Summer Changes

Last week was Summer. From Sunday thru early Saturday it was hot, humid and miserable. We had 6 days of temperatures in the 90's, lots and lots of storms, and blazing sun when it wasn't raining. We often get hot spells like that, and they sometimes last for several days in a row, so I wouldn't consider it strikingly unusual. Tourists, however, were pretty surprised, especially those who thought they were heading north for cooler weather. They should have travelled south to Dallas. Sunday and Monday their highs were only in the 70's. Friday it was 98° when I drove thru Burlington and got on the highway. As I travelled home the temperature dropped to 70 by the time I pulled onto our road. The rains came about an hour later. Sunday was really nice. Cooler, drier and less humidity.

Today, it felt like Autumn. It was pretty sunny and nice in town, but still only 70° when I left work. It was cloudy, breezy and 57° when I got home. The house felt chilly and all the windows were closed up. I put pants on and now I have a long sleeve top on! I know it will still warm up,  but most of the daytime highs in the week ahead are only in the 70's, with an 80 here and there. Just like that, we forget that week of super hot weather, and we start to think about the colors changing on the trees and apples and pumpkins! It can change so quickly here, but that's what makes it fun too.

Other changes will be happening soon too, along with the change in the season. On Sunday my sister will join her husband in our family room to begin their lives in Vermont. We will all be trying to live together as one happy family until they sell their house in New Hampshire and find another to buy here in Vermont. They will both be living here because they have taken transfers with their jobs, and need to begin working here. My brother-in-law has been here since the first of June, and my sister will start her job on Monday. I know this won't always be easy, I know there will be days we will all be in each other's way, but I'm also excited to be able to have them closer and to share what we love about Vermont with them. A move is one of life's most stressful occasions, and I hope I can help them get thru it as easily as possible. It will be tough on them, and probably us too, but we will make it work, and in no time at all, they will be settled in their wonderful new home, and we will be able to share so much more of our everyday life with them. This is going to work out wonderfully! I will keep you posted!

A Warm, Rainy and Muggy Summer

It's July! Summer is well under way here in Vermont. This one has been very damp and humid, and the forecast shows mostly more of the same for 10 days out. We talk about the weather here. A Lot! Probably because it changes so much. You can never count on days and days of sunshine and consistent temperatures like you can in some parts of the country. I am finding the topic of weather is often brought up at work, especially now that there are so many tourists coming into the store. Many visitors aren't that bothered by the storms we have been having, and like to compare it to what they have at home. Most of the complaints are coming from the Vermonters who know that summer is extra short way up here in the north, and having so many days of unsettled weather means an even shorter time of nice days before the season changes again. Visitors are here for a week or two, and let's face it, no one comes to Vermont, even in July, for beach weather! I would have to say the absolute worst thing about this kind of summer is that the bugs are out in full force, especially the blood-thirsty mosquitoes. They are so horrible this year, everywhere. It's awful just taking the dogs down the driveway for their afternoon walk. One step in the grass and the mosquitoes swarm around the dogs and me. By the time we turn around to come back we run to try to outpace them. Sometimes it works, and other times it doesn't. ...but, it sure is GREEN here!

I did escape to Cape Cod for a few days the end of last month:

This is the beach a block from the house. 12 of us were all together in a big old house my niece and her husband rented. It was so much fun, and a great vacation. All of my and my sister's grandchildren, sister, brother-in-law, 2 daughters, niece and husband. Beach time, play time, book time, super-super meals prepared by a world renowned chef, We had great weather the whole time. A morning or two of fog that burned off by 10, but mostly sunny, warm days perfect for the beach and ice cream. It was exhausting, but a wonderful 5 days filled with lifetime memories for all. 

Magic

I live in a Magical Place!

On my way to work the other day, I snapped this picture of Sadie under the big maple tree. It was overcast, probably had been raining since that seems to be all its doing lately, and she had been laying down until I stopped the car. But something about the way it looks bright behind her, and the contrast of the dark branches and dark calf, and the green, green grass just looks like a fantasy-type place. I have a little elf door at the bottom of a tree across from the house, and I plant flowers around the rock walk way going up to the door. Tiny, little wild strawberries grow all around it. I have never seen an elf near it, but I can imagine them dancing thru the trees. 

The Elf Door

The forest is saturated with moisture this morning, everything dripping with the falling rain, and the leaves hang heavy with the weight of water. And if fog comes rolling in, then it truly seems like magic is happening out there. This is looking into the woods, just past the driveway:

The woods are thick and dense now. You can hardly see thru the trees. And they are probably packed with mosquitoes too. But it looks so mysterious out there, and there are times I can hear something moving around in the trees, but can't see what it is. Often it's just a squirrel or chipmunk, or maybe a turkey. But if you pretend real hard, it could be just about anything...

Snow, Sleet, Sun and Hot

Today is Thursday. Four days ago there was a marathon in Burlington. It was cold, it was freezing and at times the runners were out in sleet. Windy, rainy and 43°. Mount Mansfield had 6-8 inches of snow, and they closed Smuggler's Notch. We turned the heat back on in the house, and wore coats outside. On Monday it was clear, and many of the mountains were white-capped. 

