Category: Green Mountain Blog

Feliz Domingo a todos:

“The simplest questions are the hardest to answer” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. Northrop Frye

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers” …………………………………………………………………………………………………Anne of Green Gables

“I’m a big environmentalist.”……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………The Donald

The leaves are coming down in earnest in the mountains…. stick season approaches……the culmination of a beautiful autumn season……things are s-l-o-w-i-n-g at the mount…. what is next?

My FIVE metaphysical questions for this week:

• Is this our LAST 17 days of absolute chaos?
• Does any sane person really believe that wearing a mask and social distancing is a political issue?
• Is there something in life more beautiful than fall foliage?
• What could be better than watching postseason baseball on a chilly fall night with the fire going?
• What is the effect of an exploded use of dining take out containers on the environment? (The Queen requires me to ask this)

Cider Daze Lost– this past (Columbus Day) weekend is traditionally the apex of the year in our neck of the woods. Here it culminates in our local Belmont festival, Cider Daze, a gathering of 2000 of the Jersey-type Tribe on our tiny town green……which was a no show this year. It turned out to be picture perfect weekend, and sadly…… nobody came. The 200-year-old Cider Press will sit empty and rusting for another year…. the detritus of The Plague. Where have all the flowers gone?

Dentistry in the mountains- after nine months of being debilitated by the thought of having dental types breathing down on me, I put on my big boy pants and found a dentist here. No small order…I had to spend a week getting referrals from the locals and then called nine before finding someone who would take a new patient. But, last Monday, I bit the bullet and took my very dirty mouth to the receptive practice in the equally dirty town of Springfield. Horrified, that it was actually in a shopping center (the dental equivalent of eating at a buffet) …I slipped into my HazMat suit and braved the entrance. They had some massive air filtration system from Willy Wonka going and it all seemed to be pretty ok (though Vermont does not allow dentists to pass out toothpaste samples, which was a bitter disappointment). Got home feeling satisfied with my adventure and pleased that I could now put this back in my imaginary closet for at least six more months…and promptly cracked a tooth the very next day……I’m going to need a bigger HazMat suit……

Winds of Change- The flowers are almost all gone, THE POND is drifting towards obsolescence, that ground is littered with leaves……days in the 40s, nights in the 20s…. every time the rains come and the wind blows……it takes a piece of my heart….

Vermont Does Have Islands……..Really!……….Well, it’s not the Caribbean, but we made our annual trek this week up past Burlington to the Champlain Islands for three days…….stayed at the Cozy Cottages (real name) for our 14^th straight year…….three days (two nights, four beds) on the mystic of  Lake Chaplain (largest body of water in the US outside of the Great Lakes)……a little behind from the Lake effect than we are here, so leaves still sparkling……two 60 degree plus days and NO Tourists this time of year…..drove in circles around the usual haunts, walked the usual trails, sat on the deck with the usual sunsets …..made our dinners in our cottage….a trip to the exotic local market and one to the you-can never-find –it- twice smokehouse for their infamous chicken pot pies (feeds two for two day) and smoked ribs……and basically hunkered down to listen to the gentle lapping of the lake outside our abode…..second of our traditional three weeks of “Fall outings”…this coming week is a planned  jaunt over to the Maine coast…..but it  is looking kind of RED there on the COVID map, so waiting to see ….we are like vacation refugees……

Lucy Meets the Goat- our fearsome canine is a master chipmunk/squirrel/deer/wild turkey chaser….who perseveres though she has never yet caught anything…….but this Saturday, while vising The Dumpmaster, she met he match …and revealed her true self……as I was busy dumping, I heard a barking frenzy, and looked over to see her snarling and drooling at our local wandering goat (big ass horns and all), who was thoroughly unperturbed by her outrage and seemed to want to do a little smooching…..The goat pursued her in endless circles around the car until Lucy made for safety, and  jumped in the backseat and then the Goat followed her in……where they proceeded to have a forced peace summit….not quite the badass she thinks she is………………………….

And our little Bebe…. was Two on Friday……and that is a WOW…….

