Back In Vermont.

9-29-20 VERMONT: We’ve been back here for a couple busy days. On arrival yesterday we were blown away by the maple colors—orange, red and yellow—and bright in the sun. The ash trees are also in fall purple and yellows. 

We unloaded the car, walked the pasture, newly mowed, took pix. It’s been warm, seventies, and humid yesterday and today. We drove to Plainfield, NH this morning to pick up Judy’s new rug, won at auction a few weeks ago. After getting back here and after taking a couple road pix, we were lifting and pushing the living room furniture around to lay the new rug. Then I needed a nap.

We took more pix today, picked out a quartz rock from an old wall in the pasture for Gus’ grave and moved it to the doggie cemetery, talked about bringing in the outdoor benches, and deferred action on that chore for now.

Late afternoon we had a visit from a quartet of mergansers who were exploring the pond until Kaley spotted them and chased them away. She almost caught a frog today—it would have been her first.

The drought has continued and the ground is dry and dusty, the big pond is down six inches, the pasture pond is dry, and the new pond is lower than ever, but tonight we are getting rain! More rain is predicted next week as well. 

We have many chores for the next few weeks, and Vermont is the place to be. Vermont is now the best state for avoiding Covid 19, with the lowest incidence, lowest per capita rate, best testing, and very good mask and social distance compliance. 

New blooms: toad lily, bottle gentian, red asters.

Common Merganser, one of four that hit the pond this evening.

All four mergansers, all female or immature.

Fall color in our pasture.

More maples.

Behind the big barn.

Maple color reflected in the pond.

Kaley came with an inch of catching her first frog after the stare down.

Local and distant mountains.