A letter I found to myself

I found a letter to myself,

or I suppose to anyone who might stumble onto it.

It is dated in the future,

how strange I did that.

guess I did it that way so I could cool off.

Oh I am cool, alright.

here it is,

more perhaps to follow...

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

To Whom it May Concern,

Regarding Property Taxes on a 48+10 acre property with homestead

located in Monkton, Vermont, 

where family settlers relocated to

over a hundred years ago.

In 2009, the Town of Monkton attempted to sell a tax lien on our property.

This would have made someone else own our property.

Our property taxes were less than one year late

In the greatest depression we have suffered.

We ended up having to pay 12 thousand dollars that year plus ads, legal costs and penalties and interest. Oh yes, and humiliation and shame at so many people knowing or thinking they know our business.

I am a woman landowner. The Town of Monkton never notified me.

They thought my husband, whose Dad just died should tell me the bad news.

I have been verbally attacked in the town hall by a town official.

No one believes or cares.

When I raised questions of how they selected our property 

they themselves said only certain ones were selected 

but that is because they decided that.

When I asked for how they contacted me they said they didn’t have to.

They all voted together except one, abstention. Not one person in eleven felt I should have been notified. Not one person in eleven thought 

There was anything wrong with trying to sell our property in less than a year property tax delinquent. Even though that may have caused our bank to foreclose. And take more away.

I cannot waste any more of my finite life fighting these people.

The next victim I pray, will be a stronger soul, not battling MS, not afraid to death of courtrooms.

The next victim, I pray will enter the town office will say, “I am proud to be a flatlander! I was born in a city! I was a Tiger in high school, a champion of the debate team! Aggressive pushy lawyer, your worst nightmare to avenge Mary!”

archives of monkton chronicles 2014

Monkton Chronicles,

End of June 2014

I know, I know,

sometimes we chroniclers write just because we have a deadline.

In this case, an imaginary deadline, for an imaginary newspaper with one writer, one town, and no dough. I mean the green dough, gluten free: greenbacks, Benjamin Franklins, Buckazoids, cashola, currency. The newspapers that print on dead or murdered trees get paid by advertisers, an obvious fact to me but sadly not to many others. The newspapers may slant or lean news towards their advertisers. Still we are all subject to the veiled messages, the subliminal suggestions, the pressures of society, our bigger dysfunctional family. Well, it is both functional And dysfunctional. Yin and Yang....

Had wanted to write more often and decided I would write what I can, what comes up, what and when it seems relevant to me. This is my travelogue, where typos are sometimes left, grammar is freestyle turn of the second millennial midwestern to vermont transplant, and i struggle with daily pain, fatigue and the frustrations of paperwork, frustrations, bureaucratic crapola that comes with disability. it was so easy when i did it for someone else. have a good rest of summer...so far cold one in monkton, vermont. we are at a crossroads in our fight to stop the proposed canadian->NY pipeline someone thought worth taking people's hard won property for. not too late to jump into the fray. Q: how do you argue with a corps of engineers? A: don't bother, you will just waste your breath

Q: how do you argue with a corps of engineers? A: you'll never go anywhere, fool, you were not listening to me....

there...june 2014 in a nutshell

meg

End of May 2014

Struggling against the tide of paperwork to claim I am disabled when all I can do is the essential paperwork du jour dictating to me what do I need to do today? Working out the system in my head, as I sit and ponder this bureaucratic daytime nightmare, I am reminded of that blank stare as I would ask clients, did you fill out the form? I am reminded of the impressive stacks of befuddling papers, notices, warnings, messages that suck your energy. Do the dishes? Sorry, not today. Been stuck in an energy suck all day. It's likes a tornado only it sucks, it doesn't blow. Pipeline battle all radical now. Or so the pay media would have you think. Such uncivil tone! screams the editor of the Addy Indy, the local feel good rag for the college people to see the Idyllic county their kids live, study in and become the future senators, stock brokers, CEO's, Inheritors, Trustees, Skiers, Artists, Authors, Thinkers, Beautiful people.

I can write run on sentences. This is my blog and I can Whinge if I want to ;<{

It does a body good to spill one's guts. If you don't want to read this, please press the "X" at the top right corner of the screen.

I wasn't even sure if I could write an update for the end of May 2014. I felt like we got robbed of usable sunshine. Sunny days were too cold and windy out, then rainy and cloudy. Nights still 40's-chilly. Fred looking for wood pellets to burn.