Staying or Going-grappling with when and if we return to the heartland………while the majority of the country is going haywire with cases, we had a robust seven statewide last week, which virtually caused a panic…. Here: safety, social responsibility and beauty abound……………………………. There: kids, grandkids and Chinese delivery……………………….

And, so it goes……off this afternoon for what could be the last dinner-on-the-ground of the season……. windy and barely 50, but will wrap on our blankets and go break bread with the Erstwhile Russian Spy and the The Worlds Most Beloved School Marm…. what next?

Be well, stay safe, wear your HazMat……and VOTE……sent in my absentee this week-which was an enormous sex-like satisfaction to fill in the little hole on the ballot…….

Papi

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Sunday, Sunday, Sunday it is:

“I know it was wonderful, but I still don’t know how I did it” ……………………………………………………………………Lawrence Olivier

“Do you suddenly ever find it strange to be yourself?” ……………………………………………………………………………. Clarice Linspector

“In every change, in every failing leaf…there is some pain, some beauty….” ………………………………………………AC Holder

I should probably just let the accompanying photos (way, way too many again, I know, but……) tell the story of Autumn in the mountains……but a few words are de rigueur, no?

(I must apologize, but there are too many photos -89- to attach in the traditional one stop viewing manner in this e-mail, so, you can either got to the website to see them with the link at the top of the e-mail OR go to a Shutterfly album by linking to: https://photos.shutterfly.com/album/1679631080096740

Quickies (not what you think that might be!)

• Dinner on the ground last Sunday with TJPF and his Empress of Death Bride was an event- classic Indigenous People (read: Indian) Summer afternoon, leaves beginning to peak, warm late afternoon autumn sun, and the masterpiece ribs you would expect from TJPF……………….
• The Queen is getting out the Vote……mailing out 1342 postcards to malingerers in mostly southern states (can you say Hercules, Arkansas?) …………
• Feel and Maux left us with LOVE LANGUAGE concept after their visit last week…. things like “you look lovely today, my dear”, and “how lucky we are to have each other” …. I have found my LOVE LANGUAGE to be….” Can you please make the dessert?”, after a night of in-da-couch…… (as opposed to Sativa) ………………
• Does Chris Wallace deserve man of the year after semi- moderating that shit storm of a debate?
• The Dumpmaster was beyond aggrieved when I saw him yesterday, after TQ was unable to meet him to explore hacking in to the up- the- hill spring (to fill the dwindling POND) since we had to postpone our fall outing for a day this week…. he demanded to know what I was doing screwing around with his alone time with TQ…………………………………
• Want to hear a work in progress…. hit the link and open “mix editor”, click play (headphones recommended) …to hear a take of Papi’s new age protest song…. featuring The Prodigal and The Nave….   https://www.bandlab.com/revisions/76f4221e-c3cf-ea11-8b03-501ac51fd70d?sharedKey=8CFPt3pbOkqSAODNXGnWYA  
• Granddaughter number two turns two next week…. oh my…a brood of toddlers…

So-we left it all behind for most of the week…. the sturm and drang of Plagues, Race, Elections, Taxes, Socialists (you’re kidding me, right?), Climate Deniers, Debates, Scary political ads…and all the talking heads….and headed out for our first Fall Outing of the year in this, our 26^th year of such events in the Greens.

Honestly, the pictures say more than this meager scribe can hope to convey…. but suffice it to say we went to all the Golden Places of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. Stayed in a quaint airbnb cottage on beautiful Lake Willoughby in Vermont’s remote and endearing land of few people and much moose (where we almost decided to live…but much better place to visit)…and spent days driving and strolling the bejeweled landscape, coming over and around each mountain pass to catch the full scope of nature’s uber-magnificent glory…..wow, who made this?….Barton, Island Pond, Newport, Derby, Coventry…magic places on a beautiful fall day….little hikes, breakfast sandwiches by serene deserted lakes, Martha’s world famous fried chicken, cemeteries on hilltops to be closer to God, looking done over the towns of those lying there, walks in the woods and on our unparalleled dirt roads….every hairpin turn an opportunity for new breathtaking views…rain, sun. clouds, mist, fog……. all to good to be true (guess This is my love language?) …………

Tonight’s the night……Virtual reunion with my childhood posse from the Bronx- assuming a bunch of seniors can negotiate the Zoom thing……

