Putting sheep into their paddock on September mornings I scan the hillside that rises up behind them. Each day now color creeps across the mountain. Yellow arrives first, looking more like the green leaves are feeling a little “off.” There are teasing splotches of reds and oranges visible through morning fog. I call to Bronte…
Author: Melissa Perley
Finality
Recently I was laying in bed on a warm evening and was struck by the symphony lulling me to sleep. The crickets, all shapes and sizes, were rubbing their wings together singing. Some on the beat, some off, periodically a high pitched sawing song would join in creating harmony. During the earlier hours the Thrush…
Out Of The Nest
Spending a lot of time going up and down the hill to the garden. The tomato wagon has plants bursting with tomatoes leaning precariously off its wooden edges. We have cherries, heirlooms, Old Germans, Early Boys and a couple of new varieties. Tender new kale leaves push forward as soon as I snip larger leaves…
Being There
I finished feeding sheep and chickens this morning, walked up the hill to begin baby-chick chores and stopped. In the busyness of the day there was an odd silence. I stood facing the woods, listening intently, I realized that the Hermit Thrush was gone. Theirs is a sound that I’ve never become accustomed to: I…
Paper Hanger
There is a truth that is somewhere between death and taxes: if you have one room in your house painted, or perhaps wallpapered, soon you will find another room that would look a smidge better if it too, were painted or papered. Paul and I were at a coffee house in Middlebury this winter and…
Deep, Dark, Secret…Spot
Sitting at the computer in the kitchen having a lesson with a student in Alaska, we talk about how the period of total light has just ended for them and days are back to relatively normal length. Paul quietly opens the front door and stands, arms full of towels, waiting for me to finish so…
Magnificent, Mischievous, Magical, Maniacal Muir
I headed down to the garden this afternoon, vegetable basket in hand. It has been a month since thegarlic scapes were cut and the leaves are now beginning to brown. Time to harvest. I stuff my feet intomy brilliant yellow Crocs and begin walking down Magic Road. Following close behind are all threeBorder Collies; Sam,…
The Bottom of the Well
We are now in the heart of summer: after the solstice but before the dog days. While on vacation at thelake we had cooler than normal temperatures but now that we are home, away from the water, herecomes the heat. I make feeble attempts at meal planning but we end up throwing sandwiches and cansof…
Born Under the Sign Of Water
We are in the heart of summer. We choose our week at the lake to coincide with the Fourth of July, not so much because of the fireworks but because of the other heat. As much as you can count on weather in Vermont (20% max)- that particular week can usually be counted on to…
Peeling
In looking toward holidays or vacations my tendency is to become Rockwellian. I prepare with zeal for the ideal. Months ahead of the vacation walking down long isles in stores I toss small boxes of sparklers, hard packs of playing cards, twelve packs of lime seltzer, chunky bars of chocolate and fancy gin into my…
Barbara
Summer arrived officially with the Solstice although we had been enjoying the warmer temperatures for several weeks. After two years of pretty blank calendar pages I was finally getting out and playing live music, doing book readings, etc. I’d played in my jazz duo, String of Sheeps, for International Make Music Day. It felt amazing…
The Season For Growing
Each year in late winter, which for us is around April, we begin to think garden thoughts. We’ll sit on stools in the kitchen and map out future plots. We think about the fruit and vegetables that we want on our table and in our larder come fall. Farm catalogs come in the mail and…
How To Retire Like A Boss (by Sam Perley)
While reclining under the dining room table one afternoon I overheard my family talking about certain athletes and performers who decide to retire and then soon afterward, decide to unretire: coming back to a game that they have clearly grown out of. I shook my head and not just to scratch my ears. I just…
Watching Main Street Go By
Last Saturday evening Paul and I stepped out of our car into the early evening light in downtown Montpelier, the capital city of Vermont. As it always does after a long winter, the summer air felt soft and smelled sweet as we crossed the street to our favorite Nepalese restaurant. We were seated in the…
The Other Side Of The Fence
“When the grass is waving in the wind” is the standard for when sheep can begin to go out to graze in spring. We have had some very warm weather with cooler nights which has made the grass grow even faster than it might normally this time of year. Around June first is when I…