Monday, November 22, 2010

28 degrees here on the mountain with slight wind spurts and freezing rain. The car and truck are iced over and the morning is on cue with last night's prediction. Karl the Wonder Dog is sleeping in this morning which makes me happy as just getting down the steps looks challenging. Twitter messages confirm that things get worse as one drops below our 1530 foot elevation.

Yesterday afternoon Karl and I drove over to Kettle Pond for a walk. It was an immediate reminder how busy I have been since spring as during my last visit there were 6 foot snow banks and visitors were sliding around on snowshoes. The trail had received lots of attention from the conservation youth group destined to turn it into a handicapped accessible walk to the portage area. Nice job this past summer.

Although the sun was setting quickly, we enjoyed the walk and the reminder of all the native plants and shrubs that surround any of the glacial ponds in the area. I was not pleased with seeing cigarette butts litter the trail or some of the "off-trail" paths people had made to pick and dig things they shouldn't. It immediately reminded me of a sign on top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park. People need reminders to keep things clean and stay on the paths.
The picture up top is Kettle Pond at the height of foliage a couple years back. It has some primitive, hike-in lean-to camping sites and some nesting loons on the far end in late spring each year. Below here is the reminder sign from Acadia.

Wherever you visit, remember to respect what you find and "Leave No Trace".


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the next two days of warmer weather
will probably turn into a greeting card for winter.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Try gardening some of the social networking sites too! We are on Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa. Access us on Twitter at vtflowerfarm

Heavy Rain, Beautiful Foliage Continues

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

47 degrees here on the mountain at almost 8 PM. My new toy, an inexpensive anemometer, is spinning at 3 mph with gusts to 5 mph as the front moves in. The rain continues on and off and the "on" part this afternoon disrupted my wood splitting. I coaxed Gail to ride with me for a few minutes while I took some quick pictures, knowing that more rain and wind would influence what is by far the best foliage color in recent years. My ulterior motive was I wanted help picking out some more flat and colorful leaves to add to a collection and a book going to my grandsons out Seattle way. Gail agreed with getting out but had a brief self-debate about taking Karl the Wonder Dog along..... until I let out an impatient "Let's go!" Karl stayed home to snooze on.

During the past few weeks I have probably told a hundred people about the back road to Osmore Pond in the Groton State Forest. The road is almost two miles from our house and the state park people always open it up the day after Labor Day. Since 1989 I have been telling people this as it means not having to pay to get in to see and paddle on a nice little pond. There's also some unusual feeling about a secretive entrance to something so beautiful as Osmore Pond....kind of like an explorer finding something new and exciting.

Gail and I arrived at the road and the gate was locked tight. I muttered some anti budget cut comments and we turned around and headed to New Discovery, the main entrance to Osmore. Karen, one of the rangers, was in the contact station and she explained that they closed the road due to the bad behavior of a few. Just the same the pond was accessible and entrance was free but access is through this entrance. Down the road through a nice maple forest we went.


Osmore Pond has a history I will study some day but I know there was a time when logging around it was an important thing. Several people have told me about two different sawmills on the pond but I have never received good accounts of where the milled lumber went from there.

Osmore has three primitive lean-tos for rent and one newer one on the side close to the parking lot. "Primitive" means you walk in or paddle across the pond. No shower and you share the outhouse with the porcupines. This pond always has had loons but today they were either underwater and out of sight or just not there. The pond is beautiful this time of year so I took a couple shots. Click to enlarge.

We turned around and headed for Owls Head. This is a great granite dome and on a clear day you can see for a hundred miles each way. In late August you might witness raptors moving along as you sit up top eating wild blueberries. In contrast, in late May around Memorial Day you will certainly find other raptors gliding around feeding in the company of slow flying-coasting turkey vultures.

