Though we’re not usually beach people we were pleasantly surprised when, a few months ago, we were invited by a few of Rick’s cousins to join them in Wildwood, NJ for a Scully family reunion. Rick had not communicated with them much in the past 20 years, and I had never had the pleasure of meeting them. So we booked a room in the hotel they had selected and planned for a trip to the beach.

Driving down was pretty easy. We left the house about 7:30 on Friday; zipped through Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut; had to wait for about an hour in New York to cross the George Washington Memorial Bridge; then made our way through the toll-road slolham on the Garden State Parkway, only getting a tiny bit off track just as we were crossing into Wildwood Crest. Rick’s excellent intuition and sense of direction quickly got us to the hotel just as Tami and Ed arrived.

The hotel looked like a beached cruise ship, white with tropical details and a multi-level porch/patio area off the back overlooking the ocean. Thankfully it was not one of the new over-done highrise hotels, but one of the many remaining theme hotels from the 1960’s. The themes reminded me of a more subdued, beach version of Las Vegas; an interesting combination with the ocean.

We were quickly (re)introduced to Colleen and Jamie and their kids (and one grand-daughter) and joined them on the ocean. We chatted for a bit before returning to the hotel patio for some grilling. After our food settled a few of the kids (myself included) decided to jump in the pool. I had forgotten how much I love swimming.

After the sun went down we moved up to the second-floor patio overlooking the pool. Exhausted after a full day’s drive, we retired at a reasonable hour. The next morning, I rose early hoping for a morning swim, only to find pool didn’t open until 10:00 a.m. So Rick and I headed to the nearly deserted beach to have a look around the tidal pools. I was surprised to see evidence of sand crabs and even a little beach grass on such a crowded beach.

The rest of the group rose and we headed to breakfast at the noisy and overpriced Flip-Flop Cafe, which seemed quite popular. Then we returned to the beach with Jamie, Cyd and Shannon, taking pictures and looking for shells.

The kids had made a speedy recovery from breakfast and wanted to go for a swim in the pool. I decided to wait a bit and parked myself by the pool with my knitting. Tim and Gina were giving Leanna a swimming lesson and I had a blast watching her jump from the side of the pool into her dad’s arms. Eventually I couldn’t resist and I joined the pool crowd for a few minutes, before we relocated back to the sand. By this time it was around noon and getting hot. We rented a couple of beach umbrellas, which were quickly erected by a very helpful teenage beach umbrella dude.

Rick and I were quickly roped into helping Forewoman Shannon build sandcastles Little did Rick and I realize at this point that we had failed to get an even coating of sunscreen on our legs and feet.

Meanwhile, Leanna had been playing with her parents and was eventually due for a nap, so the three of them went back to the hotel for a rest. By this time, I was hot and covered in sand, and Tami had been gently baking herself in the sun for good while, so we decided to join Cyd for a dip in the ocean. I had not been planning to swim in the salt water, but I was so hot and the water so cold at this point that I couldn’t resist. I had a shock getting into the water but once in it felt refreshing. I was surprised how far out Tami and I were able to wade and still reach the bottom. The tide was really coming in at this point and so even though it was a bit rough I felt comfortable. Tami and I were having a great time when we spotted dolphins about 50 yards further out from us. Though we never were very close, it was my first time swimming anywhere near larger sea life, and I understood why people like to snorkel.

We finally dragged ourselves out of the sea and I lay out under one of the umbrellas reading Sheep! Magazine. Rick returned and he and I had a catnap on the beach while Jamie and Cyd headed to the surf shop. Shannon returned and once again enlisted our help, this time in setting a trap for her brother. She devised a rouse by which she would invite him to sit beside her on a beach towel, only to trick him into falling butt-first into a pit. Rick tried to convince her the retribution she might face from Cyd would be worse than the joy she would have at tricking him. But I tried some reverse psychology and, while Rick went to cool his burning feet in the ocean, I dug in with enthusiasm to help Shannon make a deeper hole. After about 20 minutes of eager preparation and gleefully imagining Cyd’s expression as he fell into her trap, Shannon began to doubt the wisdom of her plan. Eventually she talked herself out of it and we backfilled the hole just as Jamie, Cyd and Colleen returned from the surf shop.

