Month: October 2019

Altuve

I hate baseball. No, no, that’s not accurate. I don’t hate it, I’m just not particularly fond of it. Actually, I’m really not overly fond of any team sport other than the greatest sport of all time- ice hockey. There, I said it. I’m just speaking my truth here, folks. Well, o.k., I do enjoy watching some other sports on occasion. Soccer would be an example. And…. hold on…. I’m thinking… well, soccer. Let’s just leave it at soccer. But here’s another thing I notice about my inclinations as a sport fan (or not). I am not, I repeat NOT, a fan of professional sports. No, wait, wait… that’s not true either. It would be more accurate to say that I’m not a fan of professional sports of the male variety… not even when it comes to hockey! Wait a minute, did I just say that??? Well, yes, yes, I did and it is mostly true, but then again not 100% true. On a rare occasion I will even get into the NHL if and when some really great story is unfolding.

Now drop down to the college ranks and all sports instantly become more interesting to me. It has something to do with an increase in purity the more the money drops out of it. I still don’t choose to watch, say, college football, but I might on occasion in the post season. And, yes, I’ll even occasionally watch the Texans in the post season, mostly because I appreciate J.J. Watt not just as a player, but as a person. As for basketball, sorry, not much dice there. That’s just how it is with me folks. I’m not making a political statement here, I’m just telling you what it is like to be me. Oh, hell, everything is political isn’t it? I suppose truth be told I don’t enjoy watching (male) professional sports for the same reason that I don’t like watching TV. I don’t like the way that it distracts, taking away time and energy from the things that matter to me. Well, that, and I don’t appreciate some of the antics that it breeds in some people some of the time. I’m being careful not to over-generalize here. Some professional athletes are truly phenomenal people whom I admire, such as J.J.

Side note, that wish I wish would stop being a side note. When it comes to professional sports that involve women, that’s an entirely different story. I tend to love those no matter what the sport, but especially when it involves playing hockey. What can I say, I’m biased. I would just much rather watch women playing sports than men. I’m sure this in part has to do with the aforementioned dropping out of way too much money and partially to do with I just like watching people who are more like me. I can relate to women playing sports at all levels and therefore it is just a million times more interesting to me. End of side note.

Back to athletes whom I admire. When we were preparing to leave Houston, I realized that I had really nothing in my wardrobe that would signal to anybody that I was a Houstonian (other than a desperate lack of winter attire!). I wanted people to know where I was from up here in Vermont. So I thought about it. I thought about what is something that has touched me and made me feel pride for this place. The answer was crystal clear. Astros. Jose Altuve, specifically. I’m just going to be honest here, folks. I love, love, love… love, love, love!…. Jose Altuve. Love him. I fell in love with him when the Astros won the World Series in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Remember that thing about loving watching women play because I can relate to them? Yes, I am just going to come out and say it. Altuve is my honorary female athlete. That is the greatest compliment that I can give the guy in case you are thinking otherwise. He is in touch with his feminine side, his sensitive side, and he’s not afraid to show it. There is a reason that everybody but everybody loves Altuve. Oh, and, of course I can relate to him because he is only 4 inches taller than I am! Shorties unite!!!!

So my Houston pride purchase was an Astros World Series Champions shirt with Altuve 27 on the back. Yes, I wear it proudly up here in Red Sox country. For me to wear any athlete’s name and number is HUGE. I just don’t idolize athletes that way. Let that be a testament to all that Altuve represents. For me, he is everything that I hope for professional sports and for professional athletes to be about. Did I mention I love him? I do. I love him so much that I will even watch baseball just to get to see him play. And as for his teammates, I think they are pretty awesome too. When they won the World Series in 2017, Houston was reeling from Harvey. Altuve and his teammates knew how much the city needed a picker upper and they got the job done. This is sports at its finest hour. This is sports bringing people together and giving a sense of hope for what is possible in the world. I can get behind that.

All I ask is that in the midst of such endeavors, we not forget what we are truly fighting for. Is it a title? Is it bragging rights? Is it more money? Or is it a community that we believe in and that represents the best of our potential as human beings? I’m going to go with the latter, and I’ll appreciate any athlete or any team that keeps that intent front and center. I believe the Astros are such a team. Let their accomplishments inspire us to face the adversities that Houston (and the entire world) now faces with the perseverance, creativity, compassion, and determination that we need to bring forth a world that we are all proud to live in and that we would all like to call home. Go ‘Stros!

Ah…ctober!