And that is it…. enjoy the pix, enjoy the day, enjoy your time and ach other……take a break……wear your masks…try to love one another right now…right now…

Papi

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Morning’……and……Tie me Kangaroo down, sport:

“I go; thou stayest: two autumns”………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …Basho

“If we don’t change the direction we are headed, we will end up where we are going” …………………………………………………………. Chinese Proverb

“You have to come to the shore. There are no instructions” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Denise Levertov

Well, it’s been a robust semi-recovery week here in the Greens……the kids left, friends came, leaves turned……A LOT……and we had Indigenous Peoples summer (trying to improve my political correctness)……..I was mulling the sensibility of doing the usual blog, when there is so much else going on of import at the moment……..but The Queen advises that, though Bloggish may indeed seem trite at the moment, we all need distractions…….so, I’m torn…..and will meet myself halfway….some blog…and some social commentary….which I’m also sure we’ve all had just about enough of these days……but, then….who asked?

We celebrated Jenn’s fifty something birthday last Sunday after the hub bub died down, and the kids went back to the heartland……picked up dinner from the reopened, legendary Harry’s Café just down 103…..pricey but worth it……and the ten-minute drive to get it a fading dusk, with leaves shimmering and brisk autumn air/ late day light delight……priceless……We are doing an “Adventure Dinner” in early October for the birthday, somewhere in the mountains, locale top secret…….blindfolded and taken to the chuck wagon for wandering chef inspired autumn cuisine and paired cocktails…..I’m not making this shit up….

Not sure why now, but Papi had a daunting amount of work projects this week…. of a dizzying variety……which interferes mightily with daily leave drop watching…and TQ is now holding court with nightly gatherings of The Association around our fire pit- flames rising against the advancing chill, masks on, Ouija board out……it’s a sight to behold…. but socially distanced…

Have you opened an investment account and bought Zoom yet…who knew?

My great pal, Feel, and his wife Maux, arrived on Thursday for a few nights on their way to a Maine getaway…having gotten tested in the wilds of Jersey, and declared pure…and we had two magical nights together……lots of cooking, drinking, stories of days gone by…….got in a nice hike on Friday over Bomoseen way on a 75 degree day, glowing drive there and back and a reward trip to Roxy’s Famous Fries…..our hiking discussion mainly centered around the works of Aristotle, Plato and Tom Waits (I shit you not) ….as Phil says….”what’s a hike without ancient Greek Philosophy?”……it’s good when young friends grow old together, no?…………

Sent them on their way yesterday morning, and after clean-up, Dumpmaster visit and naps, found a primo dirt road up in Shrewsbury for perfect 78 degree late afternoon walk……and then the Saturday obligatory trip to Rutland for dinner on the ground at the deserted chiropractic complex……this time from the local Bavarian house serving up special Oktoberfest fare…………Schnitzel is now KING……

Talking about ageing… Jen got Facebooked by a young man she had on probation at the court in the 90s……who is now retired!!!…. uggh……where have all the flowers gone?

And that’s the week as it was……off this afternoon to outdoor ribs diner at the Jewish Pig Farmer and the Empress of Death’s house……. more leaf watching to come…

On to sermonizing……. promise to keep it brief…maybe get a snack right about now?

I know I regularly drop in subliminal political jabs during these missives, which you may or may not roll your eyes at……but a serious few words today……Not going to argue politics here…. I’m a liberal and a progressive, but I find that mostly irrelevant at the moment. We can disagree about ideology…. that’s what democracy is……Extreme partisanship, on both sides, has really dragged us down, and getting worse right now with the SCOTUS issues……I certainly have a position on this and how it is being handled and strong feelings as well…. but this is not a political rag, so lets’ just say we all have differing views on what democracy means….

So-putting democrat/republican, conservative/liberal, pro this/con that aside……. I do want to think about our children and especially our grandchildren…and the kind of place they will grow up and live in……Who are we? Are we a people with leaders and citizens who call each other names and speak the dialect of hate, intolerance, closed- mindedness and disdain for difference? I care less about party and ideology at the moment than I do about dignity, integrity, human care and concern, charity and respect………principles of all religions I might add……let’s get back to a reasonable discourse on ideological differences, not a platform based on hate and distrust….