After some more beach time we made our way back to the swimming pool, where Shannon and I played at shouting to each other under water and trying to understand one another. We didn’t have much luck. The pool was very crowded so we didn’t stay long.

For dinner Tami had planned a special belated birthday meal for her sister Colleen, with fillet mignon for everyone and a birthday cake. All the family pitched in with various side dishes, and I saved the day with the lettuce we brought from our first CSA basket.

After dinner we decided to head down to the boardwalk. Cyd and Shannon played a few games on the midway and won a couple of prizes (Sonic the Hedgehog and a lovely pink gorilla). Then it was time for rides! Cyd spotted a terrifying ride: basically a small human hamster ball attached on the end of a bun-gee line which launched passengers into the air and left them swinging and bouncing for some time. Meanwhile, Shannon wanted to go into one of those 3-D horror houses and I was elected to join her. While I was happy to be Shannon’s wing-woman those spook houses always give me the creeps and I was glad we weren’t in for too long. Rick then joined Shannon on the carousel.

By this time Jamie and Cyd had determined that the line for the human hamster bun-gee ride was going to be over two hours, so they decided to ride the “Screamin’ Swing” (a very large, hydraulic-powered number). Realizing they would have a bit of a wait for that ride as well, Tami, Rick and I decided to try the “Great White” - an old fashioned wooden roller coaster, while Shannon hung out with Colleen and Ed. The Great White lived up to it’s name. The drops were spectacular, the curves spine-crunching, and by the time we were released we were definitely a whiter shade of beach-tanned.

We joined up with the rest of the group just as Cyd and Jamie were getting onto the swing, and we had a blast watching their faces and listening to their screams. Then it was time for a round of boardwalk food, including waffle/ice cream sandwiches, funnel cake, and soft-serve. We headed back to the hotel about 11:00 p.m.

The next morning Tami and Ed decided to sleep in while the rest of us trucked over to the restaurant in a nearby hotel for a big sit-down breakfast. The food at the Coronado was delicious and we took our time eating it. Rick and I had already packed up the car in anticipation of check-out time. After saying our good-byes the two of us decided to make a quick detour down to Cape May before hitting the road for the long ride home.

If you’ve never seen it, Cape May, New Jersey is a quaint Victorian beach town at the southernmost tip of the NJ shoreline. The architecture is beautiful and the townsfolk have done an excellent job of preserving the old houses, churches and municipal buildings. We were happy to find this community tucked away from the buzz and development of the beach. After strolling about and taking pictures, we stopped in at a dog-breed-fancier’s gift shop where we picked up a Boston Terrier flag for the garden, as well as some note cards. Then we hit the yarn shop that I’d spotted on the way in to town and I bought some beautiful hand-painted cotton yarn which I intend to use for baby sweaters for a couple of friends. (Side note: Why do babies come in waves? We have several friends who had babies about a year ago, and now I have a few more who all seem to be due this year between October and December.)

After the light shopping excursion we piled back into the car and headed towards the parkway. Traffic was heavy and by the time we reached New York City it was at a standstill. Thunderstorms were rolling in and as we neared the George Washington bridge the sky opened up. It took us over two hours to get across the bridge, only to encounter more delays on the other side. Eventually we made it into Massachusetts, the storm clouds parted, and we were able to drive the speed limit again. We high-fived when we saw the “Welcome to Vermont” sign, only to realize that home was still an hour and a half away. I put some moe. on the iPod and we grooved our way home through the dark, foggy night. When we finally pulled into the driveway, we noticed that our friend Justin had started building the sheep barn.

It was past 10:00 p.m. when we got home, but I was antsy from the long car ride and we were expecting a lot of contractors the next day, so instead of going to bed I decided to make some cinnamon rolls for the crew. Rick put some aloe lotion on his burnt ankles and feet and we finally hit the hay at 1:00 a.m. We had an awesome time at the beach and look forward to the next Scully family reunion. Next time we’ll just have to make a couple of modifications: find a way to avoid New York City, and remember to put sunscreen on our feet.

