Fall- All Over

Fall is definitely here. There is a nip in the air, and leaves are dropping everywhere. This week we went up to check things out, and now the slab has been poured, the foundation back filled, and the drainage installed. I also found out I was doing something wrong in posting, so now if you click on the picture, it will give you a larger view.(That helps me because the pictures are too small for these eyes lately)

I also was playing with the camera, and found I have the option to create a panoramic picture, by taking 3 pictures and the camera "stitches" together. Takes a little getting used to but works fairly well. This shot was from behind the garage looking north.

This shot was from the road facing south looking into the lot.

Just another different perspective.

The other thing that is different is the color. Gone are the leaves from the birch, and maple, except for a few stragglers, but vibrant in color were the tamarack trees. They are one of just a few species of pine that lose their needles in the fall, changing color much like a maple tree. You can see the yellows starkly contrasted against the standard green pine backdrop.

On the way up, we stopped at the normal breakfast place, P&H. It was kind of disturbing in a way to see a truck load of Christmas trees there already, as it was just October.

We took another ride down the road after stopping and towards a town called Marshfield, where there were some spectacular views, including Molly's Falls Pond, with Hooker Mountain in the background.

We saw a large group of turkeys in the field next to the road on the way back as well

And we saw our first moose this weekend in Vermont, but unfortunately not the way we thought we would see one.

Birds Eye View

Today we view things from a different perspective. A good friend is part owner in a small plane, so I was able to "hitch" a ride from him and fly up to Vermont to get some pictures from a different angle. Sunday was such a perfect day for flying, hardly a cloud in the sky. My first encounter was with a Hot Air Balloon, as I left the house and headed toward the airport. As you can see the sky was clear and deep blue.

We met at the hangar, and Ed went through his checklist, while I tried to stay out of the way.

We took off ~ 9:00, and set a course north, flying pretty close to parallel to I-91. We quickly were into Massachusetts, flying past Westover Airfield, where the "big" planes were.

Continuing north, we passed into Vermont and New Hampshire. As we went further north the colors grew more extreme. The hills seemed to pop with color everywhere, with bright oranges, yellow, and reds sharply contrasting with the dark and light greens.

Flying definitely gives you a different outlook on things. As you look straight ahead, it seems like time is suspended, and you are hardly moving. When you look down to the sides, you see things go by, but it still seems like a reduced speed. At one point we were doing ~170 knots, which translates to ~190-200 mph, but yet it seemed like much less than that. We flew over the Connecticut River many times in the way up, as it twists all along the border of VT and NH. In a different aspect, you could see the fog that we often drive in on those early morning, hugging the river, covering it like a blanket.



Although there was a slight head wind, we made it up to our property in about 1 hour and 30 minutes. This was about 2 hours quicker than it would take to drive. Had the winds been lighter it would have been much less (as witnessed by the 1 hour return trip) As we got closer we were able to start picking out familiar landmarks, most of which stood out, some however , because of the different angle, it sometimes was a bit tough till the last minute. The following picture is the farm and field from above the scenic outlook in last weeks blog, with the St.Johnsbury dam in the top of the picture.



From here, we knew we had to head slightly northwest to the property. Shortly after banking left, we were able to start spotting familiar landmarks again, including the house with a tee pee in the yard. I missed a shot of that but will get one from the ground next time I go up. Seconds after we passed the tee pee, we were over the property. We several good shots of the foundation and fields nearby.



From the south.


From the east



From a distance



In this picture, if you see the big red barn at the tip of the wing, and then the large clump of trees slightly above that, we are to the left of that on the other side of the road. After a quick stop at the Lyndonville airport....


We took back off for home. The colors up this far north were pretty spectacular too.



We flew over the Vermont corn maze and then headed south towards home.



What an awesome trip! I even flew the plane a little bit. You definitely gain respect for pilots after that, with all the things you need to keep aware of, winds, speed, direction, attitude and so much more. I found I lean to the left a bit for some reason. Once on course, we would start drifting a little bit left every time :). Still it was a great experience, and I thank Ed very much for going up and taking me on a weekend day, when he probably could have been doing something else more important.

