August in Vermont

Below are excerpts from Ellen’s journal. She has kept her Walden Hill Journal going since we moved from Illinois. We hope you enjoy reading them for a vicarious experience of Vermont.

Aug. 1, 2005 August is coming in delightfully cool with plenty of moisture to keep things green. We’re watching a late afternoon thunderstorm moving through. Cooler air is dropping down into the valley forcing the warmer air to rise in white, misty, rolling clouds which rapidly change as they meet the dark storm clouds behind. Occasional bolts of lightning streak through the converging cloud layers, accompanied by the distant roll of thunder.

Aug. 2, 2005 We discovered a large area in our field that’s loaded with blueberries. Our neighbor alerted us to good pickings near their yard and a casual walk through the grass from there led to bushes in all directions. Large clumps of succulent berries were appearing under every branch. It was more like picking clumps of grapes than berries. We easily filled and froze three pints and will go exploring again in the next few days. More thunderstorms and high winds are moving through. There were warnings further north of us but it looks like the tail end of the severe weather dipped a little further south than predicted. There’s lots of electricity in today’s storm and loud, booming thunder. Bright bolts of lightning shoot straight down in rapid succession, followed by glass rattling, low rumbling thunder.

Aug. 6, 2005 Danville Fair, the beginning of the end of summer. With a day like today, we’ll be sorry to see summer winding down. The weather was absolutely perfect for outdoor festivities. Temperatures stayed in the 70°’s with very low humidity and bright sunshine. The mountains have been crystal clear all day. Jeff ran into a grinning, 90 year old, petite Thelma White who had just come from riding on the rather formidable ferris wheel. She said that that’s one of the 3 things she looks forward to doing at the fair each summer and that the view from the very top was spectacular on this clear day. Culinary treats at the fair were our usual stromboli today and a surprise treat of pulled pork and coleslaw last night. Speaking of treats for the taste buds, we’re into 3 berry season now with blackberries just ripening. Had a good morning of raspberry and blueberry pickings yesterday and found that a bear had been wandering the same path. We made sure to keep up a continuous chatter in case the bears were still among the berries and not just wandering through, leaving piles of poop.

Aug. 9, 2005 The steady, high-pitched, rhythmic chirping of cicadas has finally arrived, filling the summer silence. Goldenrod is beginning to show hints of yellow and local sweet corn is on the farm stands. Blackcap raspberries have joined the now 4-berry harvest. Morning haze has erased our view as more hot and humid weather sets in. Monarch butterflies have arrived in much reduced numbers but full in beauty.

Aug. 14, 2005 Light but steady rain on this cool, overcast day. Mist continues to rise from the disappearing valley. The gardens are getting a much needed gentle soaking. It’s a good day to put up some more zucchini pancakes and a batch of hermit zucchini cookies. Last night we had zucchini stuffed with curried chicken sausage. So all-in-all it’s been a profitable weekend as 5 more zucchini bite the dust. It doesn’t look very promising as far as the St. Jay Band’s concert on the Danville Green tonight. I guess we’ll do our best to squeeze inside the Methodist Church and try and keep the volume down a bit.

Aug. 16, 2005 It’s a misty, moisty morning and as the nursery rhyme goes, “cloudy was the weather”. Spider webs are heavy with dew and stand out on the bushes and in the grass. Intricately woven patterns, separated by moisture are much larger and more open than usual. The sun is gradually burning off the morning fog and bringing back our mountain view. Goldenrod in various shades, shapes and sizes fill the fields and our golden globe perennial heliopesis have stalks which reach up and above our lamp poles, with bright, nodding, yellow heads straining to stay upright. I discovered today that a clicking sound that I had attributed to chipmunks and squirrels is the sound an aggressive hummingbird makes to guard his territory. They sure can be bossy and intimidating to unwanted rivals or intruders. Hummers vigorously defend “their” feeder and the surrounding flowers.