Today was one of the most exhausting New Year’s Eve I can remember, and we didn’t even attend a party. Well, not including the spontaneous one we created with Chris and David the night before.

Instead we spent the entire day returning home from our excellent adventure in England. We slept in as long as we calculated we could safely do without missing our flight. We fantasized about some change in the rules that would allow us to stay for as long as we wanted if we missed our flight, but decided we missed the dogs, and should head on home.

Contemplating how thankful we were that we packed lightly, we each took a pull bag and one to sling our our shoulder, checked out of the Pavilion, and dragged our slightly hung-over bodies to the Edgware Road tube stop a few blocks away. We stopped briefly at a chemist shop and purchased some Nytol to help me sleep on the flight.

We each got a tube ticket for Heathrow, and found a place to wait on the platform. After switching trains, we settled in to our seats on a packed train to the airport. The trip seemed to take forever, and we were starting to wonder if perhaps we should have splurged on the express. We were in no hurry to leave the country, but we could think of better places to be.

Checking in with Virgin was a breeze, and going through security was much less frustrating than our domestic experiences. After running through the duty free shop to avoid being overwhelmed by the perfume stench, we found a pair of seats and began the waiting process. For all our whinging, we had arrived quite early. Our flight had not even been listed yet, so we each took turns stretching our legs and looking around before deciding to kill time in an airport pub over a few pints and snacks.

When our flight finally was listed on the departures board, we walked a long way to the assigned gate where we were randomly selected to have our carry-on bags checked. The security personnel were courteous and respectful, and we were on our way after only a few minutes. Sitting outside the gate before the boarding process started we saw a man with a Pittsburgh Steelers jacket on, and I called “Go Steelers!” to him. He smiled politely and I thought I remembered the guy. While at the drink machine I spoke with his daughter and asked if they had been in Cambridge the Sunday before Christmas and she said they had. I told her that my wife was the one who had shouted “Go Steelers” at the sight of her father’s jacket that day, and she laughed. She returned to her family and relayed the story to her dad, who looked over and smiled.

It wasn’t too long before we boarded the crowded flight to Boston. We took our seats and waited, listening to various Americans stowing their luggage—and teenagers arguing over who got the window. We whispered to each other about our fantasy to stay in England.

Having popped my Nytol dose a few minutes before boarding, I adjusted my earplugs and read the sport page, hoping to sleep the whole way to Boston. I ended up being groggy and cranky, but thanks to much less turbulence than the previous flight, I wasn’t nearly as anxious. I realized we were on the same plane as our flight over when I tried to use the same dodgy entertainment unit in the headset. Naturally, the damned thing waited until I was on the last clue in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire!

Trying to sleep was impossible. Because the flight was going west the flight attendants were preparing people for the time change by constantly feeding and watering the cattle … errr … people.

Eventually we landed in Boston, got off the plane, went through customs, picked up our bags, and made our way to the area where we were to catch the Dartmouth Coach back to Lebanon, New Hampshire. It ended up we had missed the last bus by about 15-20 minutes, but we were on schedule for the bus we had planned to catch, which arrived about 40 minutes later.

The bus was quiet and dark. We set up the laptop to watch The Big Lebowski. The bus was playing a Will Smith movie, The Pursuit of Happyness, of which neither of us had heard. As I glanced up occasionally it looked like a slow-moving tale, and one that had significantly fewer special effects as most of Will Smith’s films.

The bus rumbled on in the dark, and the battery on the laptop pooped out on us a few minutes before our film ended, but not long before we pulled into the bus station. Sarah sorted out our stowed luggage while I walked to the truck and cleared it of snow. The vehicle was already warm as I picked up Sarah and we embarked on the last leg of our journey home.

It was nearly half ten when we pulled up our steep drive and entered the house for the first time in a fortnight. We had been invited to two parties in Vermont this New Year’s Eve, but the long travel day coupled with jet lag kept us from going to either event. We turned the heat up, unpacked some of our stuff, and cuddled on the couch where I drifted in and out of sleep.

Sarah woke me shortly before midnight. I poured us each a snort of scotch from the gift set Sarah had given me for Christmas; and as Dick Clark and friends counted out 2007 we toasted the new year, and each other, before making our way to our bed.

