Finally, we see the sun rise

 Several weeks have passed, perhaps a month without seeing the sunrise.

 The sun breaking on the snow-covered trees, the birds awake and find the feeders.

Some trees may straighten up.
The lighted tree always looks better with snow on it.

What we have to do..... sigh

For a week the snow has been building up on the trees and ground. Finally John cleared away what there is as we wait for the next storm next week. The tractor is heated so it is not too bad. The trees may suffer more this year than in years past if they can't shed the weight.

January thaw???  Please come sooner.

Winter Windows....

A week of the wintery mix, mostly snow has covered and coated everything with the heaviest snow I can remember. Impossible to shovel, hard to remove, but somehow it is beautiful.

From the windows, the gray birches are again resting on the roof. We will shake them to lighten the load and hopefully prevent permanent curvatures or damage.

I just got a glimpse of "what like to call, SUN" through the dense clouds. There is word of a change for tomorrow. Good, maybe we can go somewhere. Such fun.!!

Meet Priscilla.....

The RV that we discovered on our trip out west in May has made its way to live with us. Airstream gone. This small motor home is named Priscilla, inspired by the bus in the movie The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert. The graphics fit right along with this windswept scene from the film. However, I will not be riding on top of it, seated in a giant silver stiletto, singing opera.

Go to this address on flikr  https://www.flickr.com/photos/nekcarolyn/sets/72157648285243930/
 and watch a slideshow of the this wonderful machine. We have found it, the way to travel for our future, .......FINALLY.  

Placemats for Ruth

These mats started at Lake Champlain and ended up on the breakfast table of my mother's friend, Ruth, who lives in CT at 104. She mentioned soft greens and read and natural colors and that is just what I had on hand. I think they look pretty good. (rt. pic is not good)

Other activities at the lake

Weaving placemats for a friend

perfect little loom for the lake

Weaving with a lake view

More things done at the lake....

trying out new swim suit idea...it worked fine!

grooming Woodrow

finding the barn quilts in Franklin Co..... this one is spectacular

barn quilt at the home of the coordinator, Fern

All of the pictures taken of these barns along RT 105 in Sheldon, VT can be seen at the address below. https://picasaweb.google.com/100890045390123998331/BarnQuiltsOfFranklinCo

More from the Lake....

From Shore Acres, purple martins and Mt. Mansfield in the distance

Woodrow in the trailer

Woodrow and John, relaxing by the lake

Campsite Views

 From our campsite at the Champlain Adult  Campground, we can see the lake. The ferry crossing is nearby and we see the ferries all day long, but they are not very intrusive, and kind of scenic.  We have a shady site for the most part, but the awning helps too at certain times of the day. The old very white cedars on the site give shade and provide a nice home for mice that Woodrow watches endlessly. Yes, we have seen hummingbirds near and at the feeder and red impatiens. Mostly we sit and watch the lake, the Adirondack mountains, sunset and the dog parade. Everyone has a dog!!! period. Woodrow is quite popular here and most people recognize him as a Maine Coon Cat. One man asked if he was part Maine coon, I said No. All Maine Coon. One nutty lady who talks to herself all the time started to come over with her dog and I had to say that Woodrow does not like dogs. Most people keep their distance fortunately. We have been boating, out to dinner, to the farmers market, Heroes welcome, and walking quite a lot. Tomorrow bicycling and reading. As the heat arrives in a couple of days, we plan to go home to the AC with Woodrow and do laundry, and enjoy the space.
                                                                                                      c

Lake Champlain Islands Scenes

 Every night we can watch the sunset. 
 see the wind turbines in NY

the rippling sunstreak on the water      
and the sky-blue-pink clouds afterwards.....

Summertime regulars....

Yellowstone Blanket

Looks like beach blanket kitty bingo..........

May 5 to June 1, 2014 Vermont to Yellowstone and Back

Pictures From the Trip to Yellowstone, Going and Coming back.....

We returned to Brownington on Sunday, June 1, cutting the journey a bit short for a variety of reasons. The Pictures of the Trip came from 3 cameras and now live on a flickr account in an album called Yellowstone 2014. There are few captions at this point, someday we will add them. From May 5 to June 1, we saw the country from Vermont to Wyoming and back. The best part was returning to our little patch and the cats, hearing the peepers in the pond and sleeping in a big bed again.

Oh, Kansas

 Emporia, Kansas, well what can I say. In the outskirts, we found an old jail, and in town, a very nice Mexican restaurant, Casas Ranchos. The campground was the noisiest ever, but the metal birds hanging in the restaurant were spectacular and made in Mexico;  we asked. This location is near the Flint Hills National Wildlife Refuge (where we saw a scissor-tailed flycatcher) and the Tall Grass Prairie National Preserve ( post to follow ).

Heading East....Wyoming to to Kansas

Sinclair

Leaving Wyoming took hours. Vast expanses of sagebrush hills, pronghorns, oil derricks and more sagebrush hills. Along the Platte River again, we made it from Cheyenne, WY to Kearney, NE (again) on I 70, a long hard day to a noisey campground, but we were committed to stay in a hotel the next night  in Manhattan, KS. It was wonderful! Here we had entered the area of the Flint Hills. We had read about this place and the new education center in Manhattan that might help us find a way to experience it.

Grazing on the prairie

South Pass City, gold rush town

 On the way to South Pass, the road across the continental divide at the base of the rockies, we visited an abandoned gold rush town and viewed Red Canyon.  These are just awesome landscapes. The remnants of the old towns were reminiscent of movies we have seen. However, there was a nice Airstream trailer parked on the street in South Pass City! You just never know what you will find when you go down these roads...

abandoned gold mine

Lander and the Oregon Trail

From Lander WY we were able to make a day trip to find the Oregon Trail. Also known as the Mormon Trail, the California Trail and the Pony Express Trail, we could see in the distance (top center) where the wagons had been based on the interpretive signs at the site. We imagined that we were on the actual place where these early travelers had been, but after so many years and so much land use change, we could not be certain.

Grand Teton National Park and Jackson, WY

View of Jackson from Targhee pass

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Ranching in Jackson

 Outside the park we drove around to get different views of the area. Rt 22 goes up one mountain and down into Idaho. We stopped for lunch at the top of the pass and had lunch, looking out over Jackson. Before we entered the park we took a side road by some horse ranches.  The prices on these places in the real estate section of the papers are out of this world. The price to be in this valley surrounded by the towering mountains is beyond reach for most people. The private jets flying into and out of the Jackson Airport tell the tale.

The expansive views and sense of space is so vast and unfamiliar. The weather can be seen for miles away. Vermont seems confined compared to the west. The flip side of this is that there are so many miles between one place and another, and gas prices are quite high.

Going into the park was a treat, not crowded at first. With only a few trails open and most still snow covered, the walking was limited. These pictures are in the park around Jenny lake, the clearest lake I have every seen. I remember it from 15 yrs ago. We also remembered the Snake River Brewing company as a small place, but we got the Tee shirts then, and we did it again. Only this time they had expanded into a multi-leveled, indoor/outdoor restaurant with a huge tank outside covered with stickers from everywhere in the world, including Mad River Glen, VT!

From the Jenny Lake trail

Jenny Lake

Last night at Snake River Brewing