Pretties (and one not so...)

A little pond. Pretty, huh?

Nothing spectaular about this picture, it's just typically Vermont autumn. The Green Mountains run down the center of the state - this brook is on the west side of the mountains, so the water will eventually run into Lake Champlain, the Hudson River, the Atlantic Ocean. Rivers on the other side of the mountians drain into the Connecticut River, the dividing line between Vermont and New Hampshire.


Up the road, at Round Barn Farm, Judith raises, shears, and spins all sorts of yarn - Merino sheep, Alpaca, Llama, and Ollie! Apparently camel fibre is very warm. In the background you can see the falling down barn after which her farm is named. Repairing it is prohibitively expensive, tearing it down is absolutely unthinkable. Before Vermont became known for Ben and Jerry, Maple Syrup and Holstein cows, there were sheep. In the 19th century, in fact, sheep outnumbered people dramatically. A round barn made feeding livestock like sheep or cattle easy. Feed or water could be stored on the second floor, then sent through a central silo and portioned out all at once into a round trough. Unfortunately, if your round barn is at capacity, you can't build on - your herd is limited to the size of the barn you built. A little history here, if you're interested.

If I'm not mistaken, Round Barn Farm used to be a part of the Robinson Farm, known as Rokeby. Another interesting spot, Rokeby was our very own local stop on the Underground Railway. Interesting aside... on the several tours of Rokeby I've done, I have not once spotted a quilt. You'd think, this far north, that there'd be one or two, with maybe a hint of the "Clues in the Cloth?" Not as far as I could find.

And finally...

Wolf Spider (not as cute as the camel, but he's native.)