They don't call 'em Green Mountains for nowt!

Yesterday (Sunday) we met up with Nancy, our realtor and now friend, for brunch at Libby's before Adam headed into work for a few hours.

Not wanting to waste the glorious weather Jayne and Safi went on a mini road trip down to Sugarbush to find out what the ski resort looked like in the summer time.

On the way there they passed Simplicity Farm which has to be one of the most idyllic Vermont Farms we've seen.

The cows looked very content quietly swishing their tails against a few buzzing flies and raising their heads to see what the fool with a camera was doing scrabbling down the embankment at the side of the road...








Continuing on Jayne was amazed to find Rt 100 so free of potholes and crumbling edges. The harsh winters here play havoc with the roads and this one had got particularly bad, no doubt from the streams of skiers and snowboarders heading to the mountains for fun times whatever the weather.

Cheryl - you won't believe how smooth it is now, well, the bits that are finished and not the bits that are skimmed down to rubble that haven't been done yet ;)

This is the summertime view of Sugarbush (north side) - quite a contrast to the winter shots you might have seen in some of our previous posts



Mt Ellen Base Lodge - pretty well deserted until winter comes




The ski trail map beside the GMX lift station looks a little odd against the green backdrop

The view down the valley is gorgeous and Jayne finds herself feeling quite like Heidi (did anyone else used to watch that?)... now, where are me goats??

Safi enjoyed running through the grass and investigating the stationary chair lifts.

Just below where this shot was taken from is 'Tommy's Toy' which you may, or may not, recognise from the winter shots as the place where a lot of the VASS lessons took place.

Beerfest and sunset

The Vermont Brewers Festival took place this weekend.

One minor issue was that, with one thing and another, we didn't realise what time it was and only thought about leaving the house and heading down there an hour before it was due to finish... duh!

Anyway, the evening was so beautiful we decided it would still be nice to go down to the lakeside for a walk and maybe we'd be lucky and still be allowed in to the festival...

The Rt 2 drive to downtown Burlington - Lake Champlain at the bottom with New York's Adirondack mountains behind

Strolling along the boardwalk to the festival gave us some beautiful sunset views across the mariner and lake

A good opportunity to practice with the camera

Ahaa! The beer tents look most inviting...

Disaster! Arriving at the entrance we were told there's no way they'd let us in 'cos they were having a nightmare trying to get everyone out... pants :( Next year it will be in our diary for sure... it looked like great fun and there was an excellent vibe all around.

Oh well, more photo practice. Jayne is clearly far happier behind the camera ;)

Stand still Adam!

That's better

A ropey shot

We stopped for ice tea and supper at 'Splash'. Don't you just love the fake palm trees - I wonder where we can get some...

Pretty skies over the lake

The view back along the boardwalk

The house build - July 21

One thing's for sure, grass doesn't half grow quickly in Vermont. Only seeded two weeks or so ago and we almost have lawn out front already.

Nothing much else to report except for the fact that painting has begun and we're getting quotes in this week for movers to transfer all our worldlies a whole mile or so down the round come August 24.

We chose such a very exotic colour for all the rooms... "Tusk Tusk" aka cream - how dull! But at $200 for every colour change and coat we figured we'd DIY in due course if we fancy jazzing the place up a bit.

Our bedroom

No longer a bright green bathroom

The grass is not so quick to grow out the back - c'mon little seedlings, you can do it!

Snakes on a plane

So finally, the world's two wussiest people (when it comes to snakes) sat down to watch 'Snakes On A Plane' last night.

Can't say either of us sat very comfortably through it - you know how jumpy Adam is with some films and Jayne was just as bad. It turned out to be totally gross and quite absurd but somehow a ridiculously amusing movie.

You seen it? Still not sure I'd recommend it or not, but I guess it does exactly what it says on the tin.

A classical night out

The Vermont Mozart Festival and Dressage Exhibition took place yesterday on the Shelburne Inn lawn.


Our friend Josie was riding in the dressage exhibition and was kind enough to give us some complimentary tickets so we went along and enjoyed a really lovely evening. Thankfully the rain and thunder that had been forecast didn't emerge and things stayed pretty sunny and warm.

Events started off with the dressage exhibition all set to music. It was great to watch and brought back happy memories for Jayne, even tho' she was never that good at it. Adam may even have been slightly impressed, which is very unlike him and his usually anti-equine nature.

The dressage team paraded from the horse barn to the arena in front of the Shelburne Inn

Here's Josie looking very pleased to be there. This was her first time riding in the exhibition and I think the exhibition's first international rider - she's from Australia.

Spot Russ, Josie's other half, in the crowd - he's the one crouched over a video camera. He was tasked with filming the whole thing and had a mild panic when the low battery light started flashing at him halfway through. He had to stop using the screen and peer down through the viewfinder for the rest of the display.


No Hockings here! The Ben & Jerry's ice cream van was a welcome sight though, with Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks in the background. This is on the lawn behind the Shelburne Inn where the concert took place.

We set up our picnic here with Russ and Josie - a lovely spot with the orchestra not too far in front and the lake behind us for a view of the sunset.

A remarkable soloist from Japan, playing on a violin that is over 300 years old.

The sun starts to set as the concert continues

Going...

Going...

Gone. Not as spectacular as it so often is but a lovely sunset all the same.

The house build - 14 July

One more week past and more things to report on in the house...

Crown molding, banister and cladding on the bar

Cabinetry on either side of fireplace

Mantle and surround fitted on fireplace. Oh, and I think the window sills etc are all new since last time.

Grass seed sown, row of conifers planted to left of our property...

... and to the right. More opportunites for fairy lights at Christmas ;)

Boiler etc all fitted

Dairy Event at Shelburne Farms

So, only just back from Texas and not quite recovered (we're both a bit coldy) Adam remembers at the last minute that he's supposed to put in an appearance at a UVM extension dairy event. Actually, I think Russ reminded him in a rather timely manner.

After an unplanned lie in we hustled to get there only an hour or so late on Saturday...

It emerged that Adam, together with Russ and Gilly (other UVM faculty) would be 'competing' against each other to show the 4H'ers (local kids who are in various dairy clubs and show their cows regularly through the season) what they know - or don't know - about showing cows.

It was all good fun and a great learning experience for the kids and faculty alike - Adam clearly has lots of dairy cow experience but never in the show ring ;)

The event was held in the remarkable breeding barn at Shelburne Farms - a must-see place for any visitors to Burlington.

Adam receives instruction from 4H'er Clare who was kind enough to offer up her services and her Brown Swiss calf, Barbie

A sneaky practice for Adam and Barbie before show time, and some last minute tips from Clare

The boys and their girls in the ring


The 4H judges in final discussions

The final line-up! Gilly won of course, but Adam pipped a 'less-reponsive' Russ for second place ;)

Now just look at those happy smiley faces. See Adam, it's not just the winning that counts!