By the time we had ice on the trees and landscape we had already had our first snowfall - one and a half inches of the white stuff. But that weather all felt like a heat wave. This morning the temperature was a record breaking 16 degrees! AND the Farmer's Almanac predicts a much colder winter in our part of the world! The firewood is almost all stacked. For more (almost) Wordlessness this Wednesday click here.
My visit with my cousin, Travis Marcotte, at the Intervale Center in Burlington, Vermont stunned me with the varied ways an organization could support farmers, the vitality of their conservation effort, the size of a marketing project like a food hub, and the excitement and involvement of a large community. Last week I described two of the IntervaleCenter’s programs: the Farms Program which allows farmers to lease land and equipment at reasonable rates; and the Success in…
This morning I woke to the first snowfall of the year. Just over an inch. Thirty degrees and breezy. A pretty preview of what is to come.
This pot of pansies was all but forgotten until the sun shone on it this afternoon. This large clump of chrysanthemums is still blooming so energetically that it refuses to be forgotten. For more Wordlessnes this Wednesday click here.
The Daylily Bank is beautiful in August. It is also the best idea we ever had for this steep bank right in front of the house. I started planting it from the top down and it took about three years to cover the whole bank. And there is still room for these clumps to continue to increase. For the most part I have chosen gentle colors of pale yellow, peach and pink, but some red crept in I…
Intervale: n. Regional. A tract of low-lying land, especially along a river. The Intervale Center in Burlington, Vermont has three goals: to enhance the viability of farming; to promote the sustainable use and stewardship of agricultural lands; and to ensure community engagement in the food system. Last weekend my husband and I went to Vermont to visit some of my cousins who grew up on a dairy farm in Charlotte. My father also worked on that 300 acre farm…
The view from the bedroom window shows that I have been working out in the Lawn Beds, and not picking up after myself, and the arrival of the first hard frost. The weather warmed up but there was another lighter frost on October 13. The gingko trees are slowly turning gold, color has nearly all left the rest of the distant landscape. Since the 13th we have had about 7 inches of rain in three rainfalls. There has…
When I arrived last Thursday afternoon the scene at the school gardens of the Discovery School at Four Corners were enjoying controlled chaos. Several teachers were staying after school to divide and pot up perennials from the butterfly garden. “Is this Echinacea or a rudbeckia?” one teacher asked and her spade bit into the center of the clump. “Don’t pot the dill! It an annual,” another shouted. “Are you sure these are all bee balm?” another asked…
Flaming autumn leaves have all fallen, but our sunset provides continuing flame. For more sky views click on Skywatch Friday.
While visiting cousins in Vermont I made a stop at the Fletcher Free Library in Burlington, Vermont. As a retired librarian I always stop in to visit libraries along the way. The Fletcher Free Library was founded in 1873 by Mrs. Mary L. Fletcher and her daughter, beginning with $20,000. Half was to be spent on books and half for an endowment. What a wise woman Mrs. Fletcher was to know that a library would need that ongoing…