Down on the Farm

Ho Ho Ho

Well, we are back in VT. It has been a wonderful and slightly whirlwind holiday season for us.

We were just in Massachusetts and Connecticut for three days, after having been in Boston and Minnesota and then back to Vermont the previous week. But now we are staying put for a bit. Our camera is loaded with 133 images which will take some time to sort through. Suffice it to say we had a great time.

We'll get more stories and photos up at some point -- right after we finish unloading the car and eating the last candycane. But for now, we hope everyone out there is having a good holiday season, and a happy and safe new year.

Small towns rock, part 72

So we came back to Vermont on Sunday night, after having been out of town for six days.

Monday morning, the phone rings. It is a neighbor who saw our car was back in our "driveway." "How was the trip? Feel free to come by on Christmas Day if you are around", etc., etc.

At lunch I went up to Marty's (a gas station/grocery store in Danville) and saw another neighbor. He said, "It has been pretty slow over at your place lately, eh?" Translation: where the heck have you guys been all week?

Then today another neighbor came over unannounced with this awesome homemade cranberry-almond coffee cake, just to visit with us and the baby, and to be neighborly.

People have been so nice to us here, even though we aren't from around here, we haven't live here all our lives, we are organic vegetable farmers (as opposed to non-organic dairy farmers, which is the norm up here), and in some ways we don't exactly fit in. But people are willing to take us as we are, and to be nice to us all the same. It kind of inspires a guy to go out and be nice to the next person, just to keep the good vibe chain going.

Farm season 2004 begins

This is one of my favorite days of the year. There was more daylight today than yesterday. The days are getting longer -- summer is right around the corner.

jingle bells

Too bad we left the camera at my folks'. Waverly and I were out walking this afternoon and saw a one horse open sleigh dashing through the snow.

Christmas comes early

As Father Allen sermonized at our wedding, "It's the little things."

Last night we decided on the spur of the moment to go see the Return of the King. We weren't really set up for a babysitter, so we brought Waverly with us. We hoped she would just sleep on my lap. But she didn't. Probably it was too loud. She was fussy and the theater was packed.

So Peter walked and held Waverly out in the lobby while I watched the three hour plus movie.

Merry Christmas!!

On the road again

I am off to Minnesota for a few days. I spent over ten years of my life living there, and the people I work for in my non-farming life are there as well. I am going on business to take care of a few work things and to attend our firm's annual Christmas party.

Maryellen has decided that instead of staying in a creaky, drafty farmhouse with only Wavo and the mice to keep her company, that she will go visit her Mom and Dad and sister and brother-in-law and nephew and niece and friends for a few days in Boston.

This weekend, after I get back from Minnesota, we will be at the annual Christmas party Maryellen's family throws in Boston. After that all bets are off -- Christmas week will probably be some combination of any and all of the following -- Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, and maybe even Rhode Island.

We honestly aren't sure at this point when we might be back up here. It could be next Monday for a day or two, or it could easily be the Monday after that. More big adventures for Waverly!

We will, however, try to make some remote posts from the road.

Happy Holidays everyone!

P.S. Maryellen suggested I note that unlike our usual practice, we may actually lock the house while we are gone. So if anyone has any ideas about coming up here and stealing all the old cow manure in the barn, you can forget about it.

Even farmers get downtime

I was going to write about how farmers at least get to rest some in the winter, but I realize that as I am typing, Peter is out in the barn trying to get the tractor and the cultivator secured before the next snowstorm hits.

In any case, we had a lot of fun this weekend with a lot of family up for Waverly's baptism.

Moonlight in Vermont

Lately, I have been getting up at first light, which up here is usually somewhere around 5:45-6:15am. Last night was good sleeping weather -- really clear and cold, with an almost full moon.

So this morning I woke up and saw the blue light of dawn out the window. I got up, and went downstairs to re-kindle the fire in the woodstove. Except it was still almost completely banked up from the night before -- last night's wood had not yet dissolved into embers. Which was weird.

And I was still really, really tired.

