Brewster Meadows

 

Well, tonight it’s supposed to get into the low 40’s, so the seasons are doing their usual dance.High summer with its wildflowers has passed.

The garden has gone from its mid-July order to its late August bounty. Once again planting and pulling weeds pales in comparison to the task of harvesting and preparing for storage.

The garlic is all harvested, the corn is almost ready (guarded from raccoons by pumpkins), tomatoes are turning red, peppers, onions, carrots, cabbage, cucumbers and beets are ready for harvest, and the winter squash is getting big. And, we are still bringing in batches of zucchini for stews and soups for the freezer.

The chickens are all doing well, happy in their coop and yard. One of the chicks has turned out to be a rooster, not a layer! We’ll keep him around for his proud strut and crow – at least for now.

And Deborah did finally manage to find keets (baby guineas), so we have four that are almost ready to be released from their nursery in the coop. She is hoping that they have fixed on the coop as home since they will easily be flying over the fence. That’s the idea – to get them into the garden for bug patrol. We only hope that they’ve read that chapter in the book!

The coop is all trimmed and finished now, and nestles in by the garden shed.

Jeannine visited this summer and for the first time we decided to buy firewood, so we were able to play a bit while she was here instead of our usual crazed felling, cutting and splitting. We decided to bring Misty to the reservoir for her first swim and for a nice afternoon of kayaking.

Deborah is scaling back work even more as of September and will actually switch her residency to Vermont as she will be up here all except for a few days each month – yippee on all accounts! She has been busy writing papers and presentations as her grant work slowly winds down.

Misty continues to grow! We swear that we can see her bones growing as she sleeps.We took her to puppy school, and she passed her test and graduated with flying colors!

And last week Ruthanne volunteered to do several moon rock presentations at the local library as part of a summer-long feature they have in honor of the 40^th anniversary of the moon landing.

We are so pleased that our guest room calendar for the fall is nearly full!  We are looking forward to wonderful times with friends and family.

Added comment: There is/was a blight going through New England and for the longest time we thought that we would come through unscathed. Unfortunately, one after noon we went out the the garden to find that most of the tomato plants were affected. We tried cutting off and back, to allow the fruit to ripen. Unfortunately, we lost the whole crop - about 100 pounds of tomatoes!!! Ahhhhh the joys and perils of gardening!!!!

 

Tasman Sea, New ZealandWhen I first started working on this entry, I said "Spring is here and we are in the middle of another building project." Actually we are almost officially into summer, but the news hasn't changed much.

Up to this point we were a little distracted by our “trip of a lifetime” to New Zealand. We spent two wonderful, albeit too short, weeks exploring both islands. Both were spectacular in their own right. We rented a car and wandered around the north island, focusing on the Maori culture and the Coramandel Penninsula. On the South Island we rented a MINI-camper and were off to the Southern Alp and sites from LOTR (Lord of the Rings) and the Narnia Chronicles. What a spectacular country! Almost Skiing weatherWe topped off our adventure at a Sheep Station in Arthur’s pass. (Sort of trying to “do” Alaska in two weeks.)

 

 

A group called “BugWorks” hired me to do directed activities in various schools. I’m guiding 6^th graders as we explore the Missisqou Water shed. I’ve been working with a variety of elementary schools in the Mississaqua watershed. It’s great and lots of fun! Water Bugs!We go out and “play” in the water, collecting specimens, checking turbidity and doing some water chemistry as we determine the “health” of the streams that feed into Lake Champlain.

 

Oh yes, there was also a trip to Colorado where Deborah had a consulting session with some higher education folks and I had some over due time with my cousins and “the little mixed up ball of genius” named Dante who will be 4 on June 21.

 

So you see we have a little excuse for not writing and sharing the activities here in Brewster Meadows

 

Now that we are back we are in a flurry of building because the chickens are on their way. That’s right, folks, chickens! Deborah has always wanted to raise them so a chicken coop is our next big project. Before we left for Denver I constructed a brooder box, but now that Deborah is here, she has taken over the construction project of building the chicken coop. They will have their fenced in yard, come in at night, and hopefully, be protected from predators. We – and whoever visits – will have fresh eggs!

 

The garden received a lot of our attention, especially Deborah’s. She spent a lot of time preparing the garden plot for tilling and planting. After days of preparation, the garden is finally in. The corn is sticking up, the tomatoes are planted, the beets are sprouting, the zucchini is in, as well as all the winter squashes. There are also carrots, yellow and green beans, eggplant, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower and a few that I have forgotten. The Lettuce circle is going great and there are some new lettuces planted in the cold frames. The strawberry beds are getting some overdue attention and the rhubarb is in full growth. Now it is weed and hoe and water and chase away the deer and groundhog.