I don’t think the discussion right now is about Democrat/Republican or conservative/ progressive ideologies. It’s more about humanity in my mind….and it seems we are bombarded with a daily dose of lost humanity………that……. has got to change…….

That is, all I got…. Be safe, wear your mask, WWJD?………Speak out and VOTE………

Be willing to be a beginner every single morning…….

Stu

Ma Cher amis:

“The quieter you become, the more you can hear” …………………………………………………………………………………Baba Ram Das

“Big-heartedness is the most essential virtue on the spiritual journey” …………………………………………………. Matthew Fox

“Spreading a straw mat on the field, I sat and gazed… At the plum blossoms” …………………………………………Buson

THIS will be brief…. promise……Sunday morning, kids just left after six-day visit…. Nanna and Poppy cleaning and recovering……Every picture tells a story, story……so that’s mostly what we have this edition….and Way TOO Many…

Sunday lunch on the ground with the French Chef and his wannabe Francophile bride…. check out the flaming of the grand Crème Brule…

Laves, Leaves, Leaves……………………………

Le Grand tomato plant covering contraption………

Virtual training this week with Anguilla in the Carib………sunlight, sand and beach out the training room window…. longing in my heart……

Ruth Bader Ginsberg……oh my…. giant loss of a woman of great substance……. Can we just export Mitch McConnell to China?

A thousand new cases a day in Ohio…. three last week in the state of Vermont- what is wrong with this picture?

Color is up, temps are down, POND is fading………………………………….

Had six days with three year old Quin-Lily and seven month old Baby Harper(and their parents Ry and Lauren)…..Nanna and Papi heaven…..had only spent snippets twice before with Harper thanks to The Plague…so bonding it was……long time since we had rug rats, and no one in our house since June…..exhausting, exhilarating……absolute mayhem for a week, which we would not trade for anything….Priceless….Apple picking, corn-hole tournament,  chasing frogs in The POND…..one sunny 72 degree day with floaties out and Quinn swimming between N/P floats in quite chilly water….kite flying…..kid/dogs walk up the trail…..the magic floating bridge on The Appalachian Trail, The Queen preparing wonderful meals to compensate for our Quarantining family…..more drinking than we do in a month….big-ass Bonfire with S’mores……kids, kids, kids….what a wonder…..

Celebrated Jenn’s 57^th birthday during visit along with Ryan Lauren’s twin birthdays…. sent them packing with cooler of Mr. Smith’s pure bred Vermont meats……and now……it is VERY quite……

I said brief …and brief it shall be…..In the interests of non-favoritism, check out link below to see our other treasure, Bebe Sloane video of morning serenade……worth the price of admission…..

Sloane Morning Serenade video.MOV (file://LAPTOP/Users/Stu%20Berry/Documents/Pictures/Mt.%20Holly%202020/Mid-Sept%202/Sloane%20Morning%20Serenade%20video.MOV)

Quotes of the week: “the scientist don’t really know about climate change”, “I don’t really care about all this Black Lives Matter stuff”, “The Virus will be gone very, very soon”…………Enchanting……..

Papi

“When you get there, there isn’t any there there” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Gertrude Stein

“On a bare branch a crow settles in autumn dusk” …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Basho

“At That Pond, the frog is growing old now-among fallen leaves” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………Buson

And then they rested………. after weeks of big Barn projects, we put down the sledge and the anvil, and went back to mostly doing little of nothing…. though we got the Big Barn/Garage cleaned up and organized for the first time in eight years of living here…is it nap time yet?……….Old Nanna and Papi managed to move a 600-pound trough out of the way in the barn, and immediately made chiropractor appointments……………

The Queen takes command of the gardens……and has now covered half the acreage in plastic and hay bales in preparation for turning The Inn into a nursery……AND…. we had our first homegrown water melon EVER…along with the bounty of daily tomatoes and such…TQ has also constructed a mélange of doors, windows and coverlets to protect the maters form the 30 degree range of nightly weather as the autumn begins in earnest here in the mountains…….

