Connections

When I was much younger, I used to teach skiing at Bromley Mountain in Southern Vermont. The ski school was run by an energetic Austrian chap called Herman Goellner, who made quite a name for himself as being the only chap in the world, at that time, who could do a Mobius flip on skis. It seems quite tame now, doesn't it, as we watch the Olympic freestyle events, and the amazing somersaults, twists and flips that they seem to do so easily...but at the time, this was quite an accomplishment. He came from Zell am See, near Salzburg, and I often wondered why he would leave the beauty of the Alps to come to our little hills. He brought with him, in succeeding years, a whole entourage of friends from the same village, to work at the Bromley Mountain Ski School. All were excellent skiers, and became great friends, as we lived and worked next to each other for many winter seasons. In the late spring, they would all return to Austria to their families, friends and their summer jobs.
The memory of our friendship was rekindled this winter, when our family gathered at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont, to spend a few days there, celebrating the wedding of Soe and Colin. The Lodge is run by Johannes von Trapp, affectionately named "Hannie" by his siblings. Before they bought the farm in Vermont in 1942, the von Trapp children lived for a while with their maternal grandmother in Austria in a village called...can you guess? Yes, it was Zell am See!

Old friends

Last month, as October opened her gates to heightened colour, snow flurries, and all that a northern autumn holds, Caroline came to stay for a couple of weeks, bringing with her a fresh air of enthusiasm and excitement; warmth and stories, generosity and love. It was a lovely visit, and rather fun to, all at once, want to show her everything that Vermont had to offer. The first day, we let her rest...and indeed, that was a good idea, since her luggage had never left England's green and pleasant shores! Surprisingly, it arrived on our doorstep by 10 o'clock the following morning! Here are a few of the things we did together: picked apples at the Shelburne Orchards; followed by an afternoon at the Shelburne Museum; dinner with the girls at American Flatbread; went to see "Where The Wild Things Are" (Papa cried!); dinner on the lake at the Eastside in Newport; Simon Pierce in Queechee, where we had lunch, then watched a couple of vases being blown and shaped by 2 glass-blowers; we went to the Billings Farm Museum in Woodstock, then on to the Woodstock Inn and a lovely amble through the town..a beautiful fall afternoon; heading north again, (and this COULD be the highlight of her trip!), we stopped off at Exit 17, and took her to the truck stop for dinner!! Real style! Caroline and I, one Sunday afternoon, took a mini-trip up to Averil and beyond to look for a moose, unsuccessfully of course..they rarely show themselves when you actually go looking for them! One day, Caroline took Murgatroyd (my little red VW Rabbit), and said she was off to 'explore' Newport! She had an errand to do, but when, after 5 hours, she hadn't returned, I started to feel a cold chill. The 'what ifs' started in my mind: She's lost! She's in a ditch! She accepted a ride! She's definitely lost! No map! No cell phone! Sun's sinking...getting dusky! So Larry and I jumped in the truck to go and look for Caroline. Just as he put her in reverse, along came Caroline and Murgatroyd down the drive....ahh! Unbelievably enough, she had parked the car, and literally spent 5 hours exploring Newport!! It was the joke of the century! But I've been thinking: this is a pretty neat little lakeside town, and because we live and work here, we don't see Newport as the charming place others see. The boardwalk and state building and the marina, she had lunch at the Montgomery cafe, popped into the newly renovated bookshop and spent ages in there perusing the books and drinking coffee, and a few more of the great shops on Main Street. She spent an extraordinary amount of time at the Pick and Shovel, marvelling at the variety within its walls. She came, she stayed, she went ... I miss her. It was lovely. Her she is hanging over Queechee Gorge!

Shopping

Sapphie Elizabeth is ready to go

Down to the shops, down to the shops!

Why is her mummy so terribly slow,

Terribly, terribly slow?

Sapphie Elizabeth is all decked out

With new coat and hat, new coat and hat!

And is trying so terribly hard not to pout!

Terribly, terribly slow!

Sapphie Elizabeth just loves to go out.

Out to the shops, those magnificent shops!

Come on Mummy, stop mucking about!

Let's down to the shops and play!

October

There's just something about October that makes me want to put the garden to bed, tidy things up around the place, get organized, make bread, eat honeycomb by the spoonful, knit, spin, sew, make jams and fruit butters....is there an internal instinct to survive that which is to come? Maybe, although the sense of urgency is not embroidered into the beckoning. We have picked apples, incorporating the delicious fruit in both sweet and savoury feasts, as well as simply enjoying their crispness along with wonderful cheeses of all moods. Larry bought some cheese back with him last weekend from a retreat up at the other end of the lake, where the monks make delicious cheeses...just the ticket for a sunny fall lunch, alongside a tall glass of Cold Hollow Cider. Here's a jacket, designed by a friend, that I have recently made for that Sapphie Girl, and a cozy sheep hat, the pattern to which I found in Woodstock a couple of weeks ago, on one of our fall exploring days...

There's just something about October...

Did you know...?

Almost home...and there you were with your brother, playing in the road, you poor, silly deer! I saw you, but it didn't help, because there was a long line of cars coming the other way...if you made it, you'll be a little sore tomorrow. Did you know that I tried to miss you? I almost did, didn't I? Do you know that my heart is broken tonight? Did your brother escape? No sign on the road at all afterwards; but a thump, and a dull, sickening ache in my heart are all that remain. I wish I could make you feel better...wish it hadn't happened.

On a hillside in the Autumn, on a warm September night,
Maples flashed their firy plumage, heralding the goose's flight.
Farethee well, deer honkers all, love you dearly, hear your call.

Glacial treasures

And can it be that these green hills have known the depth of glacial chills?

Have felt the slow, determined path of moving ice, and cracking glass?

When did the earth warm just enough to shape the lake, the ridge, the bluff?

And can it be that these green hills can know the joy and sense the thrills

That threaten to o'ertake me now, and leave me with the wonder 'how'?