Meanwhile nothing can rob me of the healing memories of being at Levon Helm's barn last Saturday night. Fred took care of me, pampering me all week so I could have the energy to attend the bar b que and concert...I made it. Even as I stood longer than I have in 6 months, I felt Levon's presence, I felt the Catskill stone under my feet, like it was under his feet, grounding him, like a magnet holding his feet to the ground, like it was holding me. I decided to resist posting any anti pipeline stuff until June 1st. I decided in honor of Levon and all those who played with him, and family, friends, fans, I would only focus on music this week. Music, that vibration, that mathematical vibration that gives us pleasure, takes us to times in our lives. Like the first time I was in the Catskills, Judy and I were in her plymouth Fury, visiting her friends. In the tape deck played Stage Fright, The Great Divide....Many of the songs played by The Weight last Saturday night....Google took us careening over a mountain trail to get from Tannersville where we were staying to levon's. I have some photos-working on sorting those into a movie. We had some adventures for sure. I decided not to spoil my week of music posting for those fracking bullies. But when I post an update...there will be a lot I have stored from taking a week off. We love Levon and his people...Have never had a more lovely night than a night at the Midnight Ramble...Levon's Healing barn of wood.

meg

Early to Mid May 2014

Updates, Tragedy & Ecstasy. Feeling so behined on reporting. In my mind, being an official world gateway to Monkton, VT, or at least trying to tell the world what is going on here.

Emerging from a crab like crustacean state induced by a hellacious winter past, bone crushing fatigue of MS et al and overwhelmed at the f'ing mountains de Paperwork I have had to process, Fred pulling up the slack. Me still in denial from time to time that I am disabled alternating with panic that I am done fer. Looking for a happy medium.

Oh the local government is posting minutes albeit still with the nebulous language, still local government people want a pipeline to go through wetlands, now want trails in wetlands and said no to digging rocks. The town sues some people, says yes to some, no to others, takes and or tries to take peoples' property using unconstitutional methods. We were near victims after 9 months late paying taxes. Now puzzled the State is raising property taxes and yet has no input into tax sales. God help us all. We cannot afford this anymore. Looking for the sunshine in the shadows....Music, Art, Beauty of spring slowly emerging. Fresh air, sunshine on my face. Breathe...more later.

Mid April 2014

After tax day, the images in my drawings had chains, hasps, locks, a woman petting a rat in prison. We paid $500. How is it that I have not earned a penny in months and have paid, paid taxes, robbing savings. We are run down from a bastardly winter, finally getting a few doses of life giving sunshine, warmth cannot be far behind...So the problem with taxes is that there is a breaking point with the little people. I hope we are near. Prices in the stores are hurtful to all. Money just not going as far. Beyond that, everything is wonderful in the land of maple sap. We are on the healing side of winter, the air smells better. Finally I got out the record player Fred got me for my birthday. Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, Glenn Miller the first to spin...sounds better than the old days...what was it?

Early April 2014

The sun is encouraging me, coaxing me to the window,

higher in the sky and brighter. Watching for the solar flares, a big one was followed by the earthquake in Chile, also a breakthrough in the weather, warming up a little after enduring a downright brutally cold this past winter. It was nice to see the maple trees tapped, the snow melting, the ice going out. The taxes finally done, a bitter tedious pile of papers which seem to have no real relevance. Except write another check.

We are still fighting the pipeline and I can only pay attention certain days of the week. Otherwise I would not be able to survive. Fred got me the Beth Hart/Joe Bonamassa live from Amsterdam which is Incredibly Great! Wow... Also a record player which I will get out of the box. No I am not 18 anymore or I would have done all this already. In my good time. Decided I would listen to my best of Janis Joplin first. Been awhile since I have had a record player...

All for now.

Early March 2014

In spite of my personal inability most days to even get out of the house, the collective voters spoke loudly, clearly, against the proposed Gaz Pipeline. Time is a great moderator. The Gaz people trying to cram the pipeline down people's throats. "Threatening elders, women landowners with using eminent domain". Our elders, having better sense than the selectboard, stuck up for their property rights. We do have those in Monkton, Vermont, USA.

I will post some more links but frankly am fracking weary and ptsd from all the press you have to push to get anyone to notice.

On the home front, burning wood, pellets, furniture is next.

The daylight is welcome when it shows up.

It has been bitter cold. Like the first winter I was here.

Only not as much snow down here in the Champlain valley.

Jupiter was profoundly beautiful one morning at 4:30 when I couldn't sleep. She sparkled. It was 10 below f. and dead calm.

