It's December the 24th. It's been two years since we have all been together. There is a freshly fallen snow in Vernon. What better way to celebrate than a hike in the town forest?
Friday, December 24, 2021
From Our Family to Yours
Sunday, December 12, 2021
Truce!
107 years ago in December while in the midst of the first great world war that would ultimately claim fifteen million lives, Pope Benedict XV called for a Christmas truce. Though the truce was rejected by the powers that be, soldiers from the trenches of war began to sing Christmas carols, buried their dead and exchanged gifts with their enemies.*
The first weeks of December have come and gone and with it our first snow here in Vernon. The students at VES had two days of sleds, snowballs and learning the rules of engagement on the winter playground. It's traditionally a steep learning curve for the younger students who to this point have not yet become accustomed to sharing the seven available sleds among them, and this has been further compounded by the pandemic which kept all of last year's students separated by grades. We spent these days pulling on mittens and boots, reminding them that throwing snow at each other is against the rules and only those who built the snowmen and forts may destroy them.
December is also the time when student leadership puts out the call to remember those in our broader community who are food insecure. Without knowing exactly for whom the food is destined, only that it will be brought to the Vernon food pantry, students and staff fill boxes in their classrooms with food and other necessities. In addition to staff assisting anonymous families in need of extra help with gifts, this year we joined in a letter writing campaign. Under the leadership of our Principal Mary Ross, we wrote letters of acknowledgement and encouragement to every Vernon student attending high school in the district. Though arguments about vaccine / no vaccine, political and religious banners, and how to live a country life remain, December is a time to rebuild our community.
Speaking of truces, with the entry of cold temperatures, comes the mice into our homes. This has been a perennial issue at our house with the nooks and crannies in our basement being packed with birdseed. At first we invested in one of those metal cans with a lids in which to store our seed and keep the mice out. We humanely removed all those that we could while locating and fixing possible points of entry. We exercised great patience until the day they moved upstairs. That was the day we bought snap traps. Two years after, with those traps still snapping, I decided that either my bad habits needed to go or I would forever be dumping seed out of boots and nagging Wayne to dispose of another victim.
I say victim because it is a balancing act when it comes to managing wildlife in a human dominated habitat. I have said it before and I will say it again, when we put out the welcome mat, we should expect wildlife to accept the invitation and that includes the ones we don't want to accept it. Take for example bird feeders. Vermont Fish and Wildlife sets the date to begin feeding birds as December first; but this year they requested that we delay doing so because the bears had yet to settle in for their winter nap. A fed bear is a dead bear after all. The same goes for mice as this is when wildlife is declared a nuisance. For this reason, this year we have decided that we will no longer hang our bird feeders from or near the house and instead they have been moved so far away that I will require binoculars to see the rodents raiding them. The neighborhood cats are delighted by the change, of this I am certain.
Of course, there are more creative means to achieving a truce. The Bangor Daily News recently ran, "Squirrelzilla proves Maine's gray squirrels are fat and fluffy this fall," the story is about how the residents of southern ME have put aside the annoyance of marauding bird feeder pirates in lieu of a competition to see who can capture an image of the fattest squirrel. Tolerance, now there is an idea worth exploring! - Norma Manning
Crow tracks on the driveway lead to my recycling bin on trash day.
Sunday, December 5, 2021
Laughing Stock Of The Neighborhood & Other Holiday Cheer!
At risk of being the laughing stock of the neighborhood, on December 4th after decorating our Christmas tree, I persevered over the 26 degree temperatures and started up the push mower. I admit to feeling like a dolt, donning my florescent orange camouflage winter coat while mulching oak leaves in the front ditch. So much so, that I looked down every time a neighbor passed me by in their heated car. But these are the times that we are living in.
On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Helen, Wayne and I left a balmy 35 degree snowless day behind in Vernon to find a "natural" Christmas tree in the southern end of the Green Mountain National Forest. I discovered last year, that anyone can purchase a five dollar opportunity to make true Christmas memories in the Vermont wilderness come true. I would call it a Hallmark "somebody's going to get kissed" moment, but that tree was located on a tiny rise in the middle of flooded beaver habitat; and well, my boots were full of water, and I wasn't even sure we were going to make it back to the car without taking a swim. This year, conditions were a bit different.
Amid widespread reports of Vermont Christmas tree farm shortages, Helen and Wayne haul this years tree up to the car in over a foot of snow. There were hunters camping and plenty of trucks parked on this last weekend of the regular deer season. (Somebody had to document it)
Meanwhile up in Southern Maine, The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife is conducting research on the New England Cottontail Rabbit. While it's true that Reindeer are the mammal of focus in December, and you may be thinking that rabbits really need to stay in their lane, there are certain schools of thought that December in New England will soon be the new April. The story of our native rabbit is an important one. Less fanciful than Rudolph; but like that misfit deer, the New England Cottontail is looking for a place to fit in.