How can 30 degree nights turn into 80 degree days??????????????

We had a slow holiday weekend after the massive outbreak of cases after a party at Killington mountain ……fifteen in one day, which eclipsed the previous four weeks’ statewide totals…panic set in……and then went away…and we now have armed battalions of Greenie Troopers at the border to keep out the New Yorkers and Jerseyites……seriously, ski lodge parties? Really?

Fifty-one more days of insanity……one can only hope……is it really possible that we could have him back for four more years….does anyone care about dignity, integrity and humanity???…..C’mon people now, smile on your brother……just in case , we are planning on joining the hidden huddled masses in safe houses in Derby-Line on the border, to jump The WALL into Canada…and see if we can get yellow cards, or whatever it is they have there….please don’t make us go….

More dinners on the ground………had a magnificent late lunch at the home of the slightly brain damaged surgeon and his lovely bride on Tuesday……hours of five course meal and paired wines in the autumn sunshine, surrounded by mountains in their Weston abode……is this what retirement might look like….in Canada?…………….

More DOTG…. this afternoon the Master French Chef and his Francophile wife are coming over for yard dinner…. allegedly bringing the real deal Crème Brule……what will we do in a month when it is too cold for outside dining?……back to Quarantinie?………………..

Day Trippin’…….a one way ticket, yeah…it took me sooooo long to find out……Did long day trip on Thursday up to Middlebury to visit the new dispensary (drive though…would you like fries with your edibles?)….and lunch at Mama Corleone’s….then, dirt road, six mile walk through dappled late afternoon sunlight…..then yesterday, after the requisite Saturday trip to see the Dumpmaster, we headed down to the Weston Priory, though The Brothers must have gone to Atlantic City for the weekend….empty fall glory by their magnificent pond (why do they still have water in theirs? Godliness?) ……then up mountain dirt roads to the hamlet of Landgrove for another walk in the woods….

Finished the day with an early dinner on the ground in Rutland , at the chiropractor’s deserted compound (one of many of our go-to picnicin’ tables to eat take out without driving home)…..prefect late day setting sunlight…still a shocking 73 degrees…..fountain flowing in idyllic-pond….Lucy chasing chipmunks on her own version of heaven……had to stop on the way at the vocational school, where we scoped out a spigot by their greenhouses, to give Lucy her 500^th road bath…since Jenn would not let her in the car after she found rolling mana…..

Won’t you scratch my itch, sweet Annie Rich………. Leaves, Leaves, Leaves………….

Speaking of my muse, Gram Parsons, Nave, Max, Mitch and I have been working on the virtual band platform on getting a take on my new song, New Days’ Risin’ on the Blues……. I am attaching it to this e-mail for anyone interested in the lyrics……if you read The Blog on the Web, it won’t be available…have to go old school e-mail to open the attachment……but here’s a verse and chorus…… like it or not……Started this song in 1975 as love and heartbreak song…now it’s turned into a shit storm and heartbreak song….

The fever’s raining down upon us,
The cost we pay for shutdown eyes.
Howlin’ winds and storms all around us,
Led by the Devil in Disguise.

Decades down the road,
Can’t let that train be slowed.
What happened to our promised land?
Lost tryin’ to cross the Rio Grande.
We need to reach for livin’ true,
A new day’s risin’ on the blues.

And that’s about the scope of it……Ry and Lauren coming for a visit this week with g-daughters Quin-Lily and Baby Harper…. got to go kid proof the manse……. Later than today, but not as late as tomorrow….

Papi

Greetings and Happy Holiday weekend- such as it is:

“A man is known by the silence he keeps” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Oliver Herford

“Your practice is your life” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Zen Saying

“After the Ecstasy……………………………. the Laundry” …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. More Zen

These are the TEN THINGS I learned this week in the Mountains:

It is legal to vote more than once in national elections– apparently our fearless leader has ruled that we can all vote by mail and then go and vote in person. I’m thinking that since I live in two places, I can therefore vote four times if I make the effort……………I’m really glad we now have this option to clear up any concerns with voter fraud….

Twenty-two month olds now trot off in the morning to get the school bus……apparently to go to virtual school……. just see the pictures!!!