Hope you are having a good March. For us in like a lion. I posted a crappy YT link of I found the lions. Tech is a pain sometimes..will find the one I was looking for....meg

Mid February 2014

Hard to keep up with just living, let alone come up with profound messages all the time. Sometimes, drifting off to sleep, I desperately slap up some random pics or words that drift onto the keyboard. I have to admit I schedule certain posts. It might be equivalent to lip-Syncing, but for me it is a tool. We are fighting the pipeline from Alberta to NY via Vermont and our neighbors' garden. Our tools are words.

Been very cold here and we got a good bit of snow. Hopefully warming a little and sun higher in the sky. Keep warm!

Late January 2014

Been trying to keep up. The temperature keeps going down, stressing us all so by this time of the winter, precious little is left in reserve.

I wrote this once and it got hopelessly bound in blogger limbo, mismatched versions of software, ancient 3 year old computer and possibly it just was not meant to be.

We are overwhelmed at the prices of fuel, food, goods. We know there are plenty of us boomers transiting into mid-late middle ages. Like a renaissance, we must be willing to be the system we think must wrap around us. More on this later.

We are stretched thin, worn down, overloaded. We are weary at the fracking gaz fights. Some positive moves, some steps backwards. Making one thing crytal clear to me. Somebody is getting paid to grease these skids...well i am no columbo, but often the perpetrator is right under your nose.

Mid January 2014

We are in the middle of a January thaw, in the 40's, raining, deceptively imitating a spring thaw. We know we could go straight back down to 20 below again in a heartbeat. That is the North country. Am somewhat relieved to have 2013 behind us, even though there is nothing specific, except that cursed number 13. In my study of the Knights Templar, 13 could be traced back to a date when Knights were eliminated by slaughter. Burning at the stake sounds particularly torturous. Trying to keep up with the so called news and then I read some Aristotle. Some things seem to never change. Saw a photo of a recreated neanderthal man. Ponderous, would be the caption.

The pipeline fight is forging on. Now with Neil Young on the other end up in Alberta...I am reminded every day of the limitations that MS places on my life. Wondering how these fights all seem to mirror one another. Reminded of the

Line of the minuteman, April 19, 1775.

Stand your Ground

Don't fire unless Fired upon

But if they mean to have a War,

Let it begin here.

Captain Parker.


archives:



Late December, 2013



Nearing the end of year 2013.



Christmas, or whatever you call the short days...



Is over.



Thankfully the daylight hours gaining again for those of us inhabiting the Northern hemisphere of the planet.



We lost a good friend Lisa, who warmed my heart with her special soul. She adopted a cat from us who is now called Girly Girl. Girly's first name was Whitney. Lisa wanted a kitten. These were our Y 2K Kitten boom litter explosion where we contacted Green Mountain Animal defenders and they helped us trap, neuter and adopt over 20 cats/kittens. I thought for sure Captain would be Lisa's type. He was friendly and jovial. Well...it did not work. Captain freaked out and would not go near Lisa. So we settled on sweet little petite Whitney. Lisa adopted her, named her Meredian, and took care of her for many years. (Captain was furious, as it turned out, she was his kitten and I do not think he ever forgave us for giving away his sister). Recently Lisa asked if I could bring her back to our pride. Absolutely, of course. And we met one night and I took Meredian home and named her again, Girly Girl, aka Missy. No longer Whitney, Her Meredian chapter done. She was reborn again. Captain had died not long before this so he just missed her homecoming. I still think he sent for her.



So the day I heard Lisa left the material plane, Girly and I sat together a lot. I was relieved Lisa sent her back to be with us, where she knew the scents, the lay of the land, and us.



Now I am home more, I see the value in having a Girl cat boss me, tell me to get up, feed her, keep up my routine. She even likes to tweet with me. Thanks, Lisa, The best social worker, hippest, nicest, animal lover, sensitive, cool hipster. So cute, sweet, with that dark sense of humor only possible by where you have been. Your fears? I never saw any, we all have them. I hope yours were kept to a minimum. Did I intend to write this update about Lisa? Well, not really. Now that I have, however, it seems appropriate to ask you, wherever you are on the planet or off the planet, to raise a glass for Lisa today. It is the thought that counts, send a message for her to carry on with her extraordinary love light, and tell her Girly & I send our love, meg 12.30.13



Archives:







Early December 2013







Feeling the cold go through our house some days. Fuel untouchable anymore. Sick about the taxes we shelled out over 6K and the roof leaks, house is old as ever, land lays fallow like my muscles and nerves. I have become a non profit with no 501k. Feel sorry for others worse off than we are.







