Reprinted with permission of The Vermont Standard

5/31/21

My goodness, the rain has been soaking the earth these last couple of days.  As I write this article on Monday morning, it appears to be brightening a bit.  The birds are singing and everything looks green and refreshed and seems to be flourishing.  All sorts of creatures are roaming around.  It did see a large bear in my driveway the other evening and I am glad that some hummingbirds have settled in and are finding nourishment at my feeders and flowers.

I was honored to perform the first wedding of the season at the Echo Lake Inn on Sunday, for new neighbors, Rosanna and Jim Booth.  It was a glorious celebration of their love, attended by family and friends from as far away as Peru.  Lively music was provided by Green Eyed Lady and despite the rain, the mood was festive.

So many venues are open now that it is difficult to keep track.  VT state parks and the Calvin Coolidge Historic  are open for the season.  I have been attempting to track down the date of Vermont’s annual free fishing day.  I have seen notations about 6/8 and also 6/13.  I will clarify the date and note it next week.

More property changing hands in town:

1275 Route 100     $225,000    Christopher and Thomas Chappelear to Rafal Wrotniak and Marta Wojcik

Chapman Rd, 7.6 Acres     $55,000    Little Ascutney, LLC to Lisa Guerra

4278 Route 100 A      $910,000      Richard Sweetser to Mark and Judith Fleming

36 Woodpecker Rd        $302,500       Isabel Stevens to Benjamin and Jordan Lund

Reprinted with permission from The Vermont Standard

5/24/21

Wow, these temps have been jumping all over the place!  It was nice to have a bit of rain Sunday afternoon although it probably wasn’t enough.  I am hoping that these cooler temps will help to diminish the black flies and mosquitos.  It is so annoying the way they love to get into my hair and around my face, seeming to take big chunks of flesh.  I am glad I have my hand-held bug zapper racket, so I can still go for a walk without being completely devoured.

Tyson Library will open on 5/29, with the usual schedule of Tuesday-Saturday, from 10 AM – noon. It is planned to be open every other Monday evening from 6-7 PM, too.  Masks are needed inside the building.  Book donations are being accepted, but please only bring those that are in good condition, to be used in the library or sold at the book sale.

There are passes available for State Parks and the State Historic sites – one each for free admission for up to 8 people in one vehicle.  Please note the Camp Plymouth State Park opens Thursday, 5/28 and the Historic Site opens on 5/29.

Canasta anyone?  Join the group on Mondays at 1 PM at the Community Center.  Call Katherine Pingree at 802-353-7969 for more details.

Check out the Okemo Valley TV website for the documentary “Keep Cool with Coolidge”, a presentation about the 1924 campaign.  Also the 6th graders at LES reciting Coolidge’s “Vt is the State I Love” speech is there, as well.

The Conasta Card Club that meets at The Plymouth Community Center is now meeting Monday’s at 1 pm.

Call Katherine Pingree if you need details @ 802-353-7969

Hope to see you there!

Reprinted with permission from The Vermont Standard

5/17/21

Certainly the sunny days have been wonderful, but anyone digging down into the ground will note the dryness just below the surface.  If you are adding new plantings to your gardens, it will be important to monitor their water needs.

A friend and I parked near the Hawk marina on Lake Amherst on Sunday and went for a walk.  The lowering of the water seems most noticeable at that end of the lake, where a sandbar is visible from the Scout Camp Rd side.  We watched a car back down the ramp trying to launch a boat, but the attempt was aborted presumably due to the shallowness of the water there.

The Chicken Sisters generated lively conversation during the Book Group discussion this past week.  Family dynamics are always fascinating and the diversity of personalities noted in the book provided many laughs even when we could see ourselves to a degree!  The next selection for our 6/9 meeting is The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian.

I enjoyed a delightful mindfulness/meditation workshop at Artistree on Saturday with Susan Mordecai, sponsored by the Ottauquechee Health Foundation.  The setting was lovely and the time together was relaxing and thoughtful.  A 6 week program starting in June will likely provide the same wonderful experience –   “moments of contemplation, walking meditation, shared silence, dialogue, as well as self-compassion explorations to awaken the creative self.”  

I understand the Tyson Library will be opening on the Saturday of Memorial weekend.  More news to follow.  

There have been additional properties changing hands in Plymouth noted below:

115 Salt Ash Rd     $395,000            Gary Gottlieb to Todd and Michelle Patane

Hale Hollow Rd – 11.21 Acres       $50,000   John Bazzinotti to Philip Geyer

1392 Dublin Rd.         $435,000             Waterman Properties, LLC to Coldwell-LaFleur

Hale Hollow Rd        $10,000          Rodney Leonard to Art and Julie Lynds

1688 Lynds Hill           $550,000         Nicholas Boaknin to Zachary King and Nina Skyttmo

Chapman Rd, 4.46 Acres           $15,000           Janice Cole to Debra Stanicia

Group Pickleball Mondays at 6pm
                                 Fridays at 10am

Open Court for Pickleball  –
Weekends.   Net provided.

Conasta Card Club. Sunday’s 2-5 pm

Please call Katherine Pingree with any Questions   802-353-7969

Leave a message if no answer. Thanks.

Reprinted with permission from The Vermont Standard

5/3/21

A new month and although we had snow flurries on Saturday, I see many signs of leaving winter behind.  My daffodils have weathered snow and rain and continue to bob their multi-colored heads.  Birds abound, but I understand hummingbirds have been seen, so it is time to swap out my feeders to accommodate these feisty little ones.  
Although the weather has been quite variable, on nice mornings I have been exercising and journaling outdoors.  The other day a chickadee landed on my knee.  Not sure who was more stunned!  It quickly flitted to the deck railing, but continued to look at me.  A messenger perhaps.

I wanted to alert folks to an important meeting regarding Lake Amherst.  Some of you may be aware that the dam that leads to Echo Lake is privately owned and apparently is in need of repair.  The Amherst water level has been lowered, meaning the several docks are now out of the water.  

Please note that today, 5/3, there will be a Selectboard meeting with Todd Menees from the Vermont ANR Rivers Program and Ben Green from the Vermont ANR division of Dam safety. Both representatives will be on hand to provide information on the condition of the dam, why the water level has been lowered, and possible courses of action.  This portion of the meeting will begin at 6:45 p.m.  Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89226538781?pwd=VUxMNFZwZFY3Ni9yVFRUcVdid044QT09

Good news, the Historic site is scheduled to open 5/29 and although it will be closed on Mondays, the hours for the other days will be -10:00 AM – 5:00 PM.  According to Bill Jenney, the seasonal exhibit will be “The Roaring Twenties: Fashions, Fads, and All That Jazz!”, which will include the beginning of the modern era.  The 1920s had it all – The Charleston, Prohibition, gangsters, flappers, women’s suffrage, Charles Lindbergh, Charlie Chaplin, and Babe Ruth.  With the use of artifacts and images from the Coolidge Site’s collection, Vermont Historical Society, and the Coolidge family, this should be an incredible and uplifting display, made possible through the generous support from the Alma Gibbs Donchian Foundation.