Summer Time Blues

Greetings all! Well, it's hard to believe, but summer is almost over (unofficially). That kind of gives me the blues, since there is so much more to do before winter. Things are moving forward up north, with about 1/3 of the lot now seeded, and the rest will be done in short order.
The ground has dried up considerably, and allowed us to walk the property without sinking in, so now with grass going in, it will help solidify things even more.

(Freshly seeded & dry land)

There is still a bit of runoff, but nothing like what we saw a few weeks back. this was the western side of the property, where the water drains away.

I could actually still here some water bubbling as it dropped from one tier to another, cascading down over small rock and earth. So maybe we will have a permanent babbling brook, only time will tell.

Next up will be a garage before winter if everything goes right, and the stars align properly.

We also had an abundance of wildlife in the area. In talking to the neighbor, he told us how there was a large gathering of turkeys in his yard, fertilizing an already thick growth from the recent rains. Also visiting and eating the apples from his tree were a buck and 2 does. I found that they seemed to like the areas we opened up, and it looks like they found the softer spots early on.

As a side trip we drove around the back roads (not hard because in Vermont, most every road is a back road) and a short distance from the property, we found a covered bridge. (Not too hard to find these) Along with the covered bridge, were various markers and a plaque describing the area, called Greenback Hollow. Ironically, the waterway the bridge crossed was "Joe's Brook", which connects to "Joe's Pond"

The History Lesson

The Greenback Hollow Bridge-Replaced

Joe's Brook-not to be confused with the other Joe's stream above.

During the day I met Andy, who lived nearby, and used to own the farm behind us. He sold it to a family from CT, and now lives with his dad. Neither looked like they were spring chickens, but they were out haying the field across the street from us. Both fine people. Always nice to meet neighbors up that way. What still strikes me as strange, coming from "the big city" is the amount of trust people still have up there, compared to us. We lock things up tight when we go out, never imagine leaving expensive equipment out for fear of theft or vandalism. As I drive by farm, field, or house, and see snowmobiles on trailers or front porches, quads parked in front of houses, tractors left by the road in the field, it is nice to see that there is still some of that basic trust left in the world.