Since last year’s town meeting we have made many efforts to get involved. Sarah volunteered to fill one of the vacant auditors positions. Our town usually has three auditors, but Jim Wick had been working on his own the previous year, so he was very happy to welcome Sarah. After a trial period Sarah was sworn in as an auditor last year. She is up for re-election in 2009. Thankfully, the town elected another auditor this year to join Sarah and Jim since Jim is hoping to step down at the end of his term.

Last year’s town meeting ran very smoothly and—including the lunch break—only took about five hours. None of the elected positions were being challenged either, so we had no need to go to a paper ballot. Every incumbent was renominated, and every incumbent was reelected by a voice vote. Neither of us even recall hearing any nay votes.

This year there was some concern that things might get a bit heated. Since last year’s meeting, mold had been discovered in the town hall and the town offices. The mold was so bad that our Town Clerk had become ill. The Selectboard picked an abatement company, and the offices and the town hall were closed while the work was done. But the abatement wasn’t done well, costs and time on the project escalated, and apparently the work was started before a contract had been signed. In a nutshell, the job appeared to have been mishandled and a few weeks before this year’s town meeting one of our select board members (rightfully, in our minds) resigned over the matter.

We’d rather not go into too much detail, and this post is not intended to air dirty laundry or place any blame. In fact, overall, we believe the Selectboard, the Town Clerk, and the citizenry did a great job of handling what was a very difficult situation.

Below is a summary of the 17 articles the Town of Tunbridge discussed and decided at this year’s Town Meeting:

• We reelected Euclid Farnham as our Moderator.
• We reelected Wendy McCullough as our Town Clerk.
• We reelected Ann Mallary as our Treasurer.
• We listened to and approved all of the Town Officer’s Reports.
• We agreed to pay our taxes on or before November 1, 2007 and interest on delinquent taxes.
• We approved the budgets of the Selectboard and Highway Department.
• We agreed to allow the Selectboard to borrow money as needed for current expenses in anticipation of taxes.
• We approved the budget for the Tunbridge Volunteer Fire Department.
• We approved a sum of money to support the First Branch Ambulance operating budget.
• After much polite, yet enthusiastic, debate we approved a measure to use remaining funds in the Capital Improvement fund to help defray some of the remaining costs of the mold abatement project at the Town Hall and Town Offices.
• We approved the appropriation of money for the Capital Improvement Fund for future Town Building Capital Improvements.
• After a presentation by one of the Cemetery Commissioners, we approved money for a reserve fund for a new cemetery on land owned by Tunbridge.
• After some debate—and an attempt to introduce an amendment to cut the amount in half—we approved the allocation of money to finance the purchase of a new tanker truck for the Tunbridge Volunteer Fire Department.
• We approved a tax exemption for the Tunbridge Volunteer Fire Department and the Tunbridge Grange for the next five years.
• We approved roughly $8,000 in support money to a number of organizations including: Central Vermont Adult Education, Central Vermont Council on Aging, Clara Martin, Central Vermont Community Action, Chelsea Senior Center, Green Up, Kid’s Place, Orange County Court Diversion, Safe-line, Upper Valley Services, Vermont Association for the Blind, Vermont Center for Independent Living, and the Vermont-New Hampshire Visiting Nurses Association.
• We elected a new Selectboard member (Tim Wolfe), which required two ballots. With one exception, we reelected all other elected positions without contesting. The exception was a member of the Library Trustees who declined nomination and nominated his successor. The nominated successor was elected.
• The last article of business was “other nonbinding business” where the town heard from a variety of people, including announcements of fundraising dinners for school trips; information on organizations working to reduce energy use and global warming; expressions of thanks to various people for their hard work—including a round of applause for the Selectboard member who had resigned, but who had not attended this year’s meeting. The town also voice voted on a nonbinding resolution to call for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney. The vote was relatively close, but the ayes had it. Lastly we heard from our state representative, David Ainsworth, who spoke briefly about what was happening in Montpelier, and who encouraged people to contact him with any concerns they had.

