Same snow, different year

Snow, Monkton, Vermont, stock photo

I know, I know,
We should live in the moment
today

and
take pictures
today
or
tomorrow when tomorrow is today

This time of year, late January
1/2 way through winter
it is easy to get photo-fatigue,
kind of a mental white out.

I think these were from President's day 3 years ago.
We got about 6 inches so far of fluffy snow even in the valley,
Expected to go to 50+ wednesday,
then freezing again. The second January thaw.

Just knowing that, makes it hard to take pictures
when I should be shoveling.


 

More photos not taken

Photos Not taken again,
this past weekend,
and last weekend,
great memories,
The Sun & Weather,
Music, visions,
feelings,
interactions,
rolled up into
tight little protein packets
we call our treasured memories,
stored right there,
where we store the best ones,
who needs a picture of that?

Woodchuck Day

The Monkton Chronicles
documenting Woodchuck Day 2012
in
Vermont
as being on the milder side of winter,
without snow cover in the valley,
the ground is frozen mostly,
so woodchucks pretty much don't want to come out
in which case
it will be
6 more weeks of winter
or probably longer.
There has been a woodchuck up back
we see in summer, he
would keep his distance, blindly chewing
clover we happily mowed to keep him
occupied.
Happy Woodchuck Day,
Vermont 2012

Winter Reprieve again

Winter backed off again, the snow melted and we had a nice day to work outside.
The end of autumn again a fuzzy line as warm southern air has been blowing in steadily since
our last Wednesday snow day.
Our broccoli is still producing but has been neatly trimmed by visiting deer.
I boned the turkey and we made 10 TV dinners (and froze them)
with turkey stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy, squash.
Our mashed potatoes were from our red, white and blue potatoes.
They came out kind of pink and very tasty.
We are grateful for our reprieve from winter another weekend
and look forward to lighter days in a few weeks.

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



Good Taste

Horseradish in bloom
Monkton, Early June 2011
Gardens too wet here to plant or even till.
This good tasting root plant grows by
our  back door:
Horseradish,
exudes the characteristic horseradish smell
 from it's delicate white flower spikes.
The Gardens we hope will dry out this week.

been enjoying Levon Helm's Ramble at the Ryman, a must for anyone....levonhelm.com

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.

Change in the Weather

I have not said much about the dreaded global weather debate.
It is an argument which is as futile and silly as arguing with my cat Tommy.
Oh we have had a change in the weather, in fact as they say wait a day the weather will change.

No this wind, this wind is blowing from other directions.

When I found out my property was on a priority list for eco warriors,
it was too late to really address.
By then, the plan to take my property at a tax sale fell through.
I felt like Mr. Magoo, oblivious to who might have been sitting there,
pen in hand, ready to take something I have worked towards my whole life.
My life blood really.

So when I hear the allegations of warmer climates to come, and how the bats will die
if someone does not take your property, money or lifeblood,
I only can say it is a lie.

The crows are not people haters and loners. We talk to Pa Crow and his family everyday, we throw out bits of bread and stale crackers for them and we look at them, and they look at us.
Caw, Caw, Caw.

I love this land more than just about anything in the world. What it means to me,
They really never cared.
Sometimes I sit and wonder who was sitting there, checkbook in hand, at the tax sale of my property that never came to fruit.
I think they were probably furious their plan failed,
Curse, foiled again.

I tried to get someone to care about what happened to us.
My blog Galaxy people got it, and a few others.

So when I am sore from shoveling and more snow on the way,
I have no doubt there is a change in the air,
a Change in the weather.

Time  for spring, already.

Perfect weather

This weekend was one we could call perfect weather. 70's, not too humid, breezy, some clouds.
I tried to weed the corn but the weeds fought hard. I did 4 rows and the sunflower row.
Some weeds in the onion patch made me just give up. Otherwise I weeded the onions until I couldn't take the sun anymore.
August first, the swallows are pushing their first born pretty hard now. Second broods are still in the nest and will have to fly in less than a month to points south. The swallows look pretty good. Perhaps that is because we have seen so few bats.
The starlings are flying in formation. The coyotes are howling at night- so eerie.
The great blue heron flies over and lets us admire him on the way. Such a graceful being.
Not many airplanes today. The sky looks more blue.
The Rose of Sharon is blooming.

