April in Middlesex

As seen from South Bear Swamp rd (facing northward)
Spring is shaping up to be beautiful. We've had well over a week of 70 degree weather, and there's still snow on the ground. If you zoom in on these pictures, (just click on it--when you're done looking, don't forget to hit the browser back button to return here) you'll see that it's still a foot or more deep in places. In our yard there are a couple of patches of 4-6 inches. Arie runs outside and rolls in them. She wishes she could keep them all year.




Same general spot, facing southward
More of the southward side of the rd
Well, they're not chickens, but they're much cuter.
Speaking of chickens: we caught a weasel. (A mink to be specific.) We had two traps set (Hav-a-hart) with the chickens they killed as bait. One of the traps was empty, but the chicken was taken out. (the trap didn't trip) The other trap was pretty well frozen into the coop, and we couldn't check it. When the thaw finally came, we (Kathleen, really) opened the coop and found the weasel, sans chicken, dead in the trap. I might post the photo of the mink on the other side of this blog. Go to 'my profile', then to other blogs, chicken massacre, I'll put it over there.)

nice road.

Helpin' pull a friend's friend out of the main road

Kathleen stands in the rut left after Kate's Toyota was hauled out.




Hard to believe this is a fairly main thoroughfare in town. You should see it bounce
up and down when you step on it. It really flexes. WEIRD!!!

And to think I wanted
to fight Union Pacific Railroad for a rough crossing back home. HMPH!

2nd MUD SEASON post, read the 1st one below, 1st.

 These are more angles of the bumps mentioned below. Read there first. (It's just the order I have this set up, the later entries show up on top.)
  (Don't be misled by these photos. This isn't just ONE bump. This is just a big one near my house. I go over about six of these each pass between school and home. 2 or so into town. They're really everywhere. This isn't the worst one. The worst one I've seen yet is about the 4-500 block of East Hill road. When you hit it, you come down into a mud/slosh pit, slide around some, your rear tires get a little traction on the top of the mound and hopefully, if your wheelbase is LONG enough, (whew) you'll clear it. Otherwise, I hope you've got cell reception!
  My girlfriend jogs in the AM. She hit one of these quicksand like erosion spots. Sunk in up to her knees. It pulled her sneakers off. She had to fish around up to her elbows to find them, and then wear them home like that. She didn't even cry when she told me the story. She said she'd been here 14 years, she was used to it. sigh. (my sigh.)

What MUD SEASON means in Vermont

This is our parking pad. Robby is stuck in mud up to his ankle. (You can see that it pulled his boots OFF) This is what you step into when you get out of the car. (and carry in Claire, and groceries, backpacks, mail, etc.) This is also what you can expect to clean up, after seven people have tracked it into the house. This is what my landlord figures I can expect to share in the sufferings of all Vermonters alike because it's 'MUD SEASON'.) Funny though, It seems like something a load of gravel could help with....Hmnnn....



This is what's Vermont's predominantly unpaved roads can look like in 'MUD SEASON'. Going over this bump threw the stroller up into the air (In the trunk of the Chevy Suburban) and then it came CRASHING down along with the rest of the vehicle. I have never so frequently used the 4X4 feature. Thank GOD I don't have manually unlocking hubs.



More of the same bump. I'm gonna' just show you several angles, because, the photos JUST DON'T DO IT JUSTICE.


Don't even try bringing your sedan or coupe up these miles of dirt roads.

There are these cute little stories Vermonters tell to appease themselves about their state of being. This one's cute and goes something like this:

Two old Vermont gentlemen are sitting on their porch. They see something passing by on the road in front of the house. They think maybe it's a raccoon? One old feller' goes out and pokes it with his cane. Turns out, it's a hat, and when he pokes it, it reveals the head of his friend Jim. "Jim! You're in pretty deep. Are ya' okay???"
"Yup," he says, in that slow, Vermont, monosyllabic response style so common to men his age, "But my Horse is nearly drowned."


So, "Yup. I'm in pretty deep."