We also had a lovely lunch sponsored by the Friends of the Tunbridge library, which included meat and vegetarian lasagna, a salad bar and more pie than any town could have possibly eaten in one sitting; although a neighbor kid announced to Rick that in addition to eating his lunch he had eaten 4 pieces of pie. Rick congratulated him and told him he hoped he didn’t get sick in his mom’s car on the way home. At lunch we got to meet one of our Cemetery Commissioners, Floyd McPhetres, and his lovely wife Eloise. Floyd is probably in his late 80s and has lived in town all his life. He lives in a house next to the one where he was born. Another woman who ate with us, Mary, was a student of Floyd’s when he taught high school many years ago.

The entire meeting, including lunch, lasted about four and a half hours, but went by very quickly. It was great to see so many of the people we have gotten to know over the first year we have lived in this great town, and it was nice to make new acquaintances.

I am out of work again

Since last August, I had been working at a cafe in South Royalton. This was somewhat because I needed a job; partially because I needed to talk to people and stop annoying our dogs; but also because the experience was expected to help since Sarah and I were thinking of buying the place. Without going into details, after many months of negotiations we decided not to pursue it further. So the cafe was sold to others, who understandably decided to run the cafe themselves and save the cost of paid staff. So as of February 16 (yep, my birthday), I am out of work. So the hunt for a job begins again. Any leads are appreciated.

I have plenty of pro bono work to keep me busy

In December I was asked to join the board of directors at Friends of the Morrill Homestead, the nonprofit group that helps oversee the Justin Morrill Homestead in Strafford, Vermont where I have been volunteer gardening since last spring. Each Board member is asked to sit on two committees, so I am now part of the garden committee and the web/technology committee. The latter is where much of the work comes in as I have volunteered to host, design and manage the group’s web site, which has not been revamped in nearly 10 years. There’s a lot of work to be done, but I am looking forward to it. As much as I have been enjoying the snow and lovely winter weather, I am also eager to start working in the Morrill gardens—as well as our own…

This year’s garden plans

After clearing all of those trees, and stumping the field, there is still much work to be done before we can start reaping the rewards of our own garden. Our soil analysis report came back last fall and, as we expected, the soil is extremely acidic and will require much amending. Couple this with the amount of rocks we still need to dig up and our decision has been made. We will spend this spring digging up rocks in one large patch that will eventually become our first garden. We will use those rocks in various places around the property, including using some to raise the aforementioned area where we plan to plant first. We will then begin amending the soil with lime and compost so that it will be ready for planting in 2008. We have also begun researching inexpensive ways to build a greenhouse, and hope to spend this summer getting that raised so that come next year we can use it to extend our growing season. All this means that we will again be using a local CSA as our main source of yummy vegetables.

Vermont Master Gardeners

All the time I spent toiling in the soil at JMH last summer paid off, allowing me to accumulate the required number of volunteer hours (and then some) to become a certified Vermont Master Gardener. Which is nice. There is still much work to be done in the JMH gardens to keep those volunteer hours rolling in, but I am also earning hours this year by being a site facilitator for the class in Randolph Center. The great part about this is that I essentially get to re-take the class, plus I get to meet lots of nice people.

Building project in the planning stages

One of the nice people I met in the Vermont Master Gardeners class this year is also a partner in a construction company that specializes in “green” building. Green building is—in a nutshell—construction that emphasizes using reclaimed, recycled, and engineered materials that reduce energy use and building impacts on human health and the environment. We want to build a two-car garage that will also have a rental unit on top of it and space for cold storage as well. We are in the preliminary stages of planning and have no clue what will happen with this project, but we really like the people at Albee Construction and hope we can work with them.

House decorating plans

This winter Sarah began acquiring paint samples and now there are little splashes of color in many of the rooms in the house. There are a few patches of various shades of orange (think butternut squash) around the kitchen to help us decide on a color for that room. There are also many types of green in the bedroom from which to choose. The splashes of paint serve two purposes as far as I can tell: first they offer us a few choices of color from which to choose, and secondly the splashes mean there is no going back. We have to paint now because we have all these colors patches all over the damn place. Well played, Sarah. In all seriousness, I am looking forward to adding our touches to the place in the form of color. The previous owners did a nice job of decorating, but we prefer bright and bold colors.