Fighting the Pipeline, Fracking, MS, Deja Vu.







Our bodies regenerate every 7 years. By my math I am due for a snakeskin shedding...soon to turn 56. Some numbers surprise you when you break them down. My inactivity stimulates my thoughts. How nerve damage, even in that quieter RRMS, causes a scenario where you must think harder, to get around the scarred places, to circumvent the damaged battlegrounds of my immune system against my own neuro system. Calling it...around the mulberry bush...that fairy tale about girls in prison...weird really...this is the way we wash our hair, wash our hair...My odd imagination imagining girls in jail, being smacked around, brain injured, now compliant, spirits broken...this is the way we wash the floors...







So I was making a connection with the fairy tale, another silly way to address a serious injustice. I love fairy tales. Working on a drawing of this one. meg 12.6.13























Archives...still relevant as long as we fight the pipeline extension into Addison county...today I compressed them into a file called monkton chronicle archives

Monkton Chronicles Archives

Monkton Chronicle Archives

Moving my running rant into a blog post. Tomorrow begins September 2013. Still get excited around school supplies even though I do not attend school anymore.

June/July/August 2013
by mary e gerdt or others as guests editorials
all rights reserved

August 2013

Monkton Chronicles

Monkton, Vermont.

Monkton Chronicles August 2, 2013

Beautiful Vermont weather. Daytime 70's, nighttime 50's. Raining a lot when it does. The garden is slowly catching up. Speaking of catch up, Fred made some tasty fermented ketchup, or castup, however you spell it. Very tasty. We are trying our hands at pickles again and the fermented cuke pickles are quite interesting. Working on toning down the salt. Recipes on the WWW help get it down.

I planned on somehow archiving my archives of the chronicles. Too tired tonight. Have a Great week in your spot in the Universe. meg

Archives: July 16th. July halfway over and we got the rest of the plants in the ground. Tomatoes, onions, tomatillos, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts. Pared way down from some years. Luckily we waited. Many planted twice and lost both times. Getting late for here. The days already start getting "shorter", less daylight. Oh Yes, I tweetered to Astronaut Luca and he responded which was so very cool for a space groupie like myself. He said a day is a day up there too...

Travelogue entry: July 4th week.We got away to Virginia for a nice road trip. Fred is a good driver and we paced ourselves, rested and kept cool. Unusually cool there which is still warm but quite pleasant. We stayed w/friends and visited family too.

Fred ordered a sockeye salmon fresh caught in Alaska and we had a dinner that rivals any restaurant. Never had such a perfect tasting fish.

We had fried chicken w/family on Independence day and drove by Gettysburg, PA on the 150th anniversary of the infamous Bloody battle.

On the way back we had tickets in Woodstock, NY to see Amy Helm and her friends...one of them Natalie Merchant, who I did not recognize as a person who I have 2 of her CD's in 10,000 maniacs. I am so bad with names. I loved her voice, piano playing. Many other fine musicians there like Byron Isaacs, Dan Littlefield & Family, Simi Stone, Another woman...incredible music! Conor Kennedy-who I heard about last week and posted one of his you tubes-he has a new album. Fred and I got there at 6:30 and had a nice mex-style meal @ the Tin Cantina. We wandered to Levon's pond toasted him, watched the fish make ripples in still water...and we felt that Catskill aura. Peaceful. Special. The word???

Eden?

Perhaps that is the best word.

Eden's Spring,

A spring from which Great music will pour forth.

The concert to follow was Great, Fun, Rare.

Live music is, just once.

We are so grateful to have attended this second friday night concert @ the Barn 7.5.13 meg

7.7.2013

Soggy beginning to July in Vermont. The natural greenery, plants, flowers all full and healthy. The garden way behind.

Storms have brought flooding to many areas of the north country. Some areas still feeling the pain from Irene.

Our road washed out and we gently raked the rocks hoping the deluge slows down.

For me, still twittering, trying to balance musical/medical/interesting people-places-things/cyberstuff/news/writing/political-all sides/photography...Then my creativity lurched. Twitter said I could not follow someone. "Who says?" I thought! All I could do was... Google it..."There, Take That!" I said...and since that day I have vowed to sacrifice as few birds as possible as I keep under my 2001 Twit limit. Now up to 2006.

