It is so good to sit down at the keyboard and write again. I tend to get what I call “vacationitis” whenever I return from traveling out of town. I become so present with my new surroundings and taking it all in that it is a challenge to get back in my regular routine when I return home, and there seems to be so much to catch up on. But now, here I am, sitting at my desk and taking a deep breath before I open up my brain for the words to flow to describe the incredible, gorgeous state known as Vermont. It’s nickname, The Green Mountain State, comes from the description of explorer Samuel de Champlain, a Frenchman who called them “les monts vert”, or green mountains. And the mountains are everywhere! Marvelous, massive, and majestic!

The fall colors did show up in some areas. I was visiting in towns of Stockbridge, Rochester, and Orwell. Each town was unique and definitely different with the fall foliage. Many of the locals felt this fall was not as colorful as usual due to a long drought this past summer and into the fall. But for me, as a person who had never visited Vermont before, I thought it was all so beautiful.

The people, the Vermonters I like to call them, were so friendly and warm and just “down home” people. There was something so stable and grounded, so determined and hardy, something so darn steady in each one I met. I can see their beautiful, smiling faces as I write their names: Dorothy, Dick, Bob, Pat, Jake, Mom and Pop with real Vermont Natural Maple Syrup, Sandy, Ed, Cindy, Mike, Judy, Paul, Nancy, Russell, Andy, Derek, Richard, Irene, Ben, Tatiana, Hector, Jane, and Wenda. Oh, and in Pennsylvania I met Gil, Kim, Carl, and Betsy. Once again it came to me how people are truly wonderful everywhere I go!

Andy is a potter and he had a gathering of friends over to his home in Orwell, Vermont. It was a beautiful, crisp, cool fall day. Andy’s home is tucked in between two lakes, Lake Sunrise and Lake Sunset. Gorgeous country. The water was beautiful and still, a mirror for the opposite shore lined with the Tall Beings, their leaves filled with color; red, yellow, green, and orange. Two gray wood deck chairs sat by the shore close to Andy’s house, an invitation to come sit and simply be. It is probably good I do not live there, as I would want to just sit. I would never get anything done!

But Andy Synder the Potter gets things done. He demonstrated to us a pottery technique called Raku. He heats his clay creations in a small kiln, then when the temperature is just right, he picks each piece up with a pair of long tongs and then chooses his next step. He set three vases, the color of pale opal and about a foot tall, on a table. Then he instructed a few of us to hold a tarp up around the table so no wind could disturb his artistic intentions as he gently brushed the sides of the vases with a bird’s feather. Viola! Blackened strips appeared wherever he touched a feather, so light and intertwined, looking like soft, black lace. Beautiful! He also pulled some bowls and mugs out of the kiln and set them on newspaper, lit the paper to start a fire, then covered each piece with a bucket or small garbage can. The things the man did with fire! You can find Andy and his fabulous clay creations at Mud Puppy Pottery. :O)

Besides meeting all those wonderful people, one of the best things I remember about Vermont was the mountains. I’ve seen some of the Appalachian, Rocky, and Grand Teton mountains, and by their own right they are magnificent. But there is something about the “les monts vert”, the Green Mountains. Something that touched me deep inside, just drew me to them. It was as if Mother Earth herself was calling to me from those huge mountains covered in trees. I never tired of them, which was a good thing, as they rolled on and on, etching the horizon in just about every place I visited. The mountains oozed strength and endurance, so very comforting to me as a soul. They have been there for a long, long time, and will remain there for a long, long time, too. Marvelous, massive, and majestic!

c   Love, Joan