 

The chicks are growing by the week and the chicken coop is coming along nicely. The plan is to have the chicken coop and chicken yard finished before the chickens outgrow the brooder box in the garage. That seems to be a real possibility.

 

And, as if there weren’t enough happening here, we have a new addition to the family. A little puppy named “Misty”. We went through a long list of names and I think “Misty” is it. She is a Goldendoodle – cross between a Golden Retriever and Standard Apricot Poodle. She is a sweetie and the boys are getting used to having another critter around.

 

And so the adventures continue at Brewster Meadows.

 

Welcome back! Last week when I first started writing this entry I said, "It’s quiet here at Brewster Meadows. The snow has returned and blanketed everything in sparkling stillness. We had some cold weather by Vermont standard, but were still able to get out and do some snow shoeing and x-country skiing." 

Today is anything but quiet. THe snow is trying to fall, but the winds are keeping lots of the snow airborne. THe weather forcasters predicted 12 - 14 inches. I think it has to land and stay put before it counts. BUT, we are getting snow, so when things settle down we will be out playing in it!  If you are interested in skiing info, go to Smuggler's Notch and get their snow/trail report. 

I thought I'd get this written and posted today, since I think we'll be at Smuggs tomorrow!!

The Christmas decorations are down, and with Blizzard’s help have been put away to be taken out another year.

Our amaryllis, a gift from Deborah's sister,  has bloomed twice showing us its majestic colors and is now resting comfortably. Of course, Andrew had to get into the act. There is Ferdinand and the flowers and Andrew and Amaryllis.

 

One of the most spectacular days for a long time was Tuesday. I’m not sure if it was in anticipation of the upcoming events at noon in our Nation’s Capital or just a remarkably peaceful day here in the meadow. When we returned from a quick errand, we noticed that “someone” had been walking across our meadow. We donned snowshoes and went out the see who our visitor was. One of the many deer, that make our woods their home. 

We continued our snowshoe trek arriving back at the house as the dignitaries were arriving at the capital. I suspect that we continue to take pictures, because we can’t believe the beauty that surrounds us. Nothing that I write could compete with some of these shots. 

Often we have winds that blow the snow from the trees, but this time it was still and peaceful. 

These two reminded me of cotton balls and I thought they should be photographed. 

As we walk along the meadow’s fence line we often see tracks in the snow, or beautiful plays of sunlight through the trees and shadows that dance along in the snow before us. 

When we leave the meadow and enter the trail, it becomes a magical place. We did some trail straightening this past summer and so have both snowshoe and x-country trails. This picture is our version of ‘Where’s Deborah?” 

While I am enjoying x-country skiing more than I have in several years, Deborah has been heading to the slopes to renew and polish her down hill skiing techniques. Of course, when the day is done, the sunlight is fading, and a warm fire is dancing in the fireplace, it is time for a refreshing and satisfying nap with the watchcat ever alert! 

It’s hard to believe that the seed catalogs have begun to arrive heralding the arrival of spring – in a couple of months. Until then, we would like the offer an invitation to come visit us in our little peaceful corner of the world. And  as with walks on the trail, we start at the house and end at the house.

 

Off in the meadow sits our little home. Snow has fallen and it will indeed be a white Christmas. Although, as I write this the temperature has climbed above freezing. We have had some beautiful snowfalls, not the heavy wet stuff, but light fluffy powder. It’s a great place to have fun in the snow, and of course, hot tub afterwards.

. Earlier in the fall, Deborah’s sister mentioned that she needed something to display the rugs that she wove. I, of course, took that as a woodworking challenge and built this display rack to surprise her during a visit here. There is still a to-do list for my woodworking projects. First, of which, is to do some insulating in the shop so I can work throughout the winter months.

Activities here are dictated by the seasons and holidays. Thanksgiving is a special time for us as we prepare for our traditional Thanksgiving Dinner over in Maine with Deborah’s sister. The best part of our Thanksgiving is the contribution that each of us brings to the table. Deborah makes the Pecan Pies, and her approach is, Well, if I’m going to make TWO pies, I might as well make TEN!!! And send them to friends… So the week before Thanksgiving was focused on pie baking.

While Thanksgiving means Pecan Pies, Christmas means Cookies. This year I had fun making 11 different types of Christmas cookies and reminiscing about who made which cookies and why.