6.28.13 Still fighting the pipeline.

Scroll down for older comments and guest posts. If you tire of this rant, you can try to block it out and enjoy the music or tape some construction paper on the right side of the monitor so you can ignore it. Or go back to Bieber's tweet site. I only am up to 2006 people I can follow. Then I see Ruth Buzzi. I cannot follow her! Somebody has to go. no fair. Bieber gets all the followers he wants.

6.15.2013

Fighting the Gaz Pipeline,WT #$&%®£¥€!¡

So, the town of Monkton,Vermont sprang (or is it sprung,spanged?...no Crammed is more like it, shoved down the constituent throat like a bitter pill.

What did the SB decide to vote for now? I cannot tell you.

I heard heard a rumor the SB signed a deal w Canadian owned Gaz.

It is their deal. they have ignored constituents....wait....they ignored Certain, select constituents. So if your country is needing a model structure for democracy, you might want to avoid our town. Meeting less than 24 h notice and they decide what they want anyway....How can citizens change this...well first they must open their eyes and see. Then they must vote. Yes, so many US citizens do not vote. You will not hear that in the newspapers of the lands with paved roads, only here on my blog, also the first newspaper of Monkton,Vermont. We saved a tree by posting this online.meg

prior postings:

did the Addison Independent Really use the Nimby word? Like did they know how I think, feel, react? I also got a bit incensed when the 2 pro gas sb in Monkton go making pre-deals without authority.The same SB who will sell your property tax lien for being 6 months late paying. You have to hire a lawyer, disentangle it, explain to your bank, be shamed,pay 8% to tax collector (what did he do?) and you pay the town's lawyer, weird and late fees and what else, oh yes, the ad for the newspaper, which is why the newspaper likes it too.

Delinquent tax sales are unconstitutional. I wish I was a lawyer I would challenge. No one has because they like buying cheap property from poor working slobs like myself. They are sick and someone should stop this.

Locally, we fight the Gaz Pipeline with pennies and words.

Oh, I wish I could attend meetings and be everywhere fighting every bad situation. Alas, if I am even an instigator, illuminating change agent, then perhaps I have served my role in this battle against pipeline through our fair town of Montkon. Where we pay taxes to conserve land we cannot get to and can't sell rocks so why on Earth would anyone want to make our town a lowly transmission field. That already smells bad. Posting links as they come in as we live in a newspaperless town.

Please say No to the pipeline. Yoko Ono did, on you tube and she explained quite well why New York does not want it. Once I started researching, it is easy to find out why a lot of places do not want high pressures natural gas transmission lines in mountainous plus lakes/rivers in places like New York, and West Virginia. NY even funded a study showing All the reasons pipelines are Not the answer. Please vocalize your opposition at this critical junction. No the Gaz company does not have imminent domain nor do they have a right to be here and do what they want. No, the selectboard has not expressed the wishes of the town when they invite the Gaz people in. I have, however, given up on trying to convince the SB of anything. I am trying to explain to you, who may have partners, children, grandchildren, pets, animals, first responders and others you love who will be affected if this is allowed to go in. Once a right of way is established, the lines will grow, the pipeline will suffer leaks, someone will get hurt. Property values go down. Taxes go up even more with the burden on fire and safety personnel. All at the benefit of Middlebury College and the Paper Mill across the lake. Please say no to the pipeline, today and forever. My voice alone cannot make it stop.We Citizen Fracking Fighters have still been on an accelerated learning curve due
to the divisive, attacking nature of the Gaz company. It is time to stop, look
and listen to the citizens who understand the dangers, who have googled
mountainous high pressure gas lines and saw the explosions, the faux pax's of
humans moving too fast. I have studied the prices both cost with gas prices
expected to rise,and environmental with fracking-permanent damage to the
environment. Our town would be a transmission field for Middlebury. We say NO to
the Pipeline. Will you?

No Fracking Way

monkton chronicles

weekend edition

breaking news

https://www.change.org/petitions/middlebury-college-retract-your-statement-of-support-for-the-addison-county-natural-gas-project


Will you join me in signing this petition to let Middlebury College know it is not green it is

Fracking

c'mon, no frackin' way....

 

Fives....lots of Fives....& Virtual Neighborhood...

Fives, Dang a lot of fives came together today...

me 55, born in 58, 5th child, on the 25th, mom born in 25...it seemed like a lot,

Or was I just looking for meanings and there was all this coincidence?

anyway, we are now part of a "virtual neighborhood". It is a listserv of town residents. When I close my eyes I still see the houses of the neighbors of my youth,The Pfeiffers, The Stahlhuts, The Jennings', The Kuethes', Braziers, and many more...

