Friday Fences

My favorite kinds of fences are made of field stones that were made into stone walls 250 + years ago.

The hands of early settlers to the new world worked hard to clear the hilly, wooded, very rocky land so they could grow crops and raise livestock.

It was not easy.  It took dozens of years and generations of farmers to clear a good amount of land so they could grow enough food to feed their large families and have some to sell so they could pay their bills.

This area was considered the wilderness in the 1600's.  There were forts, and many different cultures from different countries. Some at war with each other.  Native Americans lived in these fertile valleys and grew their crops and hunted these woods, seasonally.  This area has an important history and descendants of the original settlers still live in these small towns and villages.

So, every stone wall I see I think of the people who have worked these fields and woods in order to feed their families.

 

 This farm has an old gist mill from 1760 on this property, making it the oldest mill site in Vermont.

The farmers hope to convert it to make electricity for their home and farm.

In my travels I see the repairs of the few covered bridges that survived the ravages of Hurricane Irene as she barreled up the state.

Here is one such fortunate one, somewhere in the Danville Vermont area.

 

So many 200 year old covered bridges were destroyed.  

This one got a second chance.

There is another one in Woodstock Vermont that was 90% destroyed and is now being rebuilt.

I saw it last week, but it was dark and could not get a photo.

Here is the update on some of the most well known bridges that are in the process of repairs
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Covered Bridge- Bath, NH

Around the corner on a very muddy, frost heaved road I came upon a covered bridge I had never seen before.

On the other side was a quaint village Church, a waterfall and a General Store.

On my side it was raining.

 

This bridge was one of the lucky ones that survived Hurricane Irene when she roared through Vermont and New Hampshire and took everything down the river with her.

This covered bridge is one of the longest in all of New England.

The beams inside are huge and very beautiful.

 

The view of the raging river from the windows are great.

 

I may come back and do some fishing here.

I can hear the trout calling my name.....

 

There is an ice cream shop just up the road.  Perfect place.

 

Not too many horses remain in the area, but I have heard a recent story about a herd of cows that took a stroll thru the bridge several summers ago.

Finding really neat places on my drives around rural areas are the real pleasures of my life.

Seen any really old bridges lately?

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Trees of Color & Covered Bridges

Today was a great day for exploring the northern parts of Vermont.   Many of the roads have been repaired from Irene, and are ready for eager explorers.
I grabbed my Kleenex ( I have a killer cold) and headed for the remote areas that have the most colors and hidden treasures.

Lots of John Deere traffic greeted me as I got off the highway.  Its always a pleasure to see farmers headed to their fields early in the morning.

I found an old covered bridge, undamaged from the storm, on a rural road.

Identical to the bridge in Bartonsville that vanished in the flood.

I had to walk around this beautiful historical structure.

Found the waterfall, the cold pools and amazing rocks.

The river is 4 times the width it was before the flooding 3 weeks ago.

Hundreds of trees were swept away from this area near the bridge, giant boulders tumbled into new places and formed this new waterfall.

My photos don't do it justice.

With all the trees and top soil gone, all the boulders are now exposed. Probably the way it was a few hundred years ago.

Its still beautiful.

 

This is the quiet little area under the bridge, with cold crystal clear water, and where baby trout dart around in the shadows of the bridge.

Mavis and I did some rock hunting, trout watching and leaf peeping

Some folks were fly casting in the pools down stream.

We are all desperate to find some big trout.   Irene washed most everything out and sent it downstream all the way to other states.

Lots of color everywhere. The fog and cooler nights are making the hills and valleys a photographers dream.

The sunset tonight was just as spectacular as the colors on the mountains.

Fall in Vermont is breathtaking.  Come enjoy it.

Irene is 20 miles away

Its been raining hard for 17 hours now.

Flooding everywhere.

Now the rain is coming down so much harder than it has all day.  And the wind is here now.
Storm Trac says Irene is right down the road from us.    She will be over our heads in about 25 minutes.

I have been checking on the herd throughout the day.

Their field is getting soggy.

I was relieved to see that Guy had found his way back to the correct side of the fence. 

The herd came over to the fence to get some more giant squash.

I pray that we do not get the bad winds.

The flooding is very very very bad here already.

Worse yet.....
Several historic covered bridges have disappeared into flood waters.   Including my favorite fishing place in Bartonsville. The video of the huge bridge sliding into the raging river is heartbreaking to me.

I hope at sunrise we are all still standing and not swimming......

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