Brewster Meadows

We had some strong winds last week...

The lid was ripped off the hot tub...

Shingles were blown off the roof...

Power was out for about 4 hours...

Big tree was blown down across the driveway...

Goldendoodle named Misty was attached to my leg...

And...

Greetings! It has been a while since I shared any of the activities here at Brewster Meadows. We are winding up January with the days getting longer. We’ve been busy keeping everything going. The chickens are laying 10 – 11 eggs/day and we have an “outlet” for them and we enjoy a fresh egg omelet or frittata.

We had some wonderful snow fall a few weeks ago, topping out at about 24 – 26 inches. Skiing was fabulous both XCountry here and downhill up at Smuggs. Alas, the Jan thaw hit and the snow depth are back down to 6 – 8 inches. Maybe a nice storm will do a big dump of snow in the next couple of days… The tractor is ready and raring to go. In the interest of spoiling our “little” puppy, I have taken to plowing and snow-blowing a path around the meadow behind the house.She is a wonderful curly long haired long legged wiggling fur ball who loves the snow and dives in head first chasing mice she hears or thinks she hears. She is up to 52 pounds and hopefully is about full grown.

After the growing season this past fall, we decided to redo the garden beds. We now have officially raised beds with wood sides and rows wide enough to plant grass and mow the paths. Hopefully, it will make things easier.

Before Christmas, we decided to maintain our Scuba skills and went diving in the Turks and Caicos. It was consistently the best series of dive sites ever. It had been a few years but we quickly got into our rhythm and had a wonderful time. The crew and the guests all worked together to make the week exceptionally enjoyable.

This trip cut into the cookie making for Christmas, but we still managed 9 or 10 different varieties to be enjoyed for the season.

We continue to enjoy our winter wonderland. Remember, we are only 5 minutes from Smugglers Notch Resort and the skiing is great. There is snow shoeing and XCountry skiing on our property as well as up at the resort. Or you can relax with a “hot toddy” and read by the fire with the “critters” to keep you company. The hot tub is a wonderful place to unwind and it doesn’t stay snow covered very long. It’s a great place to relax, even it the air temperature is on the chilly side. 

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.