Now with a new found outlet to speak to my neighbors I have not know for the 30 years I have lived in the neighborhood, have been wanting to connect about a few issues I find imperative. So I wrote the entry below and thought I would log it in my blog as a time marker. Hoping for change but not counting on the change being what I want. Just something better.

If I get no response, OK, I will stick with sharing feelings with my worldwide web of bloggers, friends, musicians, artists, photographers, activists, and fellow poets. If I get a response, perhaps I will finally feel I have arrived at a neighborhood. If positive, a kindred neighborhood. If negative, well, sorry, I am entitled to feel however I feel.

If something here offends you, just push the I/o button in the o direction.

mary e. gerdt,

over the hill of 55,

55 trips around the sun.

God do I miss Mom at times like this...

 

Pipelines, Notices to Residents & Delinquent Tax Collection

Mary Gerdt – Cemetery Rd

I fully support everything Jane and Nate Palmer say...and I hope other Monkton residents will stand there too. It is unfortunate the black suited lawyers and lobbyists seem to have all the power, eh? This proposed pipeline (anybody see a map yet?), is being crammed down our throats by a Canadian conglomerate to feed a rich college town and a paper mill That Already Gets Gas!!!

They want a 2 way RACEWAY...anybody get the visual?

Meanwhile the Selectboard seems to passively yawn which leads me to believe they have blessed this.

So why do we pay all the conservation taxes and taxpayers pay to preserve land if we are just going to become, let's face it, Transmission Fields...WRONG, all Wrong!

Why not criminal charges or sanction for what looked like deceptive practices against our great and vulnerable neighbors.

It makes me sick to think the town would let them stomp people like them.

Next, have you experienced not being noticed by the town for a meeting or a application/permit that you had a right to know/be at? Let's change that.

Next, have you been the victim of a delinquent tax sale in Monkton where there are questions about the proper procedure or even, is this like other towns do it? If enough people connected who are as disgruntled as I have been, perhaps we could really change this Draconian, 6 months late, we sell your property thing.

I was told it would never change. Don't do well with never.

Next, I will be publishing all the letters I have sent the town on my blog. It can be a test of, well, what works, what doesn't. Is anyone as frustrated as I am? Or, Mary you are all wet! Ok. I am a big girl (no comments). I can take criticism. Likewise, if others feel like I do, the front porch is truly helping me feel part of a neighborhood and have hope we can connect even though you may be a couple hills over. I hope if there is common sense, ethical reform possible, I hope we can recreate the kind of town Everyone wants to be a part of. Not just the Yellers, the Bullys, the This, the That. The Pipeline people? Ran roughshod over this town. Ripe for the picking I would say. Can the Selectboard choose to engage in fights for the little people instead of looking for new zoning restrictions? Can we put a moratorium on going after people like gravel diggers? (I could have used some local gravel when my driveway washed away).and people too poor to pay taxes this year...instead of raise taxes and shorten tolerance.

http://traveloguefortheuniverse.blogspot.com Mary Gerdt

The 700th

The 700th post.
apple tree blossoms are in order...

In this blogosphere I have found friends and allies, challengers, and empathizers.
Musicians,artists & poets & those who fight the MonSter, star charts, auroras, nebula up real close,stars an incomprehensible distance from here thanks to Hubble, and Nasa and ISS, and all my friends who share their lives finding friendly waters here.
And yet each day I have to blog, record, my feelings, or the music I found or photos I have to show you. I remember a woman who had notebooks stacked halfway to the ceiling. Each contained stories, poems. Her lifetime in a stack of notebooks. This is my notebook, found more precious when google
went out on me for a day. Still, if it is lost, perhaps it remains in someone's memory and makes them smile. Start your own legacy of words. You may be surprised and happy later, as you gaze at your train of thoughts and images. best wishes, mary gerdt, monkton,vt   march 2012

A Day without Google

A day without Google,
and I survived

Monkton Chronicles election 2.23.12

Monkton Chronicles

election results

Thursday 2.23.12 Vote

(that's a weird day)

on the

Unified Planning Document

(huh?)