And then I looked at the clock (which is an antique wind-up clock that Maryellen's grandfather rebuilt), and it said a couple of minutes before 12:00. I thought to myself, "Boy, is that clock screwed up. It must have stopped in the middle of the night". But then I noticed the clock was still ticking.

Puzzled. Back to the window. It wasn't dawn. Instead, the brilliant moonlight was rebounding off of the blue-white snow. It was so bright outside I had assumed it was day breaking. You could have easily gone outside and walked around without any lights or candles or anything.

I went back to bed instead.

Tummy time

This one's for Uncle Pete.

Small town living, part 43

Last night we got a bunch of snow -- probably in the 18 to 24 inch range. Taa-Daa!! The first snowshoeing pic of the year -- Maryellen with Waverly tucked in her jacket.

And here is a little small-towns-are-awesome story. Our neighbor Allen has a plowing business, and he does our "driveway" (really just a dirt path) every winter for an extremely reasonable rate. So this morning, I went and dug our Subaru out a little, and I figured I would just wait for Allen to show up, and when he cut a path out to the road, I could move the Subaru, and he could finish the job.

So imagine my surprise when I saw another neighbor of ours at the end of our driveway with his big four wheel drive Hesston tractor. I ran out and thanked him for knocking down the berm that the road plow had thrown up, but I explained to him that Allen does our plowing, and I was waiting for him to come along. Francis (our neighbor with the tractor) explained that Allen was in Maine for the weekend, and chances were with all the snow that he would not be back until tomorrow, so Francis was going around and helping folks in the neighborhood get out and about.

I had no idea Allen was out of town (although I should have noticed that fact when I drove by his house yesterday on the way to the West Barnet General Store). And if Francis had not come by, we might still be waiting to get out. Thanks Francis!!!

When life gives you snow

Waverly, like the Vermont baby she is, was completely nonplussed by the two feet of snow and swirling wind.

Poor baby

Poor Waverly has a cold. She doesn't know how to blow her nose, and so she's just all snorfully and sleepy. Plus yesterday I took her for her two month checkup, and she got her first immunizations -- three shots. At least now I know that she is really capable of some excellent tone and volume when she is in pain!

The great thing about her though, is that in between coughing and sneezing and snorfulling, she still gets giggly. I tried to get a picture of her smiling this morning, but all I got was her saying, ma, I can't believe you're trying to take my picture when I feel miserable!

Winter

Uh, I think it may have dipped below freezing last night.

Actually, it was about 4 degrees above zero this morning when I went outside to get our wood for the day. Winter is here.

Pretty morning

It is both snowing and sunny out this morning. Is there such a thing as a snow-bow?

Win win situation

I went to an interesting meeting, early this morning, before working my day job. Some parents at the local school, and the person who runs the hot lunch program there, recently when to a conference on the Vermont FEED (Food Education Every Day) program. VT-FEED is a program sponsored by NOFA, Shelburne Farms, and Food Works of Montpelier, that encourages schools to buy lunch food from local farmers. As part of the deal, the kids visit the farm, or the farmer comes into school to talk about where food comes from and what farmers do. And since it cuts out a lot of the middle people the school food buyer usually goes through, the farmer can actually get a decent price. It is one of these things that combines education, kids, healthy eating, promotion of a local economy, community, and fun.

The meeting this morning was to get the farmers in to meet the person who makes the food buying decisions. So it looks like our little school (about 50 students, K-6, with 3 teachers doubling up each grade) may be buying some produce from Old Shaw Farm next year, as well as meat and cheese and bread from local farms as well. Pretty exciting stuff!

The gift of grab

Both our families do Christmas lists -- meaning that we send around lists of loot we want. It really simplifies the whole gift buying thing. So in that spirit, now you too can get me lots of stuff.

Breaking news

"P-Bruins rookie Brett Nowak [cousin of Peter, Maryellen and Waverly Griffin] got his first pro goal only 38 seconds into the middle period. Veteran Ted Donato found Nowak near the left post and Nowak faked and then went to the far post, beating Rats goalie Ari Ahonen, completing the Harvard-to-Harvard connection."

More here.

Tip of the hat to Geoff!