Like so many of our native plants and animals, our rabbit's tale of woe began with the introduction of a non native species that quickly began to outcompete them. The Eastern Cottontail, introduced by settlers in the 1800s is now one of our most populace mammals, and milder winters appear to work towards to their advantage.** Additionally, the NEC decline is attributed to, "habitat loss, particularly the loss of old field, shrubland, and young forest habitats."* What's bunny to do with all of this working against her? The hard truth is that the NEC hasn't been positively identified in Vermont for the last forty-five years,** In ME, the statewide population is less than 300 individuals, and those bunnies are living on the coast***
You may be asking yourselves, what's with all of this talk about the Heat Miser? Santa is actually coming to town...tis the season to be jolly! After all, in the end doesn't Hocus Pocus save Frosty and Karen by arranging a ride for Frosty with Santa to the North Pole? "Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?"- Charlie Brown
"Listen, all of you! You've got to take direction! You've got to have discipline! You've got to have respect for your director!"-Lucy
With a measure of amusement and cynicism, Wayne pondered California's new law that enacts a ban on gas powered lawn mowers by 2024. Wayne is hardly the Burgermeister Meisterburger, "Toys are hereby declared illegal, immoral, unlawful..." On this topic Wayne is a sceptic and want's to know how we would get our big country lot mowed with an electric mower. This isn't the direction that he is ready to take...yet. I have a plan however and unbeknownst to Wayne, I have been ever so slowly working it into the script. Don't tell Wayne, but it involves to some extent the "old field, shrubland, and young forest habitat" mentioned above.
If you like Hermey and Wayne, don't appreciate being told that you can't be a dentist and that your lawn tractor is relegated to the Island of Misfit Toys, I want to let you know that there is no need to be a Bumble about it. I assure you that there are other scripts available that you may choose to follow. Take for example the project underway at Vernon Elementary School under the direction of Tara Gordon. Tara, who runs the VES school garden, recently proposed to the Environmental Committee, that she and VES students install a native plant pollinator garden in front of the building. The plan is to support our food garden by feeding the creatures that do the heavy lifting. Ahhh yes, pollinators are the elves of gardens, and with Climate Justice being this year's district Diversity and Equity Committee's theme, it is a natural collaboration.
Still a skeptic? The Vermont League of Cities and Town's has announced that FEMA is offering municipalities cold hard cash in the form of a grant, to prepare for the inevitable flooding that Climate Scientists predict will impact VT as more intense and frequent storms occur. It's enough funding to lure Yukon Cornelius away from prospecting for silver. Select this link to find out more.
The Vermont's Climate Action Plan states, "If action isn't taken soon, when young Vermonters reach retirement age, summer in Vermont will feel similar to Northwest Georgia, with more than 17 days a year exceeding 95F." In short, the time has come for us to hop on down the bunny trail lest December becomes more like April, Santa retires his sleigh once and for all, Rudolph spends Christmas in the unemployment line and Hocus Pocus along with Frosty run out of habitat. - Norma Manning
**Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife: Rabbit Sightings
***Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife: About New England Cottontail
Additional information on grant funding:
Sunday, November 28, 2021
Miner's Ledge: Part Two of New Hampshire Beckons
What are the reasons for a person's need to leave their mark on the mountains? Haven't fire, wind, water, ice (and yes volcano), left mark enough for all generations?
What if I were to tell you that musical bands, foragers, scientists, famous authors, speculators, rare snakes and an eccentric's cabin have all adorned this mountain? A collection of reports on the comings and goings of notable visitors and inspired verse as well as some of the natural history of Mount Wantastiquet, can be found at: Wanastiquet Mountain, Brattleboro History This collection largely speaks to those who came after the Sokwaki people.
Approaching the last switchback on the old carriage road before reaching the peak
Overlooking Brattleboro to the west, the Brattleboro Retreat is bottom center, the Retreat Meadows is to the right, the Harris Hill Ski Jump in the center above the Retreat and on the upper right a ski resort's snow covered trails boldly marks the mountains. I had thought this to be Mount Snow; but not being too familiar with the various resorts, I wonder if it might be Stratton.