Unofficial results from phone call

passed 130-128

(not on the website?)
(what is all the fuss about?)

monktonvt.com

check out unified planning document & minutes from 1.26.12 selectboard mtg

The election results should be contested
and hopefully one of the 128 will protest,
or maybe one of the 90%
who did not vote will protest? (if they did not know)

Either way, I am limited in my ability to fight.
I am not, however, limited so far in my freedom to speak
in my blogosphere.
Hope this will serve as historic record of
a vote
where property owners lost something
and not quite sure what it is yet.
When you read the UPD, the unified planning document
and then you look out the window at monkton,
a rural town of less than 2000 people,

you wonder why we need all these additonal restrictions
on our property.
You wonder who profits from these rules,
who benefits,
who pays.
There is too much fine line, ink and lawyering behind many rules
like gravel extraction.
rocks is about all we have left,
they want to take that away too.
I hope for skeptics to come forward
and stand up
against the strange tactics that got me out to vote on a Thursday,
no crowds, no waiting, parked right in front
one of the 128.

mary gerdt all rights reserved.
the feelings expressed herein are my own,
i am a person,
a woman,
a voter,
not a household couch
(this refers to we got a courtesy postcard re the vote last saturday
before the vote addressed
to my husband only. I asked about this and was told
it was a courtesy and only went to households.--is that like corporations are people? I want my name, the wo-man voter in the house also on the postcard. mary)

Monkton Chronicles: For the record

Monkton Chronicles

2.7.12

I am a Monkton citizen.

For the record, I have tried to participate in town matters

By reading the minutes, responding, writing the selectboard

Many times.

Many, many times.

Still, all I have ever seen recorded in minutes

Is one excerpt from a letter I sent last year that no one found until I told them it was sent?

For the record, I do not believe in Tax sales or the 8% late penalty, or having a delinquent tax collector.

I believe the town clerk should be able to make what few phone calls need to be made.

I do not believe in annual tax sales.

For the record, I believe town offices should be open all day every day via web based

Real time Information posting.

I believe the town minutes should reflect what was discussed, not “those who were present discussed among themselves”.

I find myself at work again, unable to get to meetings but willing to write my heart out,

Like I have done for several years.

Still the selectboard seems deaf to my rants.

For the record,

I will not stop.

Mary Gerdt

Rethink Town Meeting?

Great article by Victoria Rose Perkins
It is time to re-think town meetings and the faux control aw shucks chicken, pies
and knitting. Oh yes, and the screaming minorities while others sit silent
like a large percentage of us will do
when in a room full of people.

http://www.helium.com/items/1318921-why-the-traditional-town-meeting-in-vermont-is-no-longer-appropriate-in-the-current-era

Fall Foliage Walk

My Vermont Fall Foliage walk
10.10.11

Some years are better

Some years and days are better than others.
We plant the garden and have good days and bad days
amounting to good years and bad years and OK years.
The plants not so pretty with rot from too much moisture and
winds that blow "swamp gas" from the floods.
I am making my own theory about swamp gas and hope the winter
kills it with a cleansing freeze.
So I found a last year's sunflower picture
since this year is not the same.
Hopefully next year will be better.

Monkton Garden 2011

Monkton Garden 2011
has been rough,
messy,
we planted unconventionally late
and overall was pretty
successful.

Some photos:



Brassica Patch & Zinnias




Sunflowers leaning from Irene
(North is left in this photo)
carrots on the right,
late is OK.
one less weeding planted
mid July




Watermelon
Sugar Baby




Crabtrees,
Some dull color
is beginning

Have a great day!
Cherry tomatoes in the dehdrator. Life is good!
Mary

Rules, rules and more rules...Do you own your land?

Rules, Rules, and more rules.

No sensibility, no sensible person would set up a system like Vermont's "Act 250"...

it was no doubt a lawyer looking for job security.

Buried in the judge's papers (press link in this article by Law of the Lang Blog (awesome!)

are even words to the effect that the process is not supposed to be so complicated,

makes you dizzy!

http://lawoftheland.wordpress.com/2011/08/12/vt-supreme-court-holds-no-vested-rights-to-change-in-the-law-after-application-filed/

I cringed at reading what the judge wrote,

knowing the costs of lawyering.

Every line, more money that the victims had to spend to

clarify the process.

All they wanted to do is open a gift shop,

can it be this complicated???

reform now,

you do not own your property,

you cannot afford the legal costs to defend it,

not everybody is a lawyer-ly like Thomas Jefferson....

The Good Fight

The Good Fight

We wish our neighbors Godspeed as they fight the demonic laws that say Vermont towns can

make you pay taxes (no payments, no hardship allowance, no abatement)

and if a day late:

8% more

and up to 15%  to the town's lawyer du jour

and interest, shame, feelings of futility, injustice,

futile arguments

where the town says,

that is the rule as long as I am in power.

