July 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.

July 2, 2006 July started out with a mild day of bright sunshine, interspersed with violent thunderstorms. Today began stormy and progressed to just overcast with the sun trying hard to prevail. Brisk winds keep the weather in motion. Yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of purchasing our spot on Walden Hill. No wonder we feel well planted in VT. 4th of July fireworks have already begun. I think last night’s booming was from Joe's Pond. No doubt there will be more throughout the long weekend. This has been an excellent strawberry season and we’re definitely consuming our share.

July 5, 2006 It certainly feels and looks a lot like summer out there. The hills, fields and valleys are lush with well-watered foliage in a multitude of greens. The air is fresh with smells of newly mown grass and hay. Fragrant milkweed is just beginning to add its sweet scent to the mixture. Birdsong, especially robins, floats through the air. Unfortunately the blackflies are still numerous. There must have been a fresh hatching with all this rain. Those little buggers are really hungry. Hopefully they’ll be over with soon. My bug baffler still keeps me well protected but Jeff was driven back inside with a bloody shirt to prove the extent of his agony. This blackfly season has been the worst in our ten year experience. The midday temperature remains at a pleasant 78°. Elegantly shaped and colored cedar waxwings have been sampling the shadbush berries. That’s an added bonus from the profusely blooming and gracefully draping shads lining our walkway.

July 8, 2006 I picked our first blueberries today. Profuse green berries promise of more to come. We took a brief overnight to Portland, ME for an Impressionist show at the Portland Museum of Art. Our stay was in a very comfortable B&B in the historic west end. We took advantage of our location to walk the Western Promenade and enjoy the elegant old houses and beautiful gardens. The variety of architectural styles was fascinating and the beautiful condition of the old homes very impressive. Some very fragrant tree was in bloom, possibly the American basswood. We ate our seafood dinner and lunch the following day down by the water in the Old Port. Travel to and from Portland took us through the scenic White Mountains via Crawford Notch. The weather was sunny and pleasant. Before leaving Danville, we stopped by on the Green to join many others in wishing Margaret Ide a happy 90th birthday. In keeping with her practical, no nonsense demeanor, Margaret asked for a plain, undecorated cake. “They’re just going to cut it anyway”, she said. Spoken like a true Vermonter.

July 10, 2006 A very orange full moon is suspended above the middle of the 3 old maples. It’s barely visible in the haze, exacerbated by smoke from the large forest fires in western Canada. A few fireflies continue to light up the field but the major display is past. We harvested our first 4 tender kohlrabi yesterday and added a fine variety of mesclun thinnings from the kale, chard, lettuce, spinach and cilantro to our salad. Snowpeas and potatoes are blooming and asparagus continues to shoot up in nice sized, pickable spears. We’ve been uncovering our slate patio which is overgrown with a floating carpet of thyme. The stones are much more extensive that we originally thought and will add a nice variety to the side yard. It’s been a beautiful several days but now we’re ready for some more rain. Bee balm is in bloom and is attracting the hummingbirds which tread air while sampling each flower head.

July 14, 2006 We’ve begun the first heat wave of 2006. To be official, it needs to be at least 3 consecutive days of 90° or hotter. Today is day one. Our thermometer showed a high of 89.3° at noon which means it was at least 90° in town. We opted for an indoor, air conditioned day at the Hood Museum in Hanover, NH. A special 400th anniversary exhibit of Rembrandt etchings from their own collection was well worth the trip. A short explanation of how etchings are made was very helpful. One small, early Rembrandt self-portrait and some detailed and atmospheric landscapes were my favorites. A Thai buffet lunch before the museum and a stop for ice cream at Mr. Putz in Bradford while heading home added nicely to our first day of the heat wave. Fortunately the night has cooled off considerably with our own mountain air conditioning showing 71°.

July 17, 2006 We’re into day 4 of the heat wave with our noontime thermometer showing 92.7°. I hate to think of what the temperature is as you drop down to Danville and finally to St. Jay. Tomorrow is supposed to have rain coming in to break the heat wave and usher in some more bearable weather. Meanwhile, we continue to harvest from the field and garden. Blueberries are slowly ripening, our second kohlrabi harvest in the form of beef stew is in the freezer, a few asparagus are on the menu for tonight, with chard thinnigs and spinach planned for tomorrow’s supper. Snowpeas are just forming. I’ve sampled a few fresh off the vine.

