Spirit in Nature Trail, Ripton, VT

     A few weeks ago, we set out to find a small set of hiking trails.  We found serenity and fungi.  Whether that's a literal metaphor or not, here's the trip.

You can't tell, but there's a 15 foot drop about two feet left of Tina's foot in this picture.  Parenting can be nerve wracking! 

The mushrooms were otherworldly!

This fungus was about as big around (in all dimensions) as a Kennedy half-dollar.

This one had just interacted with Esme.  I know the feeling.

It got a little chilly, so Esme borrowed my fleece.

A maze of stones.  There were prayers and wishes at the center.

     Hope you can come visit us sometime soon.  We miss all our family, friends, and peeps!

Apple Picking at Champlain Valley

     Last weekend, we went apple picking at Champlain Valley Orchards.  We discovered Silken apples, of which we still have a dozen or so to consume.  Crisp, sweet though slightly tart, would go great in a pie, but they're unlikely to last since they're so good to gobble up!

I wore my new Inside Scoop shirt from the Brandon ice cream parlor.

Those are the silken apples

Those of you on Facebook already know this picture...

These are those Silken apples!

Esme made a friend while we were there, and loved dancing on the flatbed trailer.

Thanks Champlain Valley!

     

Brandon's Harvest People

     Every fall, many citizens of Vermont put out these 'people'.  Esme was enthralled, and we had to visit many of them to have her picture taken.  I thought this was going to be a fun hour or so, but by the time I realized just how many of these folks there are in our new hometown, I started taking wider angle shots to capture more than just the one she stood near.  (And now there are more of them...)  This day's adventure was about three hours.

There are four of them in this picture.  Can you find them all?

Two more in the background here...

One Esme's size here, while three others wait to cross the street.    

This is our local scoop shop, where Esme gets her 'pink ice cream'.

More from the town green across
the street.

The town green was filled with them, not to mention the wedding couple
at the Brandon Inn.

And a few days later, more started popping up.  We may need to take another walk...

PS  This was supposed to be posted last Saturday, but the blogger interface from my phone doesn't seem to like uploading 20 full sized pictures at a time, nor does it seem to save drafts.  (This is my 3rd time attempting to post this.)  And now it has been over a year since my last post.