Feeling like feudal serfs

off to work each day

"off the farm"

so to speak since we cannot afford to

plant our way to making the $5,000 taxes we owe in only 2.5 months.

(we do not know the exact amount-the royalty alone knows that number.)

Now, for the only public info I am able to find about Monkton's

continued

pit bull style

tax sales

and burdens,

that taxpayers should challenge to the highest court,

but we just cannot

fight that fight

while the MonSter pulls my legs and

tries to undermine my ability to work to save the

family farm.

here is a snip of Monkton VT minutes of selectboard,

a disheartening glimpse at local intolerance to century farms.

great great grandfathers are rolling up in the Cemetery nobody mows anymore.

[Re: Hurlburt Property Tax

Josh, Mike, Dave, and Harry Hurlburt were present to request an extension on their property taxes until October. The list of delinquent property taxes was sent to the town lawyer today. It was noted that at this point the Hurlburt’s will be required to send their tax money directly to the lawyer. The Select Board and the Hurlburt’s discussed ways to keep the fees as low as possible. Kevin Brennan is the lawyer who will be doing the tax sale and his contact information was provided to the Hurlburt’s. Harry Hurlburt stated that Roderick Burritt told him he would hold off on sending the Hurlburt properties to the lawyer until the Hurlburt’s had a chance to meet with the Select Board. It was noted by the Select Board that the town policy is to not hold any properties back from the process of the tax sale; as it might be perceived as preferential treatment. The Hurlburt’s will contact Kevin Brennan to set up a plan.]

selectboard minutes found at

monktonvt.com
 
I have been looking for the ANA-C minutes, no one seems to be responsible,

don't we pay taxes for this?

 

more reasons to blog, the papers do not want to publish any of these rants.

mary gerdt, monkton, vermont gazetteer

 

Swallow Morning August 2011

Swallows on the line

Background birdsong

This goes with Silent Morning

Idyllica

Idyllica
was the post I kept thinking about.
The Utopian paradise,
A Theme Park for adults,
Everything for you,
Oz-like.

Then I read Meredith's post about a judge ruling from the heart so to speak.
Sure to get him invites to great champagne parties,
his grandchildren will write of his epic decision.

Meanwhile,
in Vermont,
in the Jungle,
plant employees are preparing to be laid off,
find new places to live,
stores that sell them things are making new plans,
the school wondering how to pay their bills when all the taxpayers move out,
leaving a ghost town.

Unsuspecting rate payers,
by candle power,
will peruse their bill and accuse each other
of leaving something running,
when actually it was just the more expensive power.

The legal field should be stunned,
beware,
legislating from the bench makes all lawyers squirm,
a thrill and concern
someday it may go against them.

Read Meredith's article and if you get all happy about shutting down a nuke,
well,
there is more to the story,
and Meredith knows it.

Thank you Meredith,






http://yesvy.blogspot.com/2011/07/ruling-on-injunction-goes-against.html

Garden challenges & Road

The Garden is giving us challenges we have not yet had.
So much snow, then rain, rain.
Last night a heavy dew?
Today, rain this pm.
Some sunlight drifting in from time to time,
makes you squint
since we have been living with the sky in greyscales.
What plants we managed to get out look marvellous,
reminding us that things could be worse,
and the food we grow
and store
becomes more precious
with all these challenges.

how about our road pics?
It is worse than it looks,
the camera failing to show our disappointment
(over $6,000 vt prop taxes due in 4 months on this property)
especially when a river is running through it...
I call this shovel ready,
where is my bailout?



Gunpowder Lane, Monkton, Vermont,US



Moon

I looked out this morning at the frost on the grass,
yesterday's snowfall melted by the spring sun.
Today the first day of Spring,
Temperature is in the teens F.
With the Sun today we will warm up to the 40's F.
I wished I could capture in a photo the sparkling of the frost this morning.
It oscillates, or more appropriately said it
scintillates in sync with some yet to be validated phenomenon
(see the book messages in water).
Last night we waited for the Moon to rise, wishing to capture
that moment, where the Moon is virtually closest to us. Did I say that right?
But some news people said
The Moon got bigger
And that, I believe is why we are in the trouble we are in.
Happy Spring!

OK, here is one attempt I made to image the moon over the mountains. nothing like the real thing.

Snow Day, Property Tax reform

Forced at home again by Ma Nature.

So here is a bit of recent rant.
Hope for passage of some reform soon,

http://www.addisonindependent.com/201103clippings-young-voters-have-town-meeting-duty#comment-2634