There is indeed Fire in the Hole– The way to eradicate ground holes with Bee Colonies in them is too blow up the hole- The Queen got this from The Dumpmaster and has spent the better part of the last week pouring accelerants into various holes in in the yard and then setting them on fire…an endless crusade to not be bit again, which requires very special outfits……she is now The Queen Bee too……

Long curling locks suddenly appearing on an aging hipster draw a lot of notice and comments- ranging from “Hey Hippie Boy” to “Are you really Charlie Rich” to “Is that really you?” ……liking the idea of emulating the old Bluegrass Legends……can you say “Uncle Pen?” …….

Who Knew?????…. Barn Projects never end- After finishing all the siding on the old horse barn, we spent this week pouring concrete in holes in the foundation corners, that may go all the way to China……building new barn windows, and trying to erect a gutter/downspout system without buying any materials (have already made too many trips to the Depot for Corona times) ….is this really My Destiny?????……..

When the Barn Projects are done for the day, the Jewish Pig Farmer (and the JPF Bride) arrive unannounced for Bonding and dinner- filthy, sweaty and tired is a wonderful time to greet unannounced and rare guests….but when you need Bonding, apparently you need Bonding…..had an hour and a half of exorcising from The JPF…and then …POOF…gone…leaving dinner behind for us to heat up…apparently they got hungry on the 20 minute drive over and needed to stop by the side of the road to eat their part of dinner…………………..only in Vermont….

The British Hairdresser comes for dinner and tries to move in- Lovely night, dinner on the ground (TQ outdid herself….real whipped cream with her freshly made Rhubarb Cake), cuts an trims on the deck….from our friend Cockney Tracy…..while she lobbied for the newly remodeled and electrified Horse Barn as potential dwelling while she sells her house and considers whether to buy a new one or live off the land…..we would have to build a tiny outhouse for her….but What the Hell….we would then have The TTT…..Tracy-The-Tenant….

Top Secret Newsflash– The Canadians are halfway finished with building a masked-wall to keep us out……

There is no public access to lovely Lake St. Catherine- headed down along majestic Route 30, between the walled mountain corridor where the hawks make their abode, for picnic outing….beautiful lake, but only for those who own it….wound up in the village of Poultney for picnic and hike up the secret dirt lane to the hidden, mountain, tiered cemetery….maybe the biggest in the state, with stones dating back to the mid-1700s….who knew?…..and learned that men often outlive their wives in Vermont…..enlightening……

And that’s all I got….so only nine lessons learned this week…. but then…who’s counting anyway?……………….

Wear you masks…save a life……stay well…try to have some fun……

Arriva Derchi……Papi

Sunday, Sunday…can’t trust that day…………

‘It’s taken me all my life to learn what not to play” …………………………………………………………………………………Dizzy Gillespie

“The butterfly counts not months but the moments. And has time enough” ……………………………………………Rabindrnath Tagore    

“You crawl, you walk….and then, you run” ………………………………………………………………………………………………. Clay Davis (in The Wire)

Been a whiz of a week…what is there really to say these days?……………………………….We worked, we shopped, we masked, we finished our Quarntinie……How much can one scribe pour out……Lets keep it brief-with almost -one – liners for this week’s missive……

The Queen said we had a SMALL project to do…. spent much of the week tearing down the back of the old horse barn, burning 48 straight hours of junk wood, making massive trip see The Dumpmaster (“why don’t you come up here alone and leave the missus at home, and I’ll go make her a visit?” ………………then putting up all new barn siding……. left de circle, right de circle…

I keep telling TQ that little Jewish boys from the Bronx don’t do these sort of things……but memo apparently missed….

Mountain days and nights swinging back and forth from high humid summer to autumn in the breeze……spotted first maples changing color this week…. what will we do when we can’t hang with folks in outdoor settings?

Does everyone Zoom in their underwear?…………that’s how we roll for work in the new normal….

Making music on a web platform with your posse…. not ideal, but still pretty cool…. working on new age protest song with The Nave and the Prodigal on line……

Getting the hang of dinner on the ground…. had The Erstwhile Russian Spy and the Venerated School Marm for cookout last night…sat through light summer rain under the pines…. still no one has entered the abode here since our June return…. but TQ requires social gatherings, thus dinner on the ground….

