Barrels of pansies dot the streets of Brattleboro, VT.
Loopers often share side trip tips. Well, we took an unusual side trip from New York: We went to Vermont for the weekend. Our high school friends took us in a car to Brattleboro, Vermont, for two perfect weather days in the Green Mountains. We are in a modern A-frame overlooking a valley with irises and peonies in bloom. The air is sweet. Inside there are kittens for entertainment.
The Strolling of the Heifers has become a big deal here.
You've heard of the running of the bulls in Spain? Well, yesterday Brattleboro had the strolling of the heifers. Young people decorate their young cows and lead a parade through town. There are auxiliary events all weekend - farming conferences and a bike ride, for example. This started fourteen years ago as a way to bring attention to dying family farms in the area. It worked, and now they get national attention for the event.
While we were downtown, we bought new jackets: a light blue Vermont sweatshirt/hoodie for me and a grey windbreaker for George. Now he can really forgive me for losing "Old Blue," his favorite 30 year old jacket, which I left on the train a few days ago.
We have seen many repurposed downtown movie theaters in small towns.
Here they still show first run movies.
Green River dam and pond.
We took a picnic to the Green River and sat above the dam in the sun to eat. Then we walked for an hour on a country road, looking at well used and preserved homes from the 18th and 19th centuries. Many homes have a patch of sunshine with a flower garden and also a pond on a lower level. Behind the house are the mountains. The dominant color in this season is green.
This covered bridge spans the Green River. We ate on a patch of
grass to the left of this photo. The sign at the top of the bridge opening says:
"Two dollars fine to drive on this bridge faster than a walk."
We agreed that the sign must be pretty old.
When we came home, Doris put her two black female kittens, Alice and Samantha, in
a carrier for the trip to Boston. She will be home with them in just two hours. The two males seem
frisky and friendly now. They must wonder where their sisters are.
Echo (grey kitty) and his brother Orestes (striped) watch a bug on the window.
Yippee for Vermont! So glad you enjoyed your visit there, but still too cold for us. :)
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