Author: stumberry

Take me home, mountain roads….and happy Sunday:

“Such stillness
the cries of the cicadas
sink into the rocks”……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Basho

“Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well.”…………………………………..Jack Kornfield

“When I think about the good things you gave me….I cry like a baby…cry like a baby”……………………………………………………….Dan Penn

ALERT*…ALERT*…..ALERT****…….Photo OVERLOAD- Beach Tripping and Fall foliage-make for too much temptation…sorry about that……….ALERT*………ALERT*…ALERT******

Sundays in the mount….mean a walk and dinner….Fall colors up the Hateful Hill (dirt) Road (really)…and then on to the Pine Hollow Farm and the Jewish Pig Farmer for the last late afternoon picnic diner of the season….The JPF slow cooks his pig meat on a state of the art/super-heated/Gonzo/ slow burner for 90 hours…to die for…the man is a closet Black Southern Baptist at heart……

(Note- pictures go in these spaces between musings-but don’t apparently copy from the e-mail version into the text here- so if you want to see the pix in context-read the e-mail version)

Speaking of late afternoon picnics in late September….been close to 80 all week in the Greens…unheard of this time of year…..shifted this morning to classic Fall chill, illuminating the rapidly Peaking autumnal splendor….Gods Time in the Mount….

Fall Outing time of year…this week was first…left Tuesday morning with no destination in mind….turned right out of homestead and headed for the most likely source of sun and warmth…which led us amazingly to the Coast of Maine (under the rubric of can’t get there from here…we have to drive two and half hours south to head north…damn mountains in the way)……..spent three days traipsing up the Coast- from the NH border, to Kennebunkport and Wells and on up to Rockport….Rachel Carson Nature Preserve (she of Silent Spring), rocky coastline devoid of peeps, smashing waves, small village harbors aglow, and ancient lighthouses….cabin in the woods for night near Kennebunk and a lodge north of Bath for night two…..Papi on the daily hunt for Maine’s best Lobsta Roll and Clam Basket (whilst the Queen ate salads)….is the Ocean a creation for our awe and amusement?

Back Thursday night…up early Friday for the breathtaking morning mist- on the hues of the trees…on the drive over several mountains to South Royalton, for a conference presentation, at the Vermont Law School….took my training group outside in the 75 degree sunshine for the afternoon session….which made me the most popular instructor in Vermont….free standing law school in tiny old hippie village in Central Vermont, nestled in the mountains ….we live in a world of contradictions, no?

Saturday dawned bright and sunny…again…after morning chores we fulfilled obligations of El Presidente/ Queen of the Mt. Holy Community Association to strategically put up posters for the coming Cider Daze extravaganza on Columbus day weekend…traversing several mountain ranges to reach the bucolic country inns in our neck of the woods…with dirt road hike thrown in…stumbling upon the homestead of the organic/Southern Baptist/ postmodern hippie couple who sell their home grown grass fed swine at the farmers market….and have now begun a major Hemp growing operation….dirt road walks lead to strange encounters…..

Returned home in time to greet out latest Airbnb guests…an Indian couple (dots, not feathers) from San Jose, with their 20 month old daughter and ancient auntie an uncle….Baby Mira spent 12 hours chasing Lucy around the house, while we came home from a trip to town to a scented house of Masala and assorted Vegan Indian curry cooking….sent them on a fall foliage hunt this morning, and made a trip down the hill to see the Jamaicans (a very cultural morning), who have now moved in furniture to their budding summer estate…….

….and now….it is REST TIME…before w start all over again………See ya Besties…..

Stu

Brethren and Sistren (look it up!): Alert: No website access for Blog this week; Domain expired- working on renewal….Bummer……..

“We all have an old knot in the heart we wish to untie”……………………………………………………………………….Michael Ondaatje

“ Often I am still listening when the song is over”………………………………………………………………………………….Marquis Jean Francois de Saint Laurent

“You cannot be rid of problems without abandoning illusions”……………………………………………………………..Nisargadatta Maharaj

“My my, hey hey…rock and roll is here to stay”………………………………………………………………………………………Neil Young

I always wanted to be a Blue-Hair- Our personal British – On-Demand – Hairstylist came to the house right before we left for the hurricane, and insisted that I try a Blue coloring in my hair, which she thankfully did lightly….good preparation for going to the land of blue-hairs…mostly washed out now….but apparently more blue coming next visit, if I don’t escape to a Marriott……..