Better late than never…. we are working through five seasons of “The Wire” …which I resisted for years in stubborn reaction to the constant “better-than-sex” proclamations from my Baltimore friends…. Well….it probably is!!!!!…. may be best show ever on the Tube…. Would love to have Omar over for dinner……

The Convention: All conventions should be virtual-best I’ve seen……John Kasich????…man has guts……Julia Dreyfus-off her nut. We wept through Barack’s speech……can we just have him back?…….how could we, as a people, go from that …to THIS?…….cannot say Joe bowled us over…. but such a decent, good, caring man…how many votes can I cast?……..

Whilst…. The Numchuck says NO to a fed judges’ order to release his taxes, has more of his appendages charged with election related felonies, promotes a new Covid miracle drug, jumps all over criticizing New Zealand for having 13 new cases…. calls everyone at the convention names, and continues his efforts to sabotage the election/democracy daily….in my old world, we called this adjustment reaction to adolescence……. if we were being generous

And now……have to go move dirt to finish the grading on the new back barn….and get ready for this week’s assault on getting electric to all the out buildings…. gotta love a SMALL project…. Que sera, sera…….

Keeping my word on brevity- for once……go out and enjoy a blessed, Masked day…….

Stu

Greetings Fellow Travelers:

“If you miss the present, you miss your appointment with life” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. Thich Naht Hanh (you know him, right?)

“The shortest answer is DOING!” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Lord Herbert

“Sometimes the lights all shining on me…other times, I can barely see” …………………………………………………………………………………………..Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter

We’re back…. after a three-week hiatus……have you been checking your inbox daily to see where the hell the missive is? Are you Jonesing? Well, there’s been a lot to keep the fires burning…. made the trip back to the Heartland for THE SALE, and back with our HazMat suits….and lived to tell about it……now, ensconced back in the mountains, and the cool morning dew tells us that Fall is approaching……

Traveling in the time Of COVID– is not all that simple…involves a lot of outdoor peeing, for which The Queen is a master (20 seconds or less)….I try to empty her cavalcade of fluids when she is not looking, but she winds up consuming gallons anyway; ergo the 20 second frequent pee stops along the way……………..our trips would be a lot shorter if I could stay off the phone with The Prodigal and The Nave….and not repetitively miss exits as a result….though we had perfect driving weather both ways, and the animals were great roaming around the detritus accumulated in the back of the car….stayed at the Marriott in Binghamton each way, which is getting more and more crowded with urbanite, mask-less escapees….luckily were able to find rooms in the back away from the revelers…and, the hotel maintains five nights between guests per room-so felt relatively safe…..On the way, I managed to place a takeout order at  a Greek Place in San Antonio thinking it was in Binghamton (same name place on line), only to find when I got to the joint to pick it up, they had no idea what I was talking about  (though they sure did in San Antonio when I called to find out where the food I ordered was -they offered to deliver, but seemed like we would still be there waiting for dinner)…..

A 45-year-old house is like new to a one eyed man– WOW-being used to living in houses from two centuries ago, it was shockingly easy to return to our new place- just walked in, opened the blinds and turned on the AC….no mold, mildew, mice, rodents, blown fuses, broken appliances, plumbing leaks, etc……does everyone live like this? I thought everyone lived with rodents?

End of an Era– I excerpt from the e-mail I sent to the family on the day of closing- “We came back to Ohio this week, and this morning closed on the sale of the beloved Bunty Station homestead after 35 years. Last night, the band gathered in the driveway for one last hootenanny-a blessed event in beautiful late day sunshine. After everyone left, Steve and I had stayed to make one last walk around the property and to reminisce about all that has happened there in the last 35 years- beauty, jubilation, a 1000 rituals, celebrations, sadness and mourning…. a lifetime of memories. We grieved the lost ones: Helen, Ron, Pat Burrows, Work Barbara, Pat Cianflona, Joy, Barbara and Larry, Mom, Mocha and all the cats- many of whom are buried there in some fashion in the family graveyard.

