Hurrican Irene: Vermont Tragedy Story

 Oh the humanity! Our neighbor said there was a "branch leaning on the house". See, everything's bigger in Vermont!

 Porch, with a view of the branch and not much else.

 Once again, Fabian Earthmoving bailed us out. They made quick work of the "branch", then we cleaned up the mess...

 Will we ever recover from Irene's wrath? Short answer: no, long answer: yes, we will.

 With so many reports of roads out (we took the detours to prove it, sorry, no carnage pictures!) and flood damage all over Vermont, I couldn't help but feel sorry for myself and the loss of our crab apple tree in the backyard. Good night sweet prince!

 I bought this to keep pirates out of the house, but now I'm a little worried they might find this more of a "welcome" mat instead of a "danger" mat.

 The Vermont State Fair in Rutland, Vermont. What'd you expect? Farm animals, fried dough (more on that later), Charlie Daniels, and a dash of Seaside Heights, New Jersey. The teenagers take over after 7pm, guard your change purse (or man purse, Gerry).

 Meetin' Charlie Daniels on his tour bus. There are a couple of cool things about this... A. He has a "Following Jesus" cup. (follow the link; is it "tongue in cheek"? I've read it a few times and I ain't sure). B. There's a cup holder built into the table! Genius! There's a whole world out there that I didn't know existed. He was a very nice man and his bass player likes history. Thanks dude!

 Charlie Daniels a whoopin' and a hollerin'. The dude can play! Guitar and fiddle. Color me impressed!

 They said this wiener was a foot long. I didn't measure it, but it is a big wiener.

 I didn't think I'd ever see this sign north of the Mason-Dixon Line. Good job Republicans!

Rabbit Jail at the Vermont State Fair. More like the State Un-Fair (thanks Simpsons). Let the bunnies go!

 The porch restored! "O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave", *wipes tear from eye*

The front yard, branch free. Now, with more sun!

The Second Amendment

 Flags at the Hubbardton Battlefield near Hubbardton, Vermont. The flags represent... errr, I'm not sure. One of them is the American Flag! USA USA!

 Statue commemorating the Battle of Hubbardton.

 Thanks to these brave rebels we have the right to bear arms (guns! guns! guns!) against the king of England. I'll die protecting this great land against the likes of you, sire! USA USA!

 The Hubbardton Battlefield. We (the rebels in the Revolutionary War) lost. Sniff.

 Honeybee!

 Start of the trail we hiked near Manchester, Vermont. Rootville Road.

Sitting on the Prospect Rock. The trail was uphill the entire time. Richard Simmons (remember him?) doesn't sweat this much!

 View of Manchester, Vermont from Prospect Rock.

 The Waterfall of Mystery on the Prospect Rock trail (aka "Rootville Road").

 Bonfire Vermont style! This was at a local party (they had moose meat! for eatin!). "I've seen bonfires before" you say. Look close, there's a couch in there. Take that, Mr. Man.

View from the backyard, contemplating Life, The Universe and Everything. Like when will we move to Vermont? When will we sell our house in New Jersey? When will we get jobs in the Vermont? Ahhh, the mysteries of life!

Shelly hiking...

Paddlin' With Beavers

 Talkin' out of turn... that's a paddlin'

 Glen Lake in Vermonts.

 Big rocks is crazy!?! What were they thinkin! 

 What mysteries are in the deep? Mermaids, treasure, sea monsters, a Pepsi can? Give a hoot for Chrimbus sake!

 Beavers! Everybody loves beavers! This is the house they built to live in and follow their dreams. Beaver dreams. Eatin' wood. Choppin' wood. Sawin' down trees. Makin' baby beavers. Circle of Life, baby, Circle of Life. Actually, we didn't see the beaver.

I didn't even think about wanting to drink this lamp oil until I saw this sticker. Now I can't stop thinking about it. How bad would it actually be to drink it? Could it really be that bad? Hmmm... They certainly could have made it look less yummy.

Tape Monster Likum BEER

 There's nothing the Tape Monster values more than a moment alone with his favorite brew. In this case, it's a fine (local) choice of Long Trail Pale Ale.

 I still don't really know how to build anything; but I'm getting better at taking stuff apart.

 The Porch.

 Shelly's list.

 Hill Farmstead Edward Pale Ale. Awesome.

 The Farmhouse Tap & Grill, a good place to eat in Burlington, Vermont. Full of rich patitsas and featuring a menu with tons of organic gobbly-gook. It might as well have been written in another language. But the food (and beer!) was (were) good.

 Church Street in Burlington. Lots and lots of shops.

Pizza. For delivery and advice? I'm tempted to call... (the number is 802 540 0707 for the willing)

Don't Hike Wearing Flip-Flops

 The White Rock Cliffs, near Wallingford, Vermont. We hiked (pronounced  hi-ked, like "Forked River") the "Ice Bed" trail at the White Rock National Recreation Area.

 Crossing a mighty river on our hike... Trust me, treacherous it was.

 Sure is green...

 This is crap that was growing from one of the rocks at the end of the trail. Called the "ice beds" because the ice never completely thaws under the rocks. It was quite a bit cooler (it was 80 today, but felt about 50 near the rocks) where I took this pitty.

 Mushrooms is crazy!?

 This picture doesn't show that this was steep as hell.

 The West Rutland Marsh up close (from a kayak).

We bought some wacky old furniture from an estate sale in Wallingford, Vermont today. This chair belonged to a man with a gigantic right hand.

A wacky desk (also from the estate sale).

Hot Flashes

 On Marble Street in West Rutland, Vermont after a thunderstorm...

 Chipmunk at Lake Bomoseen. Carrying what looks like, but may not be, a nut.

 The grass was about a foot high (or more). Mowing became a top priority.

 Shelly paints.

 Shpackeling.

 The tractor done busted when we tried mowin'. Thought we might could fix it, an' that's what we done. Turn'd out, was the mower's belt. We got one at the Tractor Supply and put 'er on.

 Lake Bomoseen at the campground.

 More Lake Bomoseen. It's a big lake.

 Terlot, check. Vanity, check.

 Medicine cabinet, check.

 Inside an actual quarry near Wallingford, Vermont.

 One of the original doors that was in the barn, before rehab.

 Same door, after rehab (i.e. paint).

 The same sunset as before, that's Marble Street.

 West Rutland Marsh is in the foreground.

 Flowers is crazy. What is this? I have no idea.

 The neighbor's cat. Without a doubt, he's up to no good. If you let your cat outside; you ride with Hitler. I've been trying to work that into the blog for about a year now.

View of the church from the backyard...