Author: stumberry

Greetings to all and happy springtime at last:

I know you have all waited with baited breath for the “blog” to return…and your wait is now over; we have returned to the majesty of the Greens in time for the annual greening of Vermont. I hope you are all well, have been fruitful and multiplied many times over…and look forward to our correspondence this summer and deep into the fall.

We finally left Delaware on May 9th after weeks of lists and details and anticipation. Packed the car on Thursday night and got ready to leave on Friday morning, when I noticed the car top carrier did not have straps on it to hold it down. Jen had graciously gotten it packed up while I was away in Baltimore that week- but neglected to strap it down, and now the straps were buried deep under 1000 pounds of luggage and shit. Glee does not fully describe my emotions at this awareness…so unloaded it and got straps put on, an then got in to start it up and go…and found that door had been left open overnight while packing the car(who did this one, Jen?)…no big deal right, just needed a jump…and cables also buried in car under 1000 pounds of shit……..we left late.

The ride went pretty well. We had learned that Lucy did great on the long haul when we drove back last November…she was so quiet the whole time that I did not notice that she had systematically chewed up the front passenger seat belt I had attached to stop the bells from going off from her weight on front seat…so spent $150 on a new seat belt and clipped it on BEHIND the seat…she did great. I tried to switch off and take the two cats for a while, but they howl the entire trip –which was somewhat disruptive during conference calls I had scheduled for the road. We stayed the night in Oneonta at Ryan and Lauren’s’ empty place and arrived at our beloved mountain home early Saturday to meet the plumber and cable guy. Pulling in, our neighbors, the Manual family gathered outside to greet us with the news that they were packing up to leave to go back to Carolina and family, after some unfulfilling job situations here. For those of you who have been here and have seen the general chaos of their place, imagine it five times worse. Aside from that revelation, we got things going in the house with no problems and were set up and ready to do most business that night.

Sunday dawned bright, sunny and beautiful (it has been in 75-80 range most of time we have been here…quite a Vt. Heat spell)… and I got out to inspect THE POND. I have attached several pictures her….take it in and love it , it is the last time it will look this good for the year, as the algae have not yet moved back from Florida for the summer. We got a lot done that first day- inside and out. I did the all the manly stuff in the garage and barn- getting all the machines ready and running with ease…until I serviced the tractor and got distracted with several visits form the Manuals (they had lots to tell us) and Jen…and started it up beautifully, but with the oil drained and not replaced. Now, I’m from the city, but still it appears a tractor does not run well without any oil…..about three minutes it seems. This led to ten days of PTSD for Stu. So, while I fumed, Jen cleaned and the animals’ embraced their mountain home- see photos. The cats have many more places to hide from Lucy and Lucy believes she owns the mountain and is steadily patrolling the property and beyond- requiring many more baths resulting from her explorations.

So- some of our first two weeks Vermont learnings and re-awakenings:

Country living and Repairs- results in many leaky pipes, especially when they sit unheated all winter, and requires special tools, like that used trying to get off the furnace oil filter that not been changed for five years. It is good to have neighbors with tools and skills. We placed a call for help on the local “Newsflash” e-serve list and found a new find, Steve, who came over and helped us to get our new tractor running (the Manuals gifted us their junker in sympathy after the ruination, and I got it about 70% there) AND he applied his much better technique to get off the oil filter without bursting the pipes as I was about to do. Prior to finding Steve-we stopped at Gil’s off route 7B, who has fifty used tractors in his yard to see if he could fix it. He said he’d be glad to if we brought it to him, as he had not left his yard for ten years except to go to the doctor……. Then, our old friend, Scott, showed up, who had cut down a tree for us last year for beer money, to tell me he could do it, except he had trouble getting out of his truck when he stumbled over the pile of open beer cans. Eventually, to get Steve to fix it, we had to go up to Brandon to get a deck cable from the GUY WHO HAS EVERYTHING……which led us to….

“The worst road in Vermont:- Jen decided we could take a scenic short cut back from Brandon to get to route 7…which led us to a 20 mile dirt road so rutted I had to stop along the way for the Subaru to rest in between ruts. The shortcut took us about an hour and has led to many loose parts on the undercarriage of the car.
While we were gone Josh was taking his pictures for the Prom, which we were excited to see and once again delighted to find they had been taken at our house while we were away. I keep wondering why we get a lot of the Manuals’ local mail…

So- we are back to our activities with Jen going to Yoga several times a week (Kevin at the town dump tells me I should really appreciate the flexibility that produces…), regular hiking (see Lucy on the trail photos), my re-involvement at the folk club (I walked in the first night and they were playing one of my songs). We discovered the “other” side of the Appalachian Trail which is ten minutes from us. The side we usually walk is a gently sloping walk along a river bank and up into the hills; we found the other side to go straight up from the road to hand and knee trail in about a half hour- we will come back to that one. We made our first trips this week to both Montpelier and Groton. Stu was appointed by the Governor to be on the states’ Family and Children Board so went to a meeting this week for the 1st time….much better than expected and Jen and Lucy shopped in the capitol- which pretty much allows dogs in all places. I will bring her to the next meeting. Then on to Groton, to the house of horrors, which stood up to the winter as well can be expected. We did some cleaning and fixing and convinced Spencer to let the realtor in to show the apartment, rather than stand on the other side of the front door with a gun and a ball bat…which has presented some barrier to people wanting to buy the house, we think. We have actually had some increased viewing action in last three months –though nary an offer yet. We keep hoping Max will buy it….

I just took a break from this tomb (excuse the length, will get shorter in next installment) to chase Lucy out of the massive pile of limbs that someone (I can’t say who) thoughtfully placed in front of the entrance to the logging road behind our house, effectively barring any trucks from using it. She, of course, believes it is a gift from the Heavens, of big ol’ sticks to pull off and drag around the property.

It’s been a good Memorial Day weekend. Spent Friday trying to organize forty years’ worth of Walter and Karin’s tools and tchotchkes in the garage/barn- since I believe it is the cause of my PTSD. Gil, the man who does not leave his yard, sent his hired hand, Tom the sleeping giant, to take the blown engine tractor away…a little on the remedial side, it took me ten minutes to wake him up from his pickup truck slumber. On Saturday, while Jen went to yoga (limbering up for me, says Kevin) Lucy and I took the 40 year accumulated garage stuff to the dump….then we went to Fair Haven for the spring fling, which had neglected to be flung. But it’s a nice drive. We went that night to the first community supper of the year and did our fist volunteering gig- serving and clean up, mingling with the town whos- who. We brought home a ten pound tub of cole saw which we had agreed to gte rid of via dump in our compost pile…it was gone the next day- we think there must be a really sick bear in the woods. Sunday was the semiannual Open Studio tour across Vermont, and we headed southeast to Chester, Townsend, Saxon’s River and Bellows Falls to see nine artisan studios. We found a great glass blower, who had the finest tables of “seconds” we have yet seen. For me this is like a pile of fresh shit to a beagle- check out the great vase we bought for a pittance in the pix. Lucy made many friends, kissed many babies and rode several big dogs she apparently thinks are horses. Most studios in Vermont are so far in the woods- you would never find them without a detailed map, so they are really happy when people come and they talk A LOT. We discovered the original Celtic Buddhist Center on the way home on tiny route 121…I always thought Irish and Buddhist was an oxymoron?

Well, I think you have had enough. Be well, be in touch, do good work, blah, blah, blah. Have a great spring and GO CAVS!!!

Love,
Stu