It is a really strange thing if you think about it. Fall is my thing, the time of year that I love the most. Specifically, October has always been my favorite month. Even down in color deprived Houston, there is something great about the month of October (usually). The sky is different, more vibrant, more whole. The slight cool in the air, or not so slight as the case may be, is a welcome relief. But mostly, things just feel more vibrant to me.

Here in Vermont this is true tenfold with the changing of the leaves. This entire week I have felt so incredibly at home in the world. It is difficult to even describe the depths to which I am speaking. All I can really do is talk around it. It’s a feeling of complete calm, a settledness. It’s a feeling of unfettered aliveness, with nothing getting in the way. It’s a vibration that is resonating perfectly, no discord whatsoever, with the world around me. And it occurs to me in the moment that what I am experiencing is life as it is meant to be experienced, as pure joy.

Another way of saying the above is that fall is when I feel most alive. So what is so strange about all of this? Well, fall is when the rest of life begins winding down for the winter. It actually represents a preparation for death, or so we have fashioned. For a deciduous tree, it is the time of pulling in. The vibrant colors that we love so much are the result. And we do love our fall colors. This weekend Vermont was overrun with leaf peepers, and Shannon and I were right there among them. I wonder what the trees think. Do they love all of the sudden attention or are they mumbling to themselves, “Look, I’m trying to go to sleep here!” I’m going to go with the former. I’m going to guess that their process of winding down is a pleasant relief for them as well after a summer full of frantic production. Maybe, just maybe, they actually feel the same way I do- at peace and humming along with a deep sense of oneness.

It seems everyone and everything feels that way up here right about now. Our week included meeting a group of friends for dinner on Thursday night in Middlebury. We brought together two couples that had never met each other, on a spontaneous whim, yet it became quickly apparent that we were all one big, happy family. In part this was because five out of the six of us were women hockey players (which our one token, non-hockey playing male delighted in). Hockey is a small world! In part it was because of Vermont, in which everyone seems to know everyone in one way or another. The evening was an entirely enjoyable communion with people that we love. In plain English… so much fun! This is how friendships are supposed to feel, camradarie at its finest. We count ourselves lucky for the wealth of friendships that we have accumulated along the way.

On Friday, Shannon came home early from work and we spontaneously decided to drive over the mountain via Brandon Gap to our favorite coffee shop (as mentioned last week), Sandy’s Books and Bakery. First of all, the colors along our drive over the mountains were nothing short of spectacular. I just can’t imagine this ever getting old or one iota less jaw dropping. As for Sandy’s, we hadn’t managed to get over there all summer, for which we have been feeling the void because we consider Sandy not just a friend but a trusted elder. Fortunately she was in the coffee shop when we got there (she is often found next door in her sister store, the Bookary). When she saw us she stepped around the counter to give us the biggest, warmest hugs ever. So much love between us. This is how human relationships are supposed to be. We hung out there and simply read the lazy afternoon away. On our way home the tree colors were in a whole new light… the light of a stunning sunset. It nearly stopped us in our tracks, but we kept going… each of us secretly wishing we were watching that sunset from the Brandon Gap Great Cliff along the Long Trail.

Yesterday we decided to go touring around again. Neither one of us had shook that feeling from the night before. So we packed our day hiking gear, head lamps included, and set out on our way. First stop was my cousin-in-law Ben’s new farmstead up in Lincoln to check out and talk through his latest building projects. We just popped in. He had no idea we were coming and didn’t need to. Then we continued over the mountain again, this time via Lincoln Gap, which was packed to the hilt with day hiking leaf peepers. We kept going as we were aiming for a less crowded hiking adventure a little later. On the other side of the mountain we took a pit stop at the Warren Store where we picked up a quick bite to eat. The place was packed. From there we headed up the road a bit to the Bundy Modern to check out their latest art exhibit and take in the fall colors in their extraordinary setting. This off the beaten path museum is well worth finding. The place is just crazy beautiful:

From there we headed back south toward our final destination. South meant a drive along the Scenic Route 100 Byway. The scene along 100 never disappoints no matter the season, and is part of why we love our little town of Rochester, home to our mountain retreat as well as Sandy’s, so much. On our way we took another pit stop at Hubbard’s Country Store in Hancock to pick up some food for our hike. There are so many cool general/country stores in Vermont, including the ones mentioned here. They had exactly what we were looking for even though we had no idea what we were looking for when we walked in: Vermont cheese, summer sausage, olives and get this… wine in a can! Don’t judge! It was yummy!

We arrived at the Long Trail parking lot around 5pm, enough time to hike up to the cliff and get settled for the show. Remember how I said that Lincoln Gap was packed to the hilt? There were only a few cars in