Black Gold: The Epilogue

Black Gold: The Epilogue
Ok, it really is not that dramatic, or unheard of, yesterday through today parts of Vermont got 1-2 feet of snow and it is know as poor man's fertilizer (moisture and ammonia).
We had spread the 'nure aka black gold last weekend
and got this snowstorm to put icing on the gold.
most has melted but it reminds me of how numb we get with late winter storms, mindlessly veering around down trees, watching for morons and wondering where our taxes went with no plowing today.
So I diverge from the Epilogue, best said in a photo.
Supposed to be 70 this weekend.
Enjoy!
Mary

Winter goes out slowly

Winter is going out like a lion.

Stiff south winds and cold air. Clear moonlit sky tonight.

The ground is frozen again.

Onions, artichokes and a few tomato plants being started this weekend.

That delightful odd weather last week gave way to this artic blast.

March Came in like a Lamb

March 2010 came in like a lamb in NW Monkton VT.
The sap is flowing as evidenced by our weary friends who tap our trees and boil down the sap to a pure ecstasy of a taste.
We got most of our seed order and the artichoke seeds went in the fridge to simulate season number one.
The days have been 40-50 degrees F, dry and 20's at night. It has felt warmer then a good part of last year. Maybe we are acclimated but we also are burning less fuel to stay warm. In NW Monkton Vermont, we do not ever look gift weather "in the mouth" so to speak. For you more literal people, it's been wonderful weather.
Hope it doesn't go out like a lion.
Mary Gerdt monkton vt

Bare ground, Clear skies

There is a strange mildness to February so far and I say that hesitatingly but also with experience. We are getting past the worst of winter. While others to our south struggle in the deep snow, we have dodged the snow bullet recently except for an inch or two here and there.
It was nice to see the sun today and it is noticeably higher in the sky.
Hopeful for warmer weather.
We saw wild Tom turkeys strutting and fanning their tail feathers and really felt it was a sign.
We hear a little different bird song which you hear in spring.
It was funny I read there was an Amber alert out for Al Gore.
Frankly we are milder than normal but still freezing. I cannot speak for the poor people down south.
Just remember, don't fight a storm, you will loose. Step aside, let it do it's thing and then clean up the mess once it is over.
And get a crooked handled snow shovel. We have 3 between the 2 of us.
Have a great night and keep warm.
Mary

Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice is only a day away.
We picked out our Christmas tree: a full squat scotch pine that sucked up water and looked better afterwards.
Now I feel the celebration has begun for us in the season of darkness back to light.
Did our ancestors wonder if it would get light again?
Do we?
Happy Solstice. Hope is just around the corner.
Guess we dodged the snow but also have quickly adapted to the winter and now have the feeling that 20 degrees is balmy. It has been bitter cold.
We sailed across the lake Champlain yesterday on the ferry. The seas were a little rough and exciting feeling. We could see where the powerful arctic cold air formed a line with the outer fringes of the southeastern snow delluge.
We got a break from snow but are burning more fuel.
Hope you all have a great week in your celebration of light.
Mary

Winter Travel

We went to the other side of the state for an office meeting and secret santa "yankee swap".
I am thankful not to drive over the mountains and Fred did the honors.
We took 89 across by Montpelier, the capital and then by Barre, granite capital and home to many beautiful public sculptures Italian craftsmen have made over the years.
Then onto 302 east. You can actually see all this on google earth. It is a meandering paved road that goes by evergeen stands, logging sites, used car dealers...a lot of them for such a remote area.
On to South Ryegate which is in a cozy nook of mountains, moose, bear and today about a foot of snow or so, packed down by the above freezing temps.
We were so lucky the weather stayed above freezing, even a little above and the roads were not icy yet. Tonight a cold blast that really starts the first stages of cold winter, albeit above zero.
Hope you stay warm wherever you are.
Mary

A Wicked Wind

A Wicked Wind
Blew through Monkton and neighboring areas on Sunday.
Of course we had felt compelled to plant our artichoke plants on Saturday during a brief window of sunshine.
Rain was predicted to continue and we assumed they meant a drizzly May shower.
But defying prediction by even Roger Hill, a Wicked Wind came up or actually he explained in his post cast that cold dense air was tumbling down on us. The branches pitched and twisted and the poor artichokes took a beating. I found a piece of remay and covered them to keep them from total destruction. Then a frost last night just added insult to injury. Today I uncovered the plants that are mostly hanging in there. No frost now for a while and hopefully that sinister wind will dissipate and lose its destructive nature.
We lost one apple tree that snapped off at the base. Friends had a tree uproot and crash on their house and car. Luckily again no one hurt.
A wicked wind shows us how just a puff of air to the earth can be so large in our life on the surface.
June first we had to burn a fire to keep warm.
Still skeptical about gl*bal w*rming.