Hollow-een Fire

 This is the way to enjoy a campfire! Find a hollow log, stand it up on top of a couple of cinder blocks, build a fire below it and stand back. The log acts like a chimney and ....whooosh, up it goes. This lasted for several yours. Add pieces of wood into the top and it will flame up even higher. It gives a wonderful display of sparks and flames. The moon happened to be out this night as well, just about full. It was October 27th, not quite Halloween, but we call it Hollow- een for the fire we enjoyed. These logs are not just everywhere, but this one showed up when our logger, Marc, cut down a good-sized spruce tree and found the rotten interior. Of course, it's not worth a penny at the mill, but worth a million for the great fireworks display we watched. We will be on the lookout for more of these wonderful logs for our fires this fall and winter. So easy to light off and such fun!  

A Day at Jay

A day for Jay peak
High up in the clouds with wind
Autumn in Vermont the best

Staining the house

 

After 8 years in this house and several attempts at staining the south side, we decided to have it done by people who know stain. The caulking will be done in cooler weather. Here you see the stages of staining and the finished house. The odor is about gone and the dripping stopped. Cleanup has not been fun with many spots on the porch and balcony that should have been prevented.

Elderberry Time

 Elderberries, finally. Three years after they were planted, 9 plants from NRCS have produced a good crop. Now to make something. Ripeness is the key, dark as dark can be is best for the flavor. Making syrup is quite easy, more so than using a fork to remove the berries from the stems. The syrup is the most useful and is adding gorgeous color, sweet fruity flavor and health benefits to everything it is added to. What a great fruit to grow!

Logging with Bob

Today we started some logging with Marc Farrow of Morgan, VT and Bob, his 25 yr old Belgian horse. The woods were cool and Bob was determined to follow Marc's commands and remove the cedar and spruce that we have decided to cut. Bob just knows what to do and moves rather quickly up the hill, despite the 80 degree temp. I have never witnessed something so coordinated as the cutting, limbing and hauling of these two. Watch Bob as he pulls a log into the field.

Hello Family and Friends

When Dan, Tracey, Ellie and Liddy came to visit, there was  nothing but constant excitemenet. Ellie and I enjoyed playing on the crocheted watershed habitat play mat (see my craft blog for more pics of that ) which she named Ellie's World. Tracey had her hands full with Liddy. We all fed the frogs in the pond. And David called to say that he had made a new friend at the Greenfield Folk Festival in MA where we used to live. Our friends, Nancy and Dave Berliner arrived minutes after the family drove away. We expect Melissa and her kids soon and then more friends want to come up. Guess we are popular.....