Camping in Quechee, Vermont

Two friends ran the Covered Bridges Half Marathon in Quechee, VT, and we decided to go camping in the area, then cheer them on during the race on Sunday. Eight of us went, and although it rained most of Sunday, it was a great trip.
A covered bridge in Woodstock, VT.
Luna moth
Quechee Gorge


Woodpecker
We also saw chipmunks, red squirrels, spiders, and lots of bugs.

The Turklings are Growing!

Okay, I looked it up, and baby turkeys are called poults, but what fun is that? I like turklings better.
Wild turkeys are the state game bird of Massachusetts.
Last year, there were three adults. This year, I've only see this mama with her six turkinos. They hang out in the fenced in lawn on one of the colleges. They have stopped traffic crossing the road, as the Canada geese do. By the way, I've seen only a few goslings this year, so far...

May Time

The turkeys are back! And this one had baby turkeys. What are baby turkeys called? Turklets? Turklings?

Greg, Logan, and I went to a Red Sox game on Friday night. They convert nearby gas stations into parking lots when there's a game on, so if you need gas, you have to go further away.
Harvard Medical School's graduation was this week. It was neat seeing the grads with their proud families.

I had my first Italian Ice the other day. A friend and I were running an errand by the Common and stopped at a street vendor.
Billy helped me read the bike map.
Just when I think I'm starting to figure this place out...In a sandwich shop, what the heck is a stroller??
There's a farm stand/shop near my apartment. They sell local produce, meat, cheese, honey, etc. I've started getting milk from them. You return the bottles so they can reuse them.
Squirrel! This is my favorite new Boston animal. They're everywhere, eating nuts, jumping from branch to branch. They're so neat to watch. Geese are cool, and I've seen a few goslings so far this spring, but really they just eat and poop. Squirrels do more neat stuff. (Can you see the squirrel?)

Opening Camp

Greg's friend's brother works at a summer family camp. Families come to this camp for a week or so to enjoy the outdoors. There are cabins with fire places, meals in the dining hall, and all sorts of activities. Greg and I went up to Fairlee, Vermont, for a work weekend to prepare the camp for the summer. This was our cabin.

Riding in the back of a truck as we collected piles of leaves that had been raked from the grounds. We took them to a compost pile at the bottom of the property.
A bat box!
Lake Fairlee; Greg and the rest of the guys put the docks in the water.

Clearing the trail

I got that Boston sweatshirt when I was working on my first cruise ship, shortly after 9/11. I don't normally wear it out, being in Boston most of the time, but I figured it was a great work sweatshirt for Vermont.
To keep deer away, sprinkle coyote urine granules around!
We played Pictionary in the dining hall Saturday night.
Then we climbed a climbing wall in the friend's brother's cabin.



One of my jobs was to help clear out a cabin that had been used as a storage shed for years, and make it livable for staff. We had a lot of work to do.
A lot of the furniture was brought to another cabin that also hadn't been lived in. Some of it was stored elsewhere, and some of it was put on the side of the road with a Free sign. All of that stuff was gone to new homes before we left Sunday.


This vacuum looks enough like a proton pack that we were singing, "Bustin' makes me feel good!" Good thing we had it; mice had been living in the drawers, pillows, and wall insulation for a looong time.
Thankfully, there were only going to be college students living here for the summer, who hopefully aren't used to fancy living. Even though it's not the Ritz, can you believe this is the same cabin?




There were around 40 people for this work weekend. It was fun to feel useful. The people who run the camp were very grateful for our contributions. Back in the day, this camp used to be like the one in Dirty Dancing. It had fallen into disrepair and the current managers came on only about five years ago. There will be needed repairs for awhile to come, but it's definitely already a great place to stay again.

Spring Happenings

I love perennials. These bulbs and bushes bloom year after year with seemingly no regular maintenance. And each bloom comes out in turn. The crocuses are first, then the daffodils and tulips. The ornamental fruit trees blossom, and now it's time for the azaleas (above). In San Diego, the jacaranda trees blend in until they bloom bright lavender flowers. It's the same here, except many more trees and bushes bloom.
Greg and I saw John Williams conduct the Boston Pops again (we went last year, too). This year, we were joined by Greg's parents, aunt, and our friends Britt and Lauren. John Williams composed the scores for Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and so much more. It was awesome. See if you can get this one: dum dum dum/dum da-dum/dum da-dum (it's the Imperial March - Storm Troopers).
Billy in a bag. If you're looking for a great reusable shopping bag, I recommend RuMe bags (thanks, Mom). http://www.rumebags.com/index.php These bags fold up small enough to keep with you all the time, and they can hold a lot of goodies.
The lilacs were blooming a couple of weeks ago.

The roads here are lined with tall, thick, green trees.