Fast forward to today:

View from the patio I am sitting on.

Sunny, clear blue sky, light breeze and EIGHTY-SIX DEGREES out! Absolutely crazy!  The high tomorrow is 90. What a turnaround. But its beautiful out here, and I like the warm weather. I love sitting out here, taking it easy, listening to the birds and smelling all the flowers that are opening up. There are lilies of the valley, lilacs, wild roses and honeysuckle in bloom. It's hot, but its not like the heat of summer in July or August, its still a fresh heat. It is still spring, after all. And what else happens in spring? You go out in the meadow and find this:

Nellie had her little heifer this morning. She is about 2 hours old in this picture. Here's a close-up:

We don't have a name yet, but have suggested "Brussels" to go with the other calf out there called "Sprout!"

Tomorrow is the start of Jazz Fest at work. We love this Festival. It is so much fun having the live music right outside our door. And it is supposed to be hot and sunny, so perfect for sitting outside enjoying the sounds. I think we'll eat at Leunig's Restaurant on Wednesday afternoon. It should be fun. It's been busy at the store, so I hope it continues. Life is good.

Welcome Little Sprout!

Little Sprout and his mommy, Beth

The cows are back in our meadow for the summer. Meet Sprout, who is only 6 days old. He is so cute running all around out there in the tall grass. When he lies down, you can barely see his head above the green. We also have 3 other full grown cows, and one of them, Nellie, is pregnant, and she should calf any day. Last year we didn't have the calves in our meadow, and sadly, neither one of them survived the winter. We are hoping that with our wonderful meadow, the mommies will graze all summer and give very nutritious milk so the little ones have a better chance of making it. It is fun to see them out there as I drive in and out. Cows on one side and horses on the other. Makes me feel like I live in the country! Oh, that's right, I do!

And, speaking of little ones, here's another one out grazing in the meadow!

(I borrowed this one from his mommy's blog!)

And here are a few more cutie pie little ones: 

Ahhhhh, Spring Time is wonderful!

Flowers For Mother's Day!

Had to share the beautiful bouquet of flowers that I received for Mother's Day this year from my granddaughters:

I smile every time I look at them. It's been a wonderful day. Had breakfast at our normal place and all of the regulars were there. Lots of chatting with people we only know because of eating there on Sunday mornings, and people we know from the neighborhood sugar house. I baked a cake, did some wash, talked on the phone, and we went for an afternoon creemee (mine was pistachio) even though it was cloudy and chilly out and we sat in the car and ate it! Now I'm going to make a new kind of pizza for dinner right after I take the dogs out, and relax the rest of the day. 

And I will always remember the Mother's Day story that a customer shared with me last week about buying herself the dragonfly necklace. She and her son had visited one of our stores and she fell in love with a dragonfly pin that day and bought it. Unknown to her, her son picked up the pair of matching earrings for her for Christmas.  A few months later he came again to visit and brought with him all of the Christmas presents because he wasn't sure he would be able to make it home for the holidays that year. Two months later he died, and his mother (my customer) couldn't even open the gifts that year. The next year she decided to open one each year as her way of sharing Christmas with her son, and the gift she opened this past year was the pair of dragonfly earrings. She remembered that we also had a necklace to match them, so she came in and bought it as her Mother's Day present for herself, because that's what she has to do now, and she feels her son would want her to do it. We both had tears in our eyes when she finished telling me about it, and I felt honored that she shared it with me. It makes me cherish my wonderful daughters and grandchildren even more.

Glorious Green and Breathtaking Blue

This post is about the final steps to Spring in Vermont:

 Mighty Maple, April 25th

Mighty Maple, May 6th

It's easy to see that once it started, the final burst of leaves came very quickly. We have had 2 weeks of glorious, sunny, warm weather day after day. The leaves are fully out, the meadow is green and growing tall, and the sky has been a magnificent blue. Plus its been warm, in the 70's and even a few low 80's. Now we have a spell of rainy, cooler weather coming our way, but we do need the rain to keep everything green, and for the farmers as they start planting their crops. We want that delicious corn on the cob in a few months! This really is a magnificent time of the year up here, and I truly enjoy it. It won't change much in appearance until late September. We will deal with the mosquitoes and flies as summer moves in, and some flowers will come and go, but the green will remain and the sky will be blue on these sunny days, and life is good. Oh, see the posts in the photo above? That fencing is from the cows that were here last year, and they will be back by the end of the month. But we will

get two pregnant ones this year, and their calves will most likely be born here and with us all summer. That will be fun! 

And with all this sunny, warm weather, Church Street has come alive, and work has taken on a new atmosphere. The door is propped open, people wander in and out, the smells from the restaurants drift in constantly, and we stand in the doorway watching chair man, egg man and the mountain folks (our nicknames for the street performers.) We had a busy week with Mother's Day shoppers, and the college graduations going on, so its been a lot of fun. Now the tourist season will kick into gear, and we'll have a constant flow of new visitors. All is good and well...