"It's just like church to me. It hushes all my nonsense and bids me tread with soft and reverent steps toward the heaven that lies beyond" -Sara Willis Parton, Fanny Fern" Vermont Phoenix, January 18, 1907 *
Wayne and I had hiked Wantastiquet mountain in hopes of photographing a clear view of Vernon. We discovered however, that from it's peak the most we could capture was little more westerly than the roof of BUHS and the interstate. From this vantage, Vernon was obstructed by the most beautiful pines.
From fields of Miller's farm, a scar near the mountain is within view, this scar lies on the face of Mine Mountain.
Taken from the Cersosimo Lumber, near the Vernon / Brattleboro town lines, Miner's ledge is to the right of Wantastiquet Mountain. Train rails that run between Connecticut River and the setback created by the Vernon Dam are visible below. This ledge is where Wayne and I hoped to hike to.
"Mine mountain, in the rear of Wantastiquet, is said to have received its name as a result of the operations which were carried on between 1790 and 1800..."** This article relates a tradition that the mining took place on the mountain, when under false pretense, speculators were convinced "...that in digging at the place of the reported (volcanic) explosion, silver would be found in great abundance." Nothing however was found in quantity enough to make the mine profitable.
This is the place where technology and hard work failed to reach an agreement. The trail between Mt. Wantastiquet and Mine Mountain on Google Maps appeared to be about a quarter of a mile in distance and by immediate indications, the trail looked to be approachable even for a couple of 57 year olds who were wet, tired and a couple of hours from sundown.
This seemed in fact to be the case at least until just after the tower.
A choice was made,
It it weren't for the bare trees, I think that Wayne and I would have turned around before seeing Mine Mountain.
and headed back towards the tower
for the long walk home.
For seventeen years Wayne and I have seen these NH mountains from near our Vernon home, yet seeing our Vernon home from these mountains had eluded us on this day. We could see the mountain, but we couldn't see us from the mountain.
The language of the indigenous peoples of these hills and valleys evolved from the relationship of the people to the land. If "the language belongs to the land"*** what becomes of the language when we change the land? -Norma Manning
Sunday, November 21, 2021
New Hampshire Beckons
Before Runnings, before the old Walmart was the first Walmart, when George's Field was actually a field, and before our children were more than half grown, we walked these woods. Still, there were others who came here first.
The carving reads: J.S. Austin, Aug. 11, 1878
Clouds play with the Autumn light beckoning me to visit the mountain. This isn't the first time I have been called, as it is my daily view; but on this day, I was so moved by the invitation that I asked Zach to take a picture for me. I wonder if others are called? I wonder if these children who play against the mountain's sun splashed canvas will someday go to the mountain? I try to remember how long it has been since I was there -too long.
Photo by Zach Derosia
Oak leaves had weekends ago blown down and covered yards in a thick brown blanket. The constant grating of leaf blowers that grind at my nerves, had thankfully begun to subside. It was Saturday after dark when the thunder rumbled our foundation with such insistence that I feared our front door would be thrown wide open! Snow had started slipping into conversations, even as the ground was so saturated it felt in spots like we were walking on Jello. It was time.
The trailhead is located off of Mountain Road in Hinsdale, NH. When last here, there wasn't a blue diamond trail, only a well worn path switching back and forth up the mountain.
Note that on this magnified portion of a 1796 Vermont Map, Vernon, VT is still known as Hinsdale, VT. The West River is shown to the west of the Chesterfield, NH label on this map.
A cascade welcomes hikers near the parking lot. If you aren't ready for a mountain hike, make sure you see this waterfall prior to stretching your legs on Mountain Road which follows the CT River north to Route 9 in Chesterfield.
Old growth trees stand sentry along the trail.
For others, this was their last season.
Wayne pauses to read what's left of a sign just past the trail posts. Were these now rusted and graffitied posts here the last time we were here?
The day after the storm, hiking the trail was like walking up waterfalls the entire way. Conditions didn't stop others from enjoying the trail however.
Eastern Hemlock adorns a rock outcropping.
I don't remember this trail being so gradual or it being as wide. Perhaps, this is because we no longer have four children to keep watch over. The switchbacks do seem longer however, this affords us opportunities to wonder and reflect upon changes to this place over time.
Water seeps from the rocks,
an ancient force on its way to the long river.
"What's that Abby? You are flying in for Thanksgiving. Yes, we can pick you up in Boston. Mom and I are hiking up Wantastiquet, we can talk more later"
"Hello? Hi Helen...ok you are bringing the green bean casserole...Ethan will make his way down to ride with you?"
Ron was here in 83, that's one year after we graduated from high school.
I can't help but wonder why this person was here and what they were trying to accomplish all of those years ago?
An obelisk sits at the summit.
Others have a message of their own to share.
Next time we will pick up the trail on the way to Mine Mountain - Norma Manning
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)