In addition to painting, we have decided that we need a better place than our $40 yard sale love seat to park our butts, and to accommodate the dogs, naturally. That and we have no place for guests to sit in the living area. So we took advantage of a recent Presidents’ Day sale and bought a sectional. Unlike the previously mentioned yard sale piece, we got to pick the colors and fabrics too.

A plow with a truck attached

After months and months of searching we finally found a second vehicle. Last fall we sold the Taurus that Sarah’s dad was generous enough to pass on to us. We sold it mostly because there was no way it was going to be able to get up and down our driveway. We had been hoping to find a truck this year and start saving for a plow for next year. Our neighbor charges reasonable rates to plow for us, but we wanted to be able to do this ourselves eventually. This month’s Valentine’s Day storm emphasized why this was important. It was a big storm and our neighbor was very busy plowing out his many clients. The day after the storm we had to wait until nearly 11 a.m. for our neighbor to free us from the more than two feet that had accumulated the day before. With our own plow we could have removed the snow incrementally rather than having our neighbor do the work in two sessions. We ended up finding a great deal on a used Ford F-150. The truck needs work, but the body is in great shape, it has relatively low mileage, and the thing came with a plow! The other great thing about having the truck is that we can use it to haul stuff to the recycling center and it will be great for hauling compost and other garden-related materials that we really have no interest schlepping around in the CRV.

Other fun distractions

We recently started attending some of the events coordinated by the members of UV Meet. Sarah has been making new knitting friends and attending small knitting parties, and we both have gone to at least one bowling outing. There are lots of similar “clubs” for home-brewing, and movie watching too. The site is set up like a local myspace, and is filled with lots and lots of really nice people. The only draw back is that while we are technically in the Upper Valley, most of the site’s participants live in New Hampshire, meaning many of the events are 30 minutes or so away.

Whew

I know this was another brain-dump post, but it seems that is all I am capable of lately. Besides, Doug challenged me to update, so I had to write something.

Green Up Day
The first Saturday in May is traditionally Green Up Day in Vermont. Rick postulated that Earth Day is just too early up here to be able to get out and do much. In April, the ground could still be partly frozen and covered in snow, making it difficult to find garbage to pick up, or start a garden, or plant a tree. But come May, Spring has finally extended northward, allowing Vermonters to get to work.

On our first Green Up Day, Rick and I got a lime-green trash bag from the Tunbridge town office, which we filled with trash we gathered from our road. After taking an inventory of the items we collected, I considered putting forth a proposal that Green Up Day be renamed “Pick Up After Your Redneck Beer-Swilling Neighbor Day”, as over 75% of the garbage was beer cans and bottles.

There were a few plastic soda bottles, some styrofoam cups, a bottle of baby lotion, and one can of motor oil, but it was obvious to me that if someone had curtailed his/her habit of tossing empty beers out the window of their car, there would have been significantly less trash to pick up. Be that as it may, I enjoyed hunting for garbage on a beautiful day, and plan to do this more often than once per year. The only downside is that the fluorescent green trash bags are accepted at the transfer station free of charge on Green Up Day, but we’ll have to pay to drop off trash on other days. Still, it’s a small price to pay to keep garbage off the road and out of the streams.

Dowsing Seminar
Once we filled up our bag, Rick whisked me to the Randolph Co-op so that I could attend a dowsing seminar, while he rushed off to the transfer station to dump our trash before they closed. Dowsing is the art/craft/skill of detecting information using more than just the five senses. It is often associated with the act of finding water or well sites below ground by using a wooden stick, but it can be used for purposes other than locating water. When it is used to find water, it’s not just to locate water, but to answer questions about the water source. A good dowser can determine if the water is adequate in pressure, water quality, and accessibility before the property owner pays for expensive drilling.

I really can’t do this art/skill justice without making it sound like some far-out, new-age baloney, but the hands-on experience I got in the class showed me that it is a technique that can be learned, through practice, by anyone. And our instructor gave us other instances where dowsing would be useful: in locating other resources such as minerals or oil, in tracing the path of a buried electrical conduit, or even locating lost objects, pets, or people. If you’re interested in dowsing, check out the American Society of Dowsers, an organization founded in Vermont in 1961.

