The year is brand new and, as we turn the page of the calendar, the cold arrives. There are two kinds of cold; December cold which is moist: you can smell the possibility of snow but that can, just as easily, foretell rain, The weekend before Christmas we had a rainstorm that, because the temperature…
Author: Melissa Perley
Bending Perspective
The wind began to pick up in the early evening: I went out, like I do every evening, to check animals: chickens were contentedly clucking on their nighttime roosts, slightly disgruntled at my turning on the light. The sheep, repeatedly chewing dinner, looked up at me, hope in their eyes that I might have come…
Auditioning: For What & What For
‘Tis the season: Latkes and applesauce, caroling, Christmas trees, winter boots, Poinsettias and… auditions. As an instructor, it can be challenging to convince kids, who are looking forward to some time off from the pressures of school, that it is a good thing to work twice as hard at their instruments this time of year….
Gratitude
Driving home last evening we noticed several houses with holiday lights strung. It surprised me because most years we are one of the earliest to decorate, starting the day after Thanksgiving. Paul chuckled as I swore competitively each time we saw a sparkling house. I admit there was a temptation to get home and begin…
Musicians Farming Sheep: The Nature of Change
Two weeks ago, as we watched the squirrels outside busily gathering nuts, we were casually beginning the preparations for the upcoming cold season. As I walked by the bar in the kitchen I would jot down a task or two that I remembered needed doing in the near future. With Muir watching from a window…
Musicians Farming Sheep: Yes, It Is My Favorite
When you live in a state that celebrates five seasons (I live on a dirt road: mud season is real) it is difficult to choose a favorite. We start the seasonal calendar in the spring which in VT means June. We sugar in March so some call that spring, but in reality if you gather…
Musicians Farming Sheep: The Need For Rest… And Balance
I received an email yesterday from a student/friend. She mentioned that the man who delivers her hay was looking to re-home a five year old sow named Tea Cup. Apparently Tea Cup could actually fit into one, at some point, but that time has long passed. It seems a fairly common story that people see…
Bounty
Driving down our dirt road I am beginning to see the first signs of leaves turning. At first one puts it down to only the weakened maples beginning to change, but then I started noticing tinges of orange and yellow dotting entire hillsides. At home and on the farm it is the busy season. We…
What Does It Take?
My summer teaching schedule is lighter… by design. Summers in VT are short. We burn off the morning chill with our wood stove in the early days of June and will begin lighting small, poplar fires in the late days of August. That kind of short. We know that our warm days are limited so…
Musicians Farming Sheep: The Harvest
In Vermont, although it is only early August, we are way past the halfway point of summer. We have been experiencing heat and humidity that makes this the one time of the year that we run a fan in our bedroom at night. Despite the sweat on Paul’s brow and desperation in his eyes, I…
The Need to Rest
The week before any vacation is hell. Even when I am really excited about what we have planned, which I normally am, the week before we leave is chaos. This year we were returning to the farmhouse on the lake that we rent every year, only this year our entire extended family was joining us….
Musicians Farming Sheep: Moving Forward
In early April we brought home Muir, our herding trainee Border Collie pup. We were back to being up late at night, up early in the mornings and clapping like fools at any tiny bit of urine done outside. In late April all of our sheep got their spring haircuts. Everybody raced back into the…
In Person: Over a Year Later
Summer has arrived in Vermont and with it a less cautious approach to Covid. In following the Governor’s guidelines, I kept restrictions in place and held the studio virtual through two weeks of spring recitals. Once notes from the last piece faded, I sent out my summer sign up schedule including the news that lessons…
Bach Shock
Sitting here writing, the wood stove beside me silent, resting after a long winter’s work. Outside I’m watching the new, tender, green leaves tremble under a steady spring rain. I’ve just come back from an aborted run with two out of my three dogs. Bronte lies curled on the stone floor next to the bathtub:…