Today the rain was coming down stronger as we made it to the Owls Head parking area. We walked over to the picnic area and I took pictures of Kettle Pond down below. I wish they'd get the work crew to clean out the brush so the view for aging picture takers like me was easier. Typically Camel's Hump is easy to see but from this grown over vantage point, it was missing today.
During the Civilian Conservation Corp days the workers build a set of steps to the top of the mountain. If you have visited here before you know that they are high steps but just the same a fifteen minute walk to the top is nothing in trade for such a beautiful panorama. We want to get back there this weekend as the park staff close Owls Head right after Columbus Day.

Kettle Pond (last 3 shots) is down Route 232 a little further than the Owls Head turn and it's en route to Route 302 that heads to Groton or Orange. There's a prominent parking lot and a portage that's longer than I like if you want to paddle. There is a private youth group area of multiple lean-tos for rent by families, groups like scouts, even an organization of knitters makes a go of it--all who can enjoy a beautiful pond and a rural setting for a few bucks.

We've come to learn this area as it's really part of the big backyard we share. My favorite time is around Memorial Day when wildflowers abound. Trillium and orchids are favorites for me but there are dozens of flowers and shrubs to enjoy. Any time I walk here, I recall ever flower I have found, every place I have taken pictures. Gardeners should think broadly about their gardens and their state as they visit natural areas preserved for our use. Before we decided to move our nursery, I was just starting to lay out some woodland gardens intended to link nature, cultivated wildflowers and domestic hybrids. Maybe sometime I'll get back to that project. For now I can look back at these pictures and be thankful it was such a colorful day. Come visit soon if you can!


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the wind speed is up to a constant 7 mph and I can hear the trees rustling from my office.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener

Autumn Colors

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

The rain is pounding the roof again tonight as I think back about yesterday afternoon's trip with Alex and Karl the Wonder Dog, looking at foliage from some of our favorite vantage points. Foliage this year has been about a week earlier than usual but as spectacular as I can ever remember. The colors have been so vivid that you don't want to leave one point of view for the next.

Alex and I had dedicated a couple hours to be with Karl and travel around but I was late getting back from work and we had to modify our schedule a little. We headed down to Osmore Pond in hopes of spotting a moose along the way but the trip was mooseless. The pond was as beautiful as ever but quiet this time with no loons to be seen or heard.

We back tracked to the village for some gas and a soda and headed up past the waterfalls and onto the Lanesboro Road. This is a favorite with us--the old Montpelier to Wells River, Vermont Railroad, thrown up in the early 50's and now an excellent place to drive, enjoy the scenery and the wildlife which abounds. We stopped at Marshfield Pond which I photograph several times a

year. This is a small kettle pond surrounded by some great wildflowers in spring and lots of life the rest of the year. The granite head wall on the back is still on my list of things to hike to but I still haven't made it.

We exited the road at the corner of Lanesboro and Ethan Allen Corner and then drove part way up Owl's Head and then home. The foliage was something we didn't want to leave but evening chores beckoned.

The predominant tree in these photos is the maple. There are red maples, sugar maples and some Norway maples but all are colorful. As the leaves of these trees fall around our house, I use the leaf vac to pick them up and shred them for next year's gardens. Maples have a very long root system and they store important minerals in the leaves. In the spring I'll spread an inch or so on all the new gardens at our nursery and begin the process of improving our garden beds, a little at a time.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where day time visitors from around the world will stop and click photos of fall foliage so they can talk about it forever. Vermont is a great state and it always looks better on the return trip. Come visit!

Best autumn wishes,

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener

Vermont Flower Farm
Vermont Gardens

Just Good Apples

Sunday, September 21, 2008

A fair morning here in Vermont with fog visible through the distance but an early promise of sun despite forecasts to the contrary. Yesterday morning I decided to make some scones and this morning it was really supposed to happen. Opening the door on the fridge was instant reminder to the gallon of milk I didn't remember to bring home last night. The scone idea was put on hold and I decided to take Karl the Wonder Dog and head for town the long way.