Then I turned from Cookie Maker to Cookie Shipper and sent out 13 boxes. The house was a mess for a while, but for good reason. My favorite is still the ginger cookie…

Living in Vermont means – or should mean – SNOW! We had some beautiful fluffy white stuff blanket the ground several days before Christmas. I ended up clearing the driveway twice since we received over 8”. The ski report from Smuggler’s Notch Resort was wonderful…When it snows we try to get out and enjoy our woods and trails. Snowshoeing is fantastic, often crossing paths with the trails that deer or other wild life make in our woods and fields.

The trail along the Brewster River is especially beautiful. It changes every time we go out, so our only recourse is to take picture after picture. Sometimes we just can’t help ourselves. Maybe this can be the background for next years Christmas Letter.

Speaking of Christmas… Have a Merry Christmas, filled with every Joy! And a Very Happy New Year.

 

What a summer this has been. And a long long time in writing and sharing pictures of our life in Vermont.

• What a shoulderAs many of you know, I had my shoulder replacement Trail worksurgery back in April then 6 weeks in a sling, and lots of Physical Therapy later, I really have a wonderfully working shoulder and can sit and type and work and hang clothes and use the power wagon and do all the things that need doing on and around our meadows. Clearing and maintaining trails for skiing and snow-shoeing at Brewster Meadows is an important part of fall activities.

Outdoor KitchenAfter building three work benches, my first “new shoulder” shop project was building a modified bench to sit in the back of the house and function as a cooking prep area and storage for the Dutch ovens and outdoor cooking supplies.My second big project was building a “Jelly Cupboard” for the garage to store all the canned goods.

• The garden was a bit of a challenge this year. Everything came in just fine, but needed the sun to ripen. As a result about a third of the tomatoes stayed green, and were left on the vine one day too long. One frosty morning seemed to be a perfect one for pictures, so Deborah went out and tried to capture the moment to share with all of you. The sun moved slowly across the meadow, burning off the frost and returning the grasses to their fall green. Spider webs shimmered in the sunlight. Eventually we had a hard freeze and that was the end of the garden, however, we were able to salvage some tomatoes that were turned into stewed tomatoes and sauce. The cucumbers were great and we now have about 8 pints of Bread and Butter Pickles out in the garage. We also have Blue Hubbard Squash, Acorn Squash, and Butternut Squash, on the shelves in plastic storage cartons.

"Grim" reaperDeborah tried her hand at growing oats this past summer. BUT, what you sow, so also shall you reap. Here’s the “grim” reaper at work. The plot is too small to buy a tractor attachment and a little too big to do by hand. Right now we have oats in the barn and will take them to “historic days” and let folks try their hand at flailing. We may have our own oatmeal this winter, and then again maybe not?

• Another major project was the garage. We both worked at moving all the “junk” out of the garage, and then insulating it. We were smart enough to hire a crew to sheetrock it, but we were responsible for trimming the windows and painting it. The color scheme matches the house. We installed a new chest freezer for much of our harvest and keep track of its contents with a white board. There are soups and stews as well as strawberries and pumpkin. We had a heater installed to keep the garage temperature just above freezing and now have a place that we can use to store canned goods, and winter squash! We also harvested and froze several pints of corn, and we have plenty of pumpkins, both jack-o-lantern, and pie variety. I may try my hand at either freezing or canning some curried pumpkin soup.

We’ve had plenty of visitors this summer. Bette came and helped with a round of pickling. She took a pint of Bread and Butter Pickles hove with her and rumor has it that she is so proud of that jar of pickles she will never the jar, but uses it as a trophy in her office to shows to whoever wanders by.

• Whose legs are those?Some guests came to work in the shop. With Ruthanne’s guidance, Nancy built a foot stool perfectly designed to fit under her desk. Rumor has it that Nancy takes her footstool with her when she travels to show off what she made at “camp”. It’s the adult version of the popsicle stick hot plate. Some guests helped with the laundry. Others enjoyed the peaceful vista and read and relaxed.

Autumn is just starting here in all its glory with vibrant red and yellow leaves on the trees. Leaf-peepers come from all over to marvel at what we see out our window! But sometimes even we need to get out and enjoy the season. Deborah has been hiking up at Smuggler’s Notch almost every day for the past several weeks. I decided to join her on one of her hikes to enjoy the view. We stayed on the hiking/cross-country ski trails and snow show trails. We were out for about two hours and it was breathtaking, literally and figuratively!

• And in the end there is always a picture that needs no comment.