Lost & Found(ation)

Greetings all! Here comes fall! Gone are the 80 degree days and now the nights are cooler and daylight hours growing shorter. I received a call from our builder of garage Monday, and he asked if it would be OK if the excavators started this week prepping for the foundation. Of course I had no objections! On Wednesday I received another call, stating the hole was dug, and the footings were poured. Of course, then it rained like cats and dogs (again), so they were going to have trouble setting forms. Armed with this news, and seeing that the color was rated as high in upper VT, we naturally figured it was time for a road trip. We also finally were going to meet in person the builder, as all our business has been conducted over the phone so far.

We left late today (9 AM instead of the normal 5 AM) as Ken the builder wasn't able to meet till ~4 PM. The drive was much different, lots more cars than usual (because most people are sleeping @ 5 AM!) but still got there in the normal amount of time. As we travel north, the colors slowly change from green, with occasional oranges, yellows and reds to a sea of colors mixed on the hill sides. These pictures was facing toward New Hampshire's White Mountain range at a scenic lookout spot near St. Johnsbury on I-91.

We arrived at the property, and were happy to see that the forms were up after all. As we got out to examine a little closer, a turkey was strutting around in the yard, totally indifferent to our presence.

The forms were set up, but due to the heavy rain, they ended up extending the driveway with additional fill in order to be able to work. A membrane was laid down so once they are done, they will be able to move the extended driveway back out front to the garage doors.

Additionally, a drainage trench was dug to move water away from the foundation. Eventually, a drain will be placed around the entire foundation, and the water will move away, towards the other drainage ditches (dubbed "The Moat") we already have in place.

With the forms up, 24' x 28' now looks small, but it should cover our needs. In talking with our builder, he said it goes through phases, now it looks small and once the walls start going up it starts to look big again. He said in fact some of the walls have already been pre-built in his shop, and hopes to start building by November! But for now I can only focus on what is there, the foundation. The rebar is all in, and rumor has it they expect to pour as early as Monday October 6!

While we were up there it was hard not to look around and see the changing leaves. There was a patch easily seen from our land that looked at times like it was on fire, when the sun peeked out between the scattered clouds. Easy to see why we picked this spot.


A quick drive in the county permitted several nice shots too numerous for posting here, but one that caught our eye is.

As always I have to thank my lovely wife for her keen eye for beautiful scenery (and extreme patience!)

It is amazing how fast things are happening! We have a finish date by mid December, which also coincides with opening day for snowmobile season!!

Next up newly poured foundations, and maybe a different perspective of Vermont!

The Scarlet Letter and Unique Farms

Happy September! The days seem to be just flying by. Before we know it, the snowmobiles will be topped off and fired up for the new season, and I can't wait! Progress has slowed a bit on the property, but still moving forward. Today's title comes from two different sights this weekend. The first is from the picture above (more on the second later.) Today's letter is P for Permit.

I went north last week to meet with excavator, and discuss the location of the garage. After our meeting, he was going to price out costs for the foundation, and get back to me. Once we determined the location, I went to town hall and submitted my application for a permit to build the garage. As the process goes, I fill out the form, add any drawings, provide dimensional information (setbacks, property lines, etc), and a check. In turn they post a sign on my property for all to see and anyone to contact the town if they have a problem with it. This sits for 15 days after application has been approved, to give people a chance to contest the request. My permit will be accepted after September 23.

So this Saturday I went north again, partially because I had to meet with another contractor, partly because the rest of the lot had been seeded, and I wanted check out how it looked.

I was happy to not only see that it was finally seeded/mulched, but the original area that was seeded grass was really starting to come in. I met with the other contractor, and we discussed the work to be done, and took a few more pictures. The trees were just barely starting to show some color in the mountains, a sure sign that fall is starting to creep up on us.

So if all goes well, we hope to have the garage foundation done in the next 3-4 weeks, and possibly the garage by mid November (if all goes well). Redundant yes, but everything is dependant on schedules, weather, funding, and a little bit of luck. One thing can throw things off, then there is still electricity to think about.

Oh and to address the second part of the title. As we drive back and forth, and sometimes venture off the beaten path we run into different things that catch our eye. Sometimes an animal, or a scenic view or a farm. Vermont has many types of farms, and we have seen animal farms, vegetable farms, large farms, small farms, run down farms, but the other day we saw the coolest farm so far.

A Marshmallow Farm! :-)

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.

High Water

Greetings all who peruse this page. It is August 10, and at the moment it is sunny, but severe storms are in the forecast for later in the day. The past week has been crazy as as the weather goes, with severe downpours @ home and in Vermont, including tornado warnings- yes tornado in CT. Reading the highlights from the Caledonian Record- the local Vermont newspaper- flash flooding has caused some severe issues up there as well. I spoke with some friends earlier in the week who summer in New Hampshire, and they told me how this has been the wettest summer they remember in the longest time.