Colors….Colors…Colors- The autumnal spectacle has begun in earnest…after our return from the tropics to the chill of the Mount… we have had a spectacular week with days in the 70s to low 80s and nights in the 30s and 40s….which has turned the hills into a burgeoning wonderland…and…oh….the Moonlight in Vermont….

The Counter Culture lives- Made a run down to Brattleboro on Tuesday for a meeting with a Casey colleague for half a day…met at The Super-Fresh-Organic- Mindfulness- Tantric Café….where nothing remotely related to animals is allowed (except for the roaming canines)….the town looks like a lost movie set from 1968 with people chanting mantras in the street….and an ever present allure of tie-dye and patchouli…and you know what wafting….

Car repair in the mountains- you go up a winding dirt road to find the car wizard-walrus, who grunts instructions at you….and has you park your car in the woods…until he sees fit to fix everything on it and call you to come get it the hell off his property….customer service…

Take another little piece of my heart ,now baby- after my return from Brattleboro on Tuesday, washed up and headed back out for another trek up I-91……up to Lebanon, NH (crossing the border under cover of dark) and it’s 150 year old Opera House for Jenn’s birthday soiree…stopping at the Wicked Awesome Bar-B-que in White River Junction, where I compensated and balanced out the Super Fresh Tantric experience…..then on to see the original Broadway touring company production of “An Evening with Janice Joplin”….WHOA…..off the charts…cycling my day with another retro visit to the lost days of the late 60s….the Opry was filled with a bunch of former back –to- the- land -communers who have now become Town Select Board members (this is a typical evolution in Vermont), and drive Outbacks…but the show, ….shockingly dead on…the woman who played Janice was a tour de force and an almost – doppelganger….and has been so good on Broadway that she has been touring Europe for the past year with The Original Big Brother and the Holding Company….nine piece band-with a horn section, four amazing soulful AF.-AM. backup singers….and blew off the roof from the jubilee…Hey, Hey, Hey…..Ba…Ba…Ba…Bobby McGee

On the road AGAIN- Back out on the road on Wednesday…this time for the beautific and beatific run up the splendid Route 100 for an overnight at the Waterbury Marriott…replete with napping, internet catching up, a little joggin’ thru the hills and the traditional Thai dinner experience….all from my Super Titanium executive suite upgrade overlooking the mountains (all this whilst The Queen labored away at The Inn, filling the accumulated mélange of storage containers)….then Thursday on to my monthly Governors council for Children meeting, which I have managed to not attend even once thus far this year…but amazingly remain a member in good standing (hard to find willing folks, I guess). The meeting is at the state office complex, with security that would make the Pentagon weep….which is quite ironic since there is zero security to enter our statehouse (only a bunch of easily replaceable legislators)…..not so bad though compared to across the border, where the folks chant “Live free or Die”…

The Vinegar Rules- never, ever believed I would live in a house that perpetually and redolently smelled of Vinegar……which is to The Queen what Windex is to the Greeks……

Burger hunting in Vermont- Friday night, Jenn went to some witchy-woman meeting in town, so I made plans to hang with the ailing Jewish Fish Monger. He had decided he craved a burger (medical MJ influence)…and despite the allure of all the local, grass-fed, homegrown, free-range, tantric alternatives…..he wanted to try the newly opened Five Guys in Rutland. First we went to an art opening at the local art center (Magnifico 1896 Victorian with multiple turrets) for the new show profiling the art and culture of the 60s in Rutland and Vermont (is this the theme for the week or is it just me?)..…amazing show….fully engulfed with what it was like to move to Vermont from the cities in the day, and take up the Freak Flag….after that, took TJM for his first ever Five Guys experience (this for someone who is generally a food snob)…..the result of which you can imagine….and I might add, that this outlet is worse than any previous experience with this austere chain that I have had…don’t imagine that we will be going back…..came home and ate…

It’s that time of year- Hit out first foliage event of the season on Saturday- The Chester Fall Foliage Festival (a top ten New England event)….magnificent low 80s sunny fall day…with tchotchkes abounding and peepers plentiful….as someone we overheard said…”we came, we walked, we bought”….Lucy was the toast of the town (WHAT kind of dog is THAT?)…what a day for a stroll…..I might add that the vendors at Vermont festivals take the prize for being the most friendly of anywhere I’ve been….even for non- buyers. Picked up some sandwiches at the legendary Lisai Market and found the green in Proctorsville for picnic lunch….then back to the ranch for once a year cleaning of the vehicles….we have somehow become car junk accumulators in our declining years…

And, that, my friends, is all she wrote…….