Aug. 23, 2005 It’s 49° this bright sunny morning, with thick valley fog not yet warmed sufficiently by the late rising sun to dissipate. Even Mt. Moosilauke still wears his cottony nightcap. Students are back to school next week and as usual, the very first signs of fall color have appeared. The occasional maples, especially swamp maples, have dipped a leaf or two into mother nature’s paint can to sample the available autumnal hues. Meanwhile we continue to feast from the garden and field. Harvested our second crop of basil yesterday and enjoyed fresh pesto with zucchini pancakes and thick slices of succulent tomatoes. We finished the remaining two slices of Jeff’s “once-a-year” 4-berry pie. Out-of-town company joined in on that treat earlier, along with zucchini parmesan, featuring Jeff’s rich and flavorful kohlrabi sauce. Our friend commented that his dad’s favorite pie was always an “uncut” one! An added treat to picking blackberries are the beautiful monarch butterflies floating through the field and the unusually large, graceful dragonflies seining the air for mosquitoes. Went for a late morning walk and picked some blackberries for lunch. I surprised or I guess more accurately was surprised by a flock of grouse grazing on the choke cherries. There were some also feeding by the blueberry patch when I was picking a few days ago. I’m not sure if they’re actually eating berries or just other fruit on nearby trees. Trillium have their large red hip-like berries. Large clumps of green berries adorn the Jack-in-the-pulpitand will soon turn a bright red.

Aug. 25, 2005 Took an afternoon walk around the reservoir loop. The streams along Kittredge Road are into their late summer trickling mode. Yellow butterflies were “flocking” near the mud puddles, lapping up salts and minerals. Huge dragonflies were gracefully hovering above Matte’s pond. A friendly breeze helped keep this full-sun day comfortable. Non-threatening clouds hung picturesquely in a haze-free sky. It should be a perfect evening for Danville Town Band’s final summer concert on the green.

Danville Town Band on the green

Apple trees are weighed down with a bumper crop of red and green apples. After two seasons of low yield, this years abundance is a welcomed sight. The thermometer is barely tipping 50° tonight. I had a very brief glimpse of an extremely bright Venus dropping below the western horizon with Jupiter close behind.

Aug. 26, 2005 A gentle pastel ocean sunrise this chilly autumnal morning. Our usual river of mist has overflowed to form an ethereal sea with mountaintop islands floating above. About 6:30 the sun finally made its presence known, rising just below our lower drive. The sun’s southward journey into winter is well underway. Long shadows and a few wispy clouds complete the morning scene in what the weatherman calls “chamber of commerce” end-of-summer weather. While we’re enjoying the early morning calm, south Florida is being blasted by hurricane Katrina. We’ll no doubt be feeling its diminished power in a week or so. Dahlias are just beginning to open, adding their rich, dark red to our fall-blooming flowers. Hopefully they’ll have a chance to mature before our first frost hits. We finally got our biennial heating oil delivery. I had procrastinated long enough, hoping that prices would drop down to a more reasonable level. The good news is that we only used 121.4 gallons over a two year period, the bad being that this topping off of the tank cost $2.249 per gallon. At least for now, our passive solar heat is free. It’s a stunning star night, the perfect bookend to the serene start of the day. There’s no moonlight to obscure the constellations as well as all the unnamed pinpoints of light sparkling in their infinite intensities. The Milky Way sends a long, arching, steamy plume from the spout of the teapot Sagittarius in the southern sky to Cassiopeia on the opposite northern horizon. The gentle sound of rustling leaves, insistent pulsating katydids, the shrill of chirping crickets and the sweet fragrance of phlox permeate the night air. Only the hardiest of mosquitoes set up the occasional whine on this coolish night. One rapidly moving satellite and an orange burning shooting star bring a close to the day.

Aug. 31, 2005 We’re ending August with torrential rain and blustery winds. The remnants of hurricane Katrina may be weakening but she’s still blowing a mighty wind. It may be a dreary day but it’s good Vermont window washing weather. I think I might leave the car out too and relieve it of some of its dust cover. Big news; Danville now has its very own “moose crossing” signs which I believe are the town’s first such warnings. One posting is on a wet, low section of Route 2 and looks like good moose habitat to me. I’ve never seen a moose there except for the teeing off metal moose at the mini-golf on Route 2 but will keep my eyes peeled.