CSA Farms
After a busy afternoon, we returned home and I began preparing a stir fry for dinner. Rick had found some information at the co-op about local farms, some of which accept memberships as part of their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs. The idea behind CSA is that people pay a flat rate to the farm at the beginning of the season in exchange for a share of the harvest each week. The farmer benefits by being able to use that up-front cash to support the supply and labor needs of the farm, and the customer benefits by knowing that they will be getting their share of locally grown, and often organic, vegetables each week, at a discount from what it would cost them to buy the produce at the grocery store. This method also cuts down on the costs and natural resources needed to ship and market the foods. We’ve narrowed down our search to two local farms, and will probably sign up for one of them next week.

I mention this because our recent house-hunting has given me the itch to get out of this flat and back to gardening. I have also been thinking about taking classes again, so I was very pleased when my friend Ann passed on a link to the Vermont Master Gardener program at the University of Vermont extension. The program is a little different than the Landscape Technology certificate, but it is a nice first step for me to get back into being a student. Plus I like that the program is designed to create a network of volunteers to help in their communities.

If I adjust to being a student again, I may look into Vermont Technical College’s Landscape Development and Ornamental Horticulture program. For now I will try my hand learning about turf, weeds, entomology, plant pathology, soils, woody ornamentals, perennials, annuals, applied pest management, invasive plant control, vegetables and landscape design. The last two being of the most interest to me.

I still have to drive 25 miles to get to the classes in Randolph, but 25 miles in Vermont is a pleasure compared to the hell that is DC/Maryland traffic.

Wish me luck.

My first experience was challenging and exhausting, but fun too. People warned me that I would spend several hours doing nothing but falling down on my butt. Well, it wasn’t quite that bad, but neither can I say that I have much natural skill for this activity. I’m more used to roller skating and blading, where you have to have a certain amount of control and balance, but where gravity plays a much diminished role. Much diminished. In snowboarding (or “riding”), gravity is a major factor, and for the beginner, it is an adverse force. It will pull you the wrong way, or before you are quite ready. It will even take your board away from you at very high speed if you aren’t paying attention and let it slip (this almost happened…almost). And after every run downhill, you get to battle gravity as you hike back up to the top with the (heavy) snowboard bound to one foot.

During the 90 minute class, I glided, fell, practiced turns, fell, got going really well and then panicked and fell in order to keep from riding off into the parking lot, and did a lot of hiking up the hill. After a while we moved to a steeper section of terrain and practiced “traversing”, where the aim is to go across the grade of the slope rather than taking a straight shot downhill. The idea is that, after a lot of practice one will be able to build up a repertoire of moves (straight gliding, J Turns, traverses) that allow one to regulate their speed and direction as they navigate a trail. Snowboards don’t have stops or breaks like skates do, so you have to tame gravity by learning how to subtly shift your weight and stance. I understand these concepts in theory. Putting them into practice is another matter.

Still, I did enjoy myself and got one of the best workouts I’ve had in recent memory. In the afternoon we went snow shoeing, which takes more energy than snowboarding but is much less technically difficult to master. (Yes I was painfully sore the next two days.) I will be buying snowshoes as soon as possible, and hopefully in the not too distant future I’ll be able to take another snowboarding lesson.

On cold works days we had to bundle up to walk a mile to the Silver Spring Metro stop, where most days we had to wait on the elevated platform while the wind whipped around us. Once we were on a train, it would inevitably be blasting the heat, and as more people got on at each subsequent stop the train would get very warm. The fact that more people took public transportation on colder days—especially if it was snowy or icy—meant that in addition to being hot, one would have a great deal of difficulty removing layers for the 30-45 minute ride due to the extra bodies, all of whom were wearing extra layers themselves.

Once we arrived at our respective stops, we had to walk various distances to our offices, again bundling up against the cold and or wind. Once at our offices, we would strip our layers to work. I can’t speak for Sarah’s office, but mine was frequently warmer than I would have liked. (My office mate next door to me, however, was always cold and blasted the heat in her office.) If we didn’t bring lunch, we had to also bundle up to go out for food as well. At the end of the day, we’d turn around and do it all again in reverse.