July 19, 2006 60° this morning; now that’s more like it. The best thing about an oppressive heat wave is the feeling of relief and exhilaration when it finally breaks. That glorious moment occurred last evening and I celebrated by finishing mowing the back lawn. There was ample light until just past 8:30 when I stopped in time to enjoy a rosy, residual pink glow in the east. The sky was clear and star-studded when we went to bed. Clarity continues this morning with the snaking valley fog offering up a faux ocean view. Wild blueberries in our cereal add the crowning touch to start our day. We spent this beautiful summer day up in the Eastern Townships of Quebec doing their “Tour Des Arts” which is an extensive, well-signed open studio tour from Mansonville over to Knowlton and down to Sutton. Besides seeing some very interesting artwork, we got a back roads tour of a very scenic mountainous and lake-filled part of southern Quebec. The three towns offered many culinary choices from our Owl’s Bread baguette, tourine and spicy sausage picnic lunch to the “best carrot cake in the world” tea break in Knowlton and a finale of dinner crepes made by a Breton chef now residing in Sutton. We shared the day with our neighbors, the D’s, who graciously provided our transportation. It was a 12 hour, international day out with an early evening glow of soft fading light greeting us when we returned home.

July 23, 2006 58° this morning with a chilling rain making for an indoor laundry day. A brief appearance of the sun at its usual 4:30 hour was about all we can expect for today. The thermometer has only risen to 66°. The garden is very happy with these few days of rain and we’re very happy with the garden. We had our first major feasting of snowpeas, did a third harvest of kohlrabi and a first basil picking for pesto. We’ll have one serving fresh tonight with 9 more tucked away in the freezer. Our potatoes are bug-free but are developing a wilt of some sort. I’ll need to get advice on how to handle that before it spreads. I ate our first cherry tomato while harvesting the snowpeas. I’ve been working outside without my bug shirt and sustained only one blackfly bite. Mosquitoes are another story but those bites I can live with. Monarch butterflies are back, gliding among the milkweed blossoms.

July 25, 2006 Temperatures have been at VT’s summer best. A low of 55° made for ideal sleeping weather and a high of 79° perfect for catching up on garden chores yesterday. A previous day of rain, left the soil very willing to yield up the weeds that are taking over the vegetable garden. 62° and overcast this morning continues the pleasant weather pattern. I picked a quart of wild blueberries in the comfort of cloud cover and a little sprinkle of rain. I’ll need to get out tomorrow and harvest some more for friends and for our freezer. We went looking for raspberries but there’s not much happening there yet.

July 27, 2006 Another pint of blueberries is in the freezer and my bug baffler shirt is washed and drying on the line. It’s a definite milestone in my summer when I can garden without peering through protective netting. We even were able to sit out on our porch yesterday evening and enjoy a cup of tea as the sun set, leaving a refreshingly cool breeze in its wake. Clouds in the SE gradually picked up a bit of pink but a full sunset was blocked by gathering clouds in the west.

July 30, 2006 We’ve gone from a 3-H (hot, humid and hazy) to a 3-C (cool, crisp and clear) day. More rain has kept us on a constant seesaw of summer weather. A low of 53° last night after a high of 83° tells part of the story. High humidity upped the heat index but we’re back into the comfort zone now with 55°. The unobstructed sun will gradually take out the morning chill. I picked our first zucchini yesterday and more is on the way. Tomatoes unfortunately aren’t doing much other than offering necessary shade for the lettuce and spinach. The wildflower bouquet is filling out nicely with delicate Queen Anne’s Lace, bright black-eyed Susans and bushy Joe-Pye weed. Marsh mallow gives a more domestic feel to Mother Nature’s garden and goldenrod is just beginning to yellow. Long-leaved speedwell, a member of the snapdragon family, waves its long delicate purple spikes in our small wildflower patch by the garage. With our record rainfall, the lawn is looking more like spring than end of July and is unfortunately needing equal constant attention. Depending on the location in VT, we’re two to three times above the normal rainfall for the year. At least the ground water should be high enough to fend off our usual August/September drought.