Au Revoir,

Monsieur Ferlin’

Greetings and Welcome back (to me, to you….to us all):

“I will lead you to fields you know nothing of”………………………………………………………………..William Carlos Williams

“Through the ample open door of the peaceful country bran,
A sunlit pasture field with cattle and horse feeding,
And haze and vista, and the far horizon fading away.”………………………………………………Walt Whitman

“Blow up your TV throw… away your paper….Go to the country, build you a home
Plant a little garden, eat a lot of peaches, Try an’ find Jesus… on your own”…………………..John Prine

And we more or less did just that. Did you miss me? Did you notice? Been gone fishin’…more or less. Been a long two weeks comin…gonna be long two weeks gone…It begs the question…how much does or should one man have to say. ..I believe the answer at the moment …is…not much……though…. the answer, my friend, may be blowin’ in the wind…

Just back last night from ten days of family vacation on the North Carolina beach…

We managed to avoid the hurricane by a day, and the area was in good shape…

Spent the week before (the one you all missed) dealing with my latest mystery health adventure (much better), taking care of our ailing Jewish Fish Monger, convincing the Dumpmaster that The Queen would indeed be back, and readying for our departure on that Friday….then down the mountains to the first airport in the US (the capitol of the great state of New York) and off the Charlotte…

Spent a few nights with my eldest niece and nephew , Missy and Omelio….together with the wandering prodigal jetting in from San Diego and Tees, Jake and Bebe – who had motored down from Cowtown..

Then it was off to the Beach for a week…Sunset Beach on the NC/SC border, where my childhood friend Rick has a condo he lent us…and then it was the disparate family there together for a week of old time rock and roll….it was record setting, Ungodly hot with day temps in the 90-95 range, so being out with Bebe was somewhat prohibitive during most of the day…did our excursions early and late…good pool sessions with the little one…legendary Calabash style fish to eat… a highlight trip to Southport along Cape Fear (yes, that Cape Fear….could almost see Robert Mitchum lurking in the shadows)….had some excellent beach walks and swamp visit….and did mostly the things that families do when they don’t see each other in a while and are not used to living together (I’ll let you fill in those blanks on that one)…

Friday afternoon we put Max in an uber to skip up to Wilmington for his flight home and the rest of us headed back to Charlotte, for another night with the extended family, now including my younger niece, Melanie and husband Les..

I don’t think there is much more to say about all that…you’ve all been on a family vacation and know the drill…the hassles and negotiations can seem a bit much… the time together is PRICELESS…
Back at the Inn now…where Fall is setting in, in earnest….quite a shock to go from 95 to 45…but very good to be home…where little Lucy looked like she might keel over with a stroke with excitement at our return

It’s Jenn’s birthday today so we went to the Johnnycake in Rutland for brunch …and I’m off to make birthday dinner…and in truth….a picture is worth a thousand words…so knock yourself out with these….

Happy Trails,

Papi

Bonjour mes amis:

“Let your life lightly dance the edges of Time like dew on the tip of a leaf”………………………………………………………….Rabindranath Tagore

“What really counts is to strip the souls naked”………………………………………………………………………………………………………Joan Miro

“I leave…..you stay…Two autumns”…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Shiki

Good morning star shine-the Earth says hello………May your Labors be always fruitful….and May you stay Forever Young…….Betcha you woke up yesterday and said “what the hey”….where’s the darn Blog….but Papi was taking an off day to nurse his ailing ankle, the result of the bite of some hill creature of the night (no, I wa not in The Pond)…but today is a rainy day after two weeks of near Autumn perfection in the mountains….so let’s take a little ride…

Speaking of The Pond…my tears of loss should almost be able to fill it’s disappearing water level after no rain for six weeks….oh the water…oh, oh the water…let it come tumbling down (check out the utterly depressing photo)….so we left its lack of tumescence last Sunday for the weekly find-a dirt- road walk….visiting a long line of local friends along the popular Tiffany road, and basking in the wonderful midafternoon early Fall sunlight…..

