sunflowers at the fair.
One of Vermont’s “top 10 time-honored events” celebrated its 150th anniversary this past weekend. Batman and I were so happy to get back to the Tunbridge World’s Fair after two years away due to the pandemic. We love wandering the barns, filled with 4-H families, camping out with their beloved animals. We watched the little kids drive their teams of working cattle, we saw the sweet dairy calves snugged up in their stalls, waiting to walk into the judging ring. There were crowd favorites, to be sure, kids sprung from multi-generational families of farmers on the back roads of this rural state. And there’s the midway, filled with once-a-year carnival rides, plenty of junk food and games of chance. There’s also a section of the fairgrounds dedicated to keeping Vermont’s history alive with demonstrations of steam-run log splitters and corn huskers. There’s a barn full of antique horse-drawn sleighs and carriages. Then there’s the garden produce and baked goods that flash their prize ribbons, and the quilt and photography exhibits. School kids can submit gourd people, stuck together with toothpicks, and they are sure to make us smile. And the best part of the day? A maple creemee from the maple house over near the horse ring.
We finally had some prolonged rain in the forecast and so we did some harvesting. Onions, carrots and beets, (above), nearly ready for the root cellar. Batman also gathered a bucket of our Honey Crisp apples that have been a long time coming. The tree had a rough start, but is thriving now. The first crunch into these beauties says “autumn” to me. Our Liberty apples did not do so well this year. And the apples from our heirloom trees, that came with the property, will be pressed into cider in a few weeks at a neighborhood party.
I cut the sunflowers and put them in a tall vase out on the porch by the front door. The jays and squirrels were beginning to make them flop over. Once their beauty on the porch has faded, I’ll let those critters have a feast on the seeds.
The purple asters are blooming and the ferns are turning brown and gold and nodding to the ground. The wildflowers in the meadow are standing bravely til the first frost, which is due in the next week or so. The tomatoes have slowed way down, but I have one more BLT in mind. :-)
I harvested my tansies (above) yesterday and filled a dye pot with their sunny color. Cotton fabric is still soaking. (I like to give the fabric about 24 hours before I pull it from the vat…it is so hard to be patient!)
Saturday morning found me gathering with the board of directors of an anti-poverty NFP board that I serve on. We sat in real life together for the first time since March 2020. I got teary-eyed when I walked into our meeting room and saw all of my kindred spirits. It was a very productive retreat and reminded me that there are so many good people, trying to better the world…here in Vermont, in New England, in this nation, in this world.
Have you read the story about Yvon Chouninard? Oh my goodness…talk about good guys…this will lift your spirits!
I hope you, dearest readers, have found some respite here at sew and sow life. I think I’ll be back soon with some book talk and pillows and inspiration. Until then…don’t forget to breathe deeply, in and out. Relax your shoulders, look up at the sky, and know that I hold thoughts of you close to my heart. xo