I mention all of this because I find it rather ironic considering our current situation. We spend more time going inside and out now than we did for our commutes. The reason? The dogs, of course. Where before we were bundling ourselves up against the cold, now we are also making sure our companions are warm and dry as well.

At least three times a day we must get them both into their harnesses, collars, boots, and coats. Naturally they hate this routine. They hang their heads, drag their rumps, and look at us as if we have condemned them to the gallows.

Thankfully, once we get them outside they are fine, and seem to enjoy their walks despite the awkward footwear. Mick trudges along like a big dinosaur, and Haley will chase after the bits of snow that her own steps kick up as she walks.

The boots do a great job of keeping their feet warm and dry, and they are especially good at protecting them from the salt and chemicals that we encounter on some of the sidewalks around town. We get stopped constantly by people who either think the boots are the cutest thing they have ever seen (”ooo, look at their cute little booties!”), or other dog owners who want to know where we got them. The other night, a Montpelier policeman stopped to say how cool the reflectors looked to him as he approached us in his patrol car.

All things being equal, I still prefer the current routine to the old one.

The parking garage on East Main Street was also suggested by the police, but they don’t offer monthly permits, and charge $5 per day. Obviously that is a bit expensive (about $100 a month since Saturdays and Sunday are free). We could avoid the charges completely by moving the car EVERY MORNING by 7 a.m. and then moving it again EVERY NIGHT by 6 p.m., but we’d really like to find a place were we can leave it without worry. After all, we drive it only once a week or so to do errands.

If anyone out there has a parking spot we can have or rent, we’d really appreciate it. Even if you only have an idea or lead, PLEASE contact us (gmail = rickscully). Thanks!

I’m off to make up a few flyers to post.

UPDATE: Our property manager came through for us with a spot we can use rent-free! A big thank you to him!

When The Steelers aren’t playing a 1:00pm Sunday game, these afternoons are the perfect time for us to hop in the car and check out a new town for a couple of hours. Several weeks ago we drove over to Northfield. We enjoyed the quiet setting and historic “New England” feel, and had a blast spending too much time and money in the used book store on the green. The town also had some great views. For us, the major detractor was that Northfield is the home of Norwich University: while we admire the institution we are a little too hippiefied to feel at home in a town that is mostly populated by a military academy. It was a great town to spend a couple of hours in though.

Last Sunday, we headed over to Bristol, about an hour’s drive west-south of Montpelier. Bristol lies just a bit off of the major north-south corridor of the Lake Champlain valley, Route 7, and the proximity to Burlington and Montpelier drew us to the area. We tried taking a short-cut across the mountains via the Lincoln Gap Road but had to back track a couple of miles onto the more conventional (and paved) Route 17 when we discovered Lincoln Gap was closed due to fire. (It also looked like some trees had not been cleared off the road from the wind storm a week earlier, and that had us wondering what the people who live on Lincoln Gap Road do in the winter. Stay home I guess.)

At any rate, we eventually got into Bristol, parked next to the large town green (no meters!), and immediately snapped off a few pictures. It was sunny and beautiful so we strolled around a bit before checking out an eclectic Asian imports and weird do-dads store, an art gallery featuring the works of Vermont craftsmen (painting, sculpture, hand-carved spoons, ceramics, and jewelry), and then the Bristol Bakery & Cafe which had great soup and organic green-tea soda. We loved the area and felt comfortable in the town. It seemed large enough to be a town one could go to for errands, but small enough that the surrounding countryside would have the rural feel we are looking for. The one detractor of Bristol is that we are not the only ones who are enamored with it, and the property values are skyrocketing. We’ll keep an eye on it but wonder if we’ll be able to afford land and/or a house in the area.

On the way to and from Bristol along Route 100 (before the turn to Route 17) we were also reminded how much we like the areas around Moretown and Waitsfield. The towns are smallish and the surrounding fields and farms reminded us of England. The proximity to highway 89 is an added bonus. Again, the question of affordability came up, but for now we’ll add these areas to our list of “places we could live” and continue our search.