devastation

At this point in time, the title of this blog doesn't seem so charming. Vermont is devastated. We were actually very lucky. The creek has receded, and the road is a town road. No damage to the house. Shawn had some pictures on Facebook, and her road looks like our road.

Hurricane Irene

Came back from Montana into Vermont and Hurricane Irene. Our flight from Chicago to Albany was cancelled so we drove. The hardest part of the journey was at the end when we couldn't get off the bypass into West Rutland. After several unsuccessful attempts, we took a dirt road over the mountain by Pond Hill Ranch, and came into Ira from the back. After seeing all the water, I was sure that our bridge was gone, but it didn't move a millimeter. I have much admiration and gratitude for the people who put in that bridge. Some of the area around the bridge, and in the lane are washed away, but it is fortunately a town road. Route 7 is washed away north and south of Rutland, and Rte 4 around Mendon as well. I will provide pictures when our internet access is restored at home.

tiaras

August 17, 2010
Sunny. There is a vine that is very prolific at this time of year. It sends out spikes of white flowers at the tops of the bushes it inhabits. It looks like bushes all over Vermont are adorned with pearly white tiaras. I don't know the name of this vine. Kate Carter, the lady who wrote Wildflowers of Vermont, also has a book on the flowering vines of Vermont. I'm not buying that book. I have enough obsessions.

August 19, 2011
It's nice to now be able to offer up photos of what I'm seeing around Vermont. I also included a picture of Jewelweed, and another beautiful white flowering vine. The down side is I get lazier in describing things as I have the photos to fall back on.

feeling

Joe Pye Weed

Sunny and cool. Crabapple on the sidewalk at work. Scarlet leaves appearing on a maple in West Rutland. The fireflies of 2011 are mostly gone. Preseason football games have started. There's a feeling of fall in the air.

clogging

the Day farm, Ira, Vermont

Cloudy. Undergroud bees get defensive this time of year. Allyn found some by the garden. A co-worker got chased by some at his house. I ran into a nest at the Zen Center, got stung four times. Jerusalem Artichoke in Pittsford. When they're mature  they're 8-10 feet high. Fields brush hogged in West Rutland. Humidity clogging up the salt in the salt shaker, my absolute favorite observation since I started doing this almost 5 years ago. It's as much a sign of summer as a sailboat on Lake Champlain.

cardinal flower

cardinal flower

Rainy morning. Road crews busy on Cold River Road and in West Rutland. Beans, zucchini, and bell peppers appear in the cafeteria at work. Pack of bicyclists along Rte. 133. Cardinal flower, the most beautiful flower in Vermont, has returned to it's usual site near the West Rutland swamp. It is intensely red. This photo really doesn't do it justice.

rainy morning

bouncing bet

A rainy morning. Catalog advertising fall classes at College of St. Joseph. Grasshoppers supervising wood cutting in the back. Goldenrod appearing. It's the season for vintage car shows. Antique cars appearing on route 7 on the weekends.