Dragging four bags of shavings to the barn, my hand slips and a heavy plastic-wrapped bale slams against my right leg. I swear without delicacy, grab hold of the corner and heft it the rest of the way. When they are all safely stacked in the hay storage I move to check the galvanized steel…
Author: Melissa Perley
The Softening
What I have always found fascinating about weather in Vermont is how, after only a lifetime here, I am able to detect the arrival of a new season without the benefit of a calendar. March arrived in full lion-glory, a snow storm with wind creating mini tornadoes chasing each other across our road. On the…
Remembering
My mother loves to get out during the week, so I try to make use of time if I am not teaching in the morning to go and pick her up and take her on an adventure. I pull up underneath the roof outside her building’s front doorway and wait for her to come out….
No Warmth Without Cold
We sit elbow to elbow in the plane on the way to our son in California. We spend our six-hour flight reading, watching movies we will only watch on planes, leaning into the aisle watching for the snack service and talking about details of things to be done on the farm. I drag my backpack…
Homage To Things Frozen
Stepping out the front door and off the steps I balance two heavy metal buckets of water. I feel a deep pull from inside my shoulders, familiar, warm. I take a moment as I walk, to push my breath out from inside the warmth of my body into the frigid air. I watch as it…
New Year
December in Vermont is the true bridge between fall and winter. While we often have cold temperatures and some snow in November, it remains autumn in our minds. December often arrives quietly. A week or two before Christmas, winter weather commences. This can mean icy rain and/or heavy snow. One year the wet snow caused…
By Definition
The twelve days of Christmas in Vermont normally, at some point, include snow. However, one of the more reliable traits of a true Vermonter is that you never, ever assume that the weather, even one week out from Christmas, will determine the forecast for the big day. Even Christmas eve forecasting is dicey. In year’s…
Decorating
We are insistent on keeping Thanksgiving as it’s own holiday. This year, more than any previous, we have seen holiday lights draping people’s walkways, stores fully decked out for Christmas before all Halloween candy has been consumed, and we’ve watched people zoom past us with trees tied to the roof rack of their cars, (finally,…
Continuing To Spread
Yesterday I opened the front door and found three Wyandotte hens looking at me quizzically, none of us where the other expected. It took me a second to believe my eyes as we have a large pen that connects to the sheep paddock where the chickens live, the fence is very high and has an…
Another Chance
October, so full of color. Walking down our road I pull my sunglasses down onto my nose so I can see with a proper filter. Everything looks like a party until the north wind begins to whisper, cold rain riding its back. Suddenly there are only a few tenacious leaves swinging precariously from their branch,…
Honey
End of the growing season finds us like squirrels, rushing in preparation for winter. The sheep are enjoying the last of grazing: soon they will be watching the world from their winter paddock. During the final week or so of grazing, I take down the rotational fencing and let them have access to full pasture….
Melissa Featured in Rent.com Blog
With their home in the heart of the charming fictional town of Stars Hollow, CT, the Gilmore Girls – Lorelai and Rory – have captivated audiences young and old with their quick wit, strong bond, and a lifestyle brimming with cozy charm. From their iconic coffee runs to their love for literature and all things…
Searching
I finished the last bite of sandwich and began picking things up from the small square card table pressed against the window of my mother’s independent living apartment. She put her hand on the table, looked up and said, “I would like to ask you a question.” I set the plates back on the table…