All of you have at one time or another, in one way or another, shared this extraordinary journey, and the ending is certainly bittersweet, but spent the afternoon yesterday meting the new owner and walking through the various ropes and idiosyncrasies…and he will clearly love the house, and we are only five mines away-so when in Ohio, we can drive by and keep tabs on the changes he makes and feel the connection from afar.

It was the best of times It was the worst of times…. now we move on.”

The sale went without a hitch, the Band played, we all got to say goodbye, and the house is now in the hands of someone who is really excited to have it, and will love it. I know this after spending two hours with him the night before closing and answering his three pages of typed out questions. Despite, Stu’s ongoing Change-Trauma, it was a happy ending. I am including below a link, for those of you not on Facebook or trolling You Tube, to the Last Dance music videos The Band (without Brother Al) did in the driveway the night before closing. Check out the brand new song about the world we live in. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGI0SwROVPgOvob3p8oGBhA/

Babies, Babies, Babies -Nanna and Papi went hog wild –seeing all the g-daughters in one week. Got to babysit Sloane and have multiple dinners… and visited with Quin-Lily and Baby Harper for the first time since February on the way back. Manna from Heaven…check out the updated Angel-Pix…. Sloane was perplexed to have us seem to emerge from the TV, where we seem to live through our Weekly Portals, and Quinn was eager to find out what we had for dinner….

Back to The Inn- The car had not stopped rolling into our drive when The Queen jumped out to begin watering the plants and herbs…and was soon on the road to locate horse shit…. maters, melons, beans all on the way…better late than never in our Northern climes…. Except for being down about two feet due to prolonged drought, THE POND was pristine and beckoning (foreshadowing for later) …. after a whirlwind week, we settled in for our Quarantine…

Car Repair in the Mountains #2- After getting settled, we headed up to the wilds of New Hampshire to pick up my car from the only place in the Northeastern United Sates that would repair my exhaust system. Returned home to car not starting and all the check engine lights on, so now have had to search out another mountain mechanic…luckily I discovered I can get it started by winding up the crankshaft, rolling downhill and jumping in to pop the gears (you’ve seen that movie, right?) ……so basically carless again, but who really needs to go anywhere anyway?

A Rare Sighting- after taking the car to Mountain Tony to computer the problem (of course it started right up and no check engine lights……he basically said take two aspirins and call me in the morning) …. we decided to stroll through the hills above Ludlow and encountered a Brigade of Hasidim from Williamsburg, moving into a forsaken ski chalet. The NYC folks are all trying to hide out in Virus-free Vermont…. but this is going to add some local color to our local ski community (along with the now ubiquitous Jamaicans next door) …I was trying to figure out how to surreptitiously take their pictures, to which Jenn said “just go talk to them, Jew to Jew” …I opted for the telephoto lens….

Kayaking on Blues Sky day– first time in six years without Lucy (who was howling with indignation as we left her in the house, and has since moved in with the Jamaicans) …. makes the trip quite a bit easier…and quick……good Quarantinie activity…

Jenn mows with The Bees– whilst I walked around in my underwear, and made soup, Jen got back on the horse –roaming the property in search of projects and decided mowing was in order, then proceeding to mow over a bee hive and, last I saw, she was flailing her arms, running down the mountain towards Rutland in her beekeeper suit………………….

Corona- treat– we have taken up traditional Chocolate Malt making (after spending a week finding malt on line…. where have the candy stores gone?) ….and this is our new late night Quarantinie activity-check out the machine…. when did you last see this?

And, the latest project– can’t keep a good woman down, so we are embarking on the replacement of the back wall of the old horse barn (don’t ask). We have someone with actual skills coming to assist this week, but we have the grunt work to do, which started yesterday with moving forty years’ worth of boards, flooring, pipes, hoses and general junk from the collapsed lean to built on the back of the barn…we yanked, we burnt, we stacked we sorted, we sweated…… and we finally crawled into The Pond in late afternoon sunshine for a floating beer and doze…. then down to pick up dinner at DJ’s in Ludlow and find the proverbial picnic table to eat it….we are slowly documenting all the abandoned dinner-worthy picnic tables in the State of Vermont…….

And that, my friends, is far more than enough….be well, stay safe, don’t hug strangers…….

Papi