I really believe this to be true, and in reading the paper, it appears so. From the Caledonian Record:

" At least 1.82 inches fell Wednesday morning and some places up to 3 inches fell"

"So far this month we've gotten 3.52 inches of rain, and the average rainfall for the month of August is 4.23 inches. So far, the total rainfall for the summer months (June, July, August) is 18.06 inches, when normally, this would be 11.99 inches."

Why am I babbling on about rainfall you may ask? Well rainfall directly impacts land clearing. I received a call early this week, and was informed there was quite a bit more water showing up than originally thought, and we needed to modify the original plan a bit, and construct a drainage swale to help run off the water, and allow the property to dry up. So of course I agreed. I received another call on Friday, and was told everything was set except for the seeding, and this would have to wait until things dried up a bit, and that it has been wetter up there than anyone can remember in a long time.

Originally, I wasn't going to go up this weekend, but plans changed late Friday so we made the early morning trek up to view the final land clearing/excavation/drainage installation. Again it started off very foggy on the way up, we passed what was later announced as a fatal car crash in Plainville, and a big rig rollover into center median near the Mass/VT border. finally arriving, weather clearing for nice pictures, and a light breeze blowing.

So immediately we noticed a new swale of the eastern side of the property, and water was running down, albeit slowly. As we walked the perimeter, first in a southerly then westerly direction, the swale increased in size and the water in volume.

Toward the western end water was coming from a drainage area near the septic, as well as the wet area we had known about. Now we are starting to wonder if there is a spring or artesian well in this area. But there was enough water running from here that you could actually hear it bubbling like a brook.



The water was then diverted northerly to drain out to the existing culvert in front. so in a sense, we now have a "moat" around the perimeter of the cleared area. Guess my next option would be to look to build a castle :-)

Well, hopefully the crazy amount of rain will slow down, and we can get grass growing soon, the property will dry up, and we can start looking at next steps, like building something, whether a small home or at least a garage for now. Stay tuned-and don't throw away those inner tubes yet-

Muddy Waters, Rainy Days

Muddy Waters

Well its been 3 weeks since our last trip north, partially due to a busy schedule, partially because the ride up and back in one day tends to wear you out after a while. We left before sunrise on a partly cloudy Saturday morning, and immediately saw a young deer, debating whether to cross the road or not. Thankfully he chose to run back into the wood from whence he came.

The ride is approximately 3.5 hours, depending on traffic and other factors(i.e. radar traps) and shortly after we drove into Massachusetts, we encountered various areas of patchy fog. It amazes me how the fog can be dense, then non-existent in a matter of 1/2 mile. We encountered foggy conditions through most of the rest of the drive up.

At times it was indeed "so thick you could cut it with a knife". We stopped @ our normal breakfast spot-P&H- Exit 17 of I-91- Good food, great service. After a refreshing repast, we drove the final 30 or so miles to the property. In speaking with our contractor, he was hoping to start the stumping and grading Thursday afternoon, if everything worked out. The first step was to rough in the driveway, so they could unload the heavy equipment without damaging the road, or tracking mud and debris. All that and more was done by Saturday morning when we arrived.

As you can see the driveway has been roughed in and they have stumped about a third of the land. Included in the driveway was a culvert for the roadside, which allows the spring runoff to flow by.

Evidently they had some massive downpours Friday afternoon, so it was a bit muddy, and and a bit wet, so we walked mostly the perimeter to survey the progress.

We walked out back to the septic area as well, an they haven't gotten that far yet, but the path from the skidder was apparent, and challenging to maneuver...

Once in the back of the lot, beyond the man made destruction-or construction, nature still exists. I was unable to get any pictures of the birds calling from the trees, but still life abounds

And of course what would a trip like this be without the obligatory photo of me on the equipment :-)

After a quick detour to Lyndonville to look at a few modular homes and gather information-coincidentally right across from the Lynburke Motel-one our our famous snowmobile "rest areas", we headed back home. Holding true for a change to the weather forecast, we hit some pretty crazy weather, raining intermittently at first, but then with a torrent of heavy showers, which made the last hour of the ride aggravating to say the least. I don't understand why people forget how to drive when it rains.... ah but that's another blog for another time. So I leave you with............

Rainy Days