Monday was a back to routine day in advance of the arrival of Sister Jane on Tuesday for her annual visit. Picked Jane up in Albany on Tuesday morning and spent the afternoon meandering up the Hudson River Valley to the wildly touristic Lake George, where we ate a takeout lunch, from what may be the last remaining curbside A&W (really), by the shores of Gitchy-Goomey….We had planned a quiet first night dinner at home, but wound up being invaded by a string of drop-ins, several from The Queens’ Court, which turned into an unofficial klatch , to which The Blogster went looking for a place to hide (no Marriotts readily available)..when they finally left we settled into watching our latest serial obsession, the melodramatic “Yellowstone” with the I’m over baseball- and now I’m a Cowboy, Kevin Costner..

It was actually a pretty slow week, since SJ really likes to hang at the Manse and groove to the stillness, so a lot of breeze shooting, meal prep and Lucy-lovin’….but Wednesday night we made the onerous 22 minute trek down to the Playhouse to see Weston’s production of Edward Albee’s “Whatever Happened to Virginia Wolf”….a finely adapted play that requires taking double doses of anti-depressants before attending…..perhaps the whole point of the play is to make you feel better about your own life and loves….Mission Accomplished…

Thursday was the annual performance by our local Folk Club for the last week of our Belmont Music on the Green series…the Blogster has insidiously worked to broaden (possibly undermine) the horizons of the FC and generate some affectation of rhythm into the mighty wind numbers….which seemed to pay off this year, with many in the crowd noting the surprisingly expanded (maybe more enjoyable ?) repertoire of songs for the nine piece group squeezed on to the tiny town Gazebo….in any case, it was an absolutely gorgeous, warmish early-fall night, which is a rarity for late August…and much harmonics achieved….(and you can catch a once in a lifetime pix of the Blogster singing alongside The Jewish Fish Monger, The Erstwhile Russian Spy and the Empress of Mt. Holly-wood)

And….have I mentioned PLASTIC STORAGE CONTAINERS?…which have become this year’s sequel to bedding accumulation…each week resulting in the infusion of some new color, size or closing- device- capacity for the ongoing organizing of home items…

Friday was a washout day…devoted to pursuing the elusive cure for the beast-bite…and Saturday then dawned an absolutely perfectious Fall Day…inspiring a morning jaunt to Rutland to the largest Farmers’ Market in the Northeast… and a quick side trip to the beloved Ramuntos for the two slice special…From there it was home and pack up for the holiday weekend drive (can you say State Police) down the I-91 corridor to Hartford to send SJ back to the heartland…having dropped her off, we decided to lollygag our way back, cruising the old route 5 through the top of rural Connecticut and historic Western Mass…..stopping at a Sea Shanty (where was the sea?) for a traditional eastern fish fry dinner……

Sunday of LD weekend is always the annual pilgrimage to the Calvin Coolidge historic homestead in nearby Plymouth for the Folk and Blues Fest (lots of folk, not much blues)…a pastoral hillside setting in the heart of the mounts…heard a couple of aging hipster folk duets, who were shockingly good….and whiled the day away in picnicking nirvana, whilst Lucy went nuts with the sights of so many potential playmates…as is the custom, we took TJFM along for the ride, who seemed to immensely enjoy his rare outing away from his homestead….

And that my friends, brings us to the rain colored day…which will allow for more resting up for the week ahead and leaving Friday for family vacation on the Carolina coast (should be quite unpopulated as we pass all the Hurricane evacuees leaving as we arrive)…The Prodigal is making the jaunt from Paradise and the Bebe and her parental units driving down from the heartland to meet up at Niece Missy’s house in Charlotte, before seeing if we can cut through the barricades to the coast…but that will be a later story..

Most likely off from blogging next week…by stay tuned….and be well.

Stu