some mysterious powder snorting….but now, she has found the latest on line Guru (Mercola is demoted)….leading to the daily ritual of ice cold showers………initially for one minute each day……and leading up to six hours under the freezing nozzle….apparently the new Shaman has hiked Kilimanjaro in shorts….and….completed a marathon barefoot……..I am not making this shit up….

And now……I need to go find some kind of sleep formula…and watch the last of the leaves fall to the ground…….so….…till then….

Stu

Jimi Hendrix

Greetings Blogsters:

” Tell me baby….why you been gone so long, so long, so long”………………………………………….Mickey Newbury

Some of you have noted that last week the blog was in absentia……computer full out crashed last weekend…nightmare scenario….and has taken me a week to get semi back on line…so apologies….still dealing with mess, so will keep it short (really) this week …highlights and pix…

” Having no destination, I am never lost”…………………………………………………………………………..Ikkyu

” Like an echo…the drip drop of showers: falling autumn leaves”……………………………………….Sozei

” Why am I aging so this autumn?….A bird flying in the clouds”………………………………………….Basho

“Autumn lights fills the room…..Vacancy!”………………………………………………………………………….Soen Nakagawa

Last week started innocently enough, with a Sunday night trip to East…The Queen stayed home, so the Jewish Fish Monger and I went to dinner. Left to our own devices…it was a bad eating extravaganza…without monitoring, we went for the Pu Pu Platter….which I probably have not had since Sunday night Chinese dinners with the kids when they were little…actually quite satisfying…until later in the evening….

Early week was filled with beautiful days and rapidly changing foliage..with the hills dotted in red and amber hues….managed to get the Masseuse in the Trailer and her hubby out to a month’s long postponed dinner….not much of planners, those two…and just enjoyed the smells and sounds of the Fall…The Queen began her ascension to the throne with 12 hour days packed with preparations for the coming Cider Daze extravaganza………

Friday morning we took off, after our latest airbnb guests left, for The City (yes, that one) for an overnight with the cousins…and grand dinner in Westchester County…how cool is it to have found older cousins after 40-50 years..and o longer be the Patriarch?…each visit fills in more of our family history….Lucy, the worlds’ most adaptable dog, loves the visits to stay in the tiny apartment on the seventh floor of the city high-rise where she has mastered the art of the elevator system…

Woke Saturday morning to a totally dead laptop….but more later on this travesty…..gorgeous Saturday drive up the Taconic Parkway (where I drove with my late father over 60 years ago)…on up to old, old Woodstock (moonlight in the trees) for our annual pilgrimage to Levon Helm’s Barn…and a concert with the late iconic legend’s Midnight Ramble Band….100 people packed into his magnificent Barn space..all old friends… and acolytes of The Band…the Hudson River Valley is a magnificent drive this time of year, with long forgotten monasteries and center for peace mansions dotting the banks of the great river and the concert was a true happening..Spent the night at a Marriott in Albany…and on home Sunday.

The past week is a blur…have probably spent upwards of 50 hours trying to recover fifteen years worth of lost files and data on my computer…working with the very easy going local computer guy, who has wonderful equipment but a dearth of knowledge…have gotten about half restored, but have a series of absolute messes making my life semi-miserable…no end in sight…not a lot of resources in the mountains…but…at least up and running…and sending these musings to you…so not all bad….

We had two day trips planned for this past week-our annual fall outings…one of which went into the computer-rescue cluster- F….and the second of which landed us at the Wal-Mart in Claremont, NH……where we had car work done, shopped for groceries ..and did out planned hike around the Mart parking lot…kind of a wasted day, except that this Mart makes the most shockingly good fried chicken (six bucks for a 12 piece bucket)..so we also dined in the Mart parking lot

Jenn did manage to drag me away from my file rescue hunt long enough for a few dirt road walks and a trip down to Sal’s in Wallingford one night…but that aside, mostly going blind and stiff….and brain dead trying to reconfigure lost files…how did we get so dependent? Where are the men that I used to sport with?

Reluctantly left my Jones on Saturday to play a set at the majesty that is Cider Daze in our little burg of Belmont (a TOP Ten New England fall event)..for which the dark day turned bright and sunny…for the peepers to see the leaves in full glory….stopped along the way to see all of our local cronies gathered in one place…went straight from the gig to the Odd fellows to serve for the annual wildly popular Roast Beef supper to benefit the fire department….reliving my old waiter incarnation for three hours and two sittings(no tips) of congenial community connections…I managed to nab my own little 12 yr old busboy..and gave him the traditional five dollar bill cut in half, so that he would spend his time helping me and not the other servers (worked in the Catskills!)…Little Davey and I had the most satisfied tables in the hall…making the Queen crazy in her role as the expediter of the plate food coming out to be served…knocking over the other staid and elderly serving staff to get our tables served first…he got the other half of the fiver at nights end…and… made an astonishing 30 bucks in tips from the local curmudgeons

Returned home to our airbnb guests who had arrived while we were gone…quintessential Midwestern couple from Chicago..who left the vast bedroom and bed very little..but were very pleasant to hang with this morning…best kind of guests: come late, leave early, eat no breakfast..and love the place.

And that is it…Jenn is somewhere in Belmont Queening over the Festival..she has spent 10 hours a day for the last two weeks creating the perfect event…

Though this may seem simple…… I currently have no editing program (excuse the typos)..so will now take me hours to edit the garbage I have written..but who’s counting.

Hope to be better next week….Happy Leafing…

Stu