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, 2006 Not a very auspicious beginning to August. The state has issued a heat advisory warning, encouraging people to modify their activity out-of-doors and seek cool places to spend the day. Fortunately we were scheduled to work at the air conditioned Artisan’s Guild today. Readings on Walden Hill topped out at 88° but in St. Jay the thermometer showed 97°. A humid but cooler breeze has come with the setting sun. A waxing, hazy half moon is setting in the pink, western horizon. I’m comfortably seated on the porch, enjoying the brisk breeze and phlox -perfumed air.

Aug. 2, 2006 What started out as heat lightning last night, developed into a series of mega-storms. A lulling rain started about 11:30 and an hour later climaxed into a thunderous crack that startled us from a sound sleep. Constant flashes and crashes made for a restless night. Once storm #1 blew itself out we were able to doze off again until about 5:00 when round 2 began. Howling winds, rushing torrents of rain and more highly charged flashes and thunderous crashes shook the house and echoed through the hills. All that moisture brought on another heavy, humid, hot day with even more rain later in the afternoon. We can finally feel the air starting to cool down and hope the rain will hold off long enough to let us give the house a good airing.

Aug. 4, 2006 You know it’s August when the Danville Green is congested with carnival people setting up their rides and local organizations constructing tents for booths at the Danville Fair. This year marks the 76th annual fair and it’s Danville Fair that marks the beginning of the end of summer. A garden loaded with zucchini also confirms the time of year as does finding my first indoor earwig. There will no doubt be plenty more of both.

Aug. 7, 2006 What a glorious weekend with 3 days of full sun, low humidity, daytime temps in the 70’s and nights in the low 50’s. We had visitors from ME and MA so had perfect weather to show off the beautiful NEK. Roadsides are lush with an abundant variety of wildflowers, fields are green and freshly hayed, and corn is beginning to tassel out. The White Mountains are sharply defined against a bright blue sky. Nothing like playing tourist when Vermont’s weather and scenery are at her very finest.

Aug. 9, 2006 A pumpkin full moon hangs huge and orange at the horizon, tinting the surrounding faint mist a soft pink. It’s a beautiful end to a full and enjoyable day at Shelburne Museum. The temperature stayed in the high 70’s with very low humidity, adding comfort to the wanderings around the museum. A special exhibit of Georgia O’Keefe paintings was the big draw but the permanent collection of artworks and historical exhibits in authentic old buildings made for a thoroughly worthwhile visit. Then of course there’s the beautifully restored SS Ticonderoga paddle boat which is an amazing living exhibit on its own. A superb collection of quilts, rugs and textiles was another exhibit of interest.

Quilts at Shelburne Museum

The Shelburne's collection of hat boxes

The famous round barn at Shelburne Museum

There are also several barns full of antique sleighs and wagons and the magnificent round barn which welcomes visitors to the beautifully landscaped grounds.

Aug. 11, 2006 54° this morning after a low of 49° last night. Moosilauke is still tightly wrapped in a blanket of fog to keep off the morning chill while waiting for the sun to warm up the day. The weather forecast calls for a possibility of very light frost on the highest mountain peaks as temperatures dip down into the 30’s tonight. We’re certainly seeing weather extremes this summer. Meanwhile we’ve done our 4th and final kohlrabi harvest and need to tend to picking more basil for pesto this weekend. Another quart of wild blueberries is in the freezer and blackberries are starting to need attending. Raspberries didn’t do much this year. They seem to be much more fragile and need perfect conditions to set fruit and mature. I spent some time weeding a very overgrown asparagus garden and was serenaded by the shrill drone of the crickets. It was the first time I recall hearing them this summer. They’re not the loud, ever-constant buzz yet but that’ll change soon I’m sure. It wouldn’t be August without their “song”. The field is aglow with goldenrod and its subtle variety of yellows, another of August’s treats. Phoebes are flitting around on the front porch, soaking up the morning sun and entertaining Tobey the cat. I continued weeding in the garden and was rewarded by a close-up look at a delicately striped monarch caterpillar chowing down on milkweed leaves. Jeff moved it to a milkweed leaf in the field so I could pull the one crowding out the asparagus.

Aug. 17, 2006 We’re finally having nights that are conducive to viewing Persied meteor showers but the showers seem to be waning. Last night was the first clear night since Saturday which was supposed to be the peak of the showers. Prior to then, it was clear but the early rising full moon lit up the sky too much to see all but the brightest stars. Last night was perfect: dark, cool, zillions of stars and a cloudy arced milky way. We did see several faint meteors and the occasional brighter shooting star but nothing very spectacular. The delicious grassy-sweet fragrance of the night air made our neck-craning wait very worthwhile. Meanwhile, the days continue to be pleasant, affording lots of time for weeding, extending flower beds, picking berries and harvesting from the garden. We even took a day off to travel to Queechee and meet family at VINS raptor center. There were two very interesting demos with owls, hawks and raptors, a guided walk into Queechee gorge and lots of rescued caged raptors to view. The center is in early stages yet but definitely worth the visit.

Raptor demonstration at Vermont Institute of Natural Science

This tiny screech owl was part of the show.

Aug. 22, 2006 It’s been a day of gourmet garden fare. Breakfast was cereal with wild blueberries, lunch a tangy wild blackberry smoothie, and dinner consisted of stuffed zucchini, salad of fresh picked garden greens and Jeff’s famous blackberry pie slightly warmed and topped with Ben and Jerry’s old fashioned vanilla ice cream. We went a bit beyond the garden to stuff the zucchini with curried chicken sausage, apples and onions in a sauce piqued with mango chutney and currents. Tomorrow’s menu will include chard pasta with snow peas adorning our meal the following day. I hope to find some tender fresh corn at farmer’s market tomorrow and have two more zucchini for another batch of zucchini pancakes. The only disappointment in this year’s garden are the very unproductive and scraggly tomato plants which took a lethal beating by the wind and rain early on in June and the kale which is being nibbled down to bare stalks by some voracious pest.

Aug. 25, 2006 Slanting rays of the morning sun light up the misty sea snaking through the blue-gray valley. It’s a chilly 50° but the sun will soon warm up the day. School begins next week and true to form, a few maples have begun showing tints of orange and gold. We seem to have a lot more monarch butterflies than in recent summers. Large, majestic, orange and brown monarchs float so gently in the air that they seem to be autumn leaves silently drifting to the ground. I dug our first row of potatoes yesterday. The yield is small both in size and number but the potatoes look very healthy. The other row has not died back yet so maybe it will yield a bigger crop. Our surprise sunflowers are blooming: one by the bird feeder of course and one perfectly centered in our bay window behind the rhododendron bush. We picked another 2 quarts of blackberries today. They are especially sweet and juicy this year and provide a delicious aroma while picking and colorfully stained hands as well.

Aug. 31, 2006 We’re ending August with a definite autumnal feel. Clear air with puffy clouds, cool temps and a few splotches of color prevail. Unlike most years, this August has an abundance of water, not the usual near drought conditions. Our frog pond which often dries up is fairly full and is sprouting a healthy clump of cattails. They offer good hiding places for the frogs. We’re still picking plenty of blackberries and I even managed enough blueberries for tomorrow’s cereal. It was a bit like looking for a “needle in the haystack” but I persevered and uncovered a few remaining blues. Our thermometer is showing an evening temperature of 55° after a low of 44° and a high of 69°. Add to that a bit of sunshine and you have a perfect Vermont fall day. That’s a much more pleasant way to spend August than suffering through the usual hot, hazy and humid dog days of summer that opened this month.