This part of Vermont used to have a railroad that ran from Montpelier to Wells River. The train ran 4 times a day and carried the mail until 1952 when better methods and economies materialized. The railroad bed was thrown up but remains today as a nice road for early morning bird and wildlife cruises.

Karl and I made our first stop just before Ethan Allan Corners. I like to look down across the swamp and see if I can see any ducks or geese landing in water pockets or anxious woodcock flying helicopter-like and then returning back to the swamp to peck for worms. Today the only sign of movement was the whispers of fog swirling above the meandering stream bed.

As we approached the corner, I looked to the left. The straight edge of conifers the length of the swamp was telltale evidence of a railroad bed from a previous life. We made the turn and headed for Marshfield Village Although Karl found plenty to bark about on the ride, we returned home in half an hour and his tail wagging must have tired him as he headed back to bed and I started on the scone recipe.

I just about got the batter heading to the pan and Karl went into attack mode at the back door. The smiling face looking through the glass was Eric, our friend from Groton. Eric really lives and works in Massachusetts but this time of year he gets to Vermont every weekend he can. His family has a camp and it is a nice release to trade city life for some quiet.

Often Eric stops by for a visit as he's a gardener and he's always had an interest in our progress. We always share stories and I always tap his professional knowledge of the bird world when I see something fly by that I cannot find in our books. Anyway Eric appeared just in time for some coffee and warm scones but not before he presented us with a nice bag of one of the nicest apples going: Honeycrisp.

The problem with this apple is that you can't find a place to buy it. At least I cannot. Buying a tree is a different story and the only place to look in this part of Vermont is Elmore Roots Nursery They also have another favorite I reported on last year, an apple named Beacon which makes some of the best cider you'll ever taste.

Anyway the breakfast snacks were great but the conversation had to be cut short as Gail from Peacham was waiting to help. This Gail is originally from New Hampshire but she's making a new home in Vermont and is helping us close up for the year. Coincidentally she is planting some apple trees and one is a Honeycrisp!

As the recent frosts encourage the foliage to provide autumn colors and excitement, we are picking up little messes and getting organized for next year. Along the way it's fun to be able to break for a few minutes and share thoughts and treats with friends. We hope you get the same chance soon.



Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where it's a warm 45 degrees which makes for good sleeping. But first, maybe a few slices of "just good apples"!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Vermont Gardens

PS Thanks to the Christian Science Monitor for picking up our two blogs. It's nice to know we are being read and shared by gardeners everywhere

The Fogs of Fall

Friday, October 5, 2007

When September ends in northern Vermont, evening temperatures of 40 degrees or below encourage morning fogs which drift as the sun rises. Travel on the roads can be tricky but a visit to nearby ponds is a pleasant sight as banks of fog float in waves across the waters and adjacent swamps.

We are lucky to live so close to so many bodies of water. The Marshfield Reservoir, Peacham Pond, Bailey, Goslant, Kettle, Osmore and Groton Ponds are all somehow connected by swampy areas and meandering brooks. It's fun to get out early and witness the changing visions as the fog burns off and the autumn colors offer such enjoyment.

In a few minutes Karl the wonder dog and I will walk out back to the White Spring. There are some Lilium canadense seed pods which should be ripe by now. I want to harvest them and spread the seed along the swamp banks to encourage a colony. This picture was from last

year when there were slightly more buds. This year this particular plant put forth another stem but fewer buds. About half the flowers set seed and the bulb maintained a 7 foot scape again.

If you have some time to get out and about today, the colors are very good where there is a good maple concentration. Areas with ash and oaks already have changed to dull browns but from mountain tops like Owls Head, the views are spectacular. The Forest and Parks staff open the gate to Owls Head about 9:30 and it closes at 8. Give it a try!

From the mountain above Peacham Pond where Karl whines "Take me out" and two mourning doves discuss the day's news which pecking cracked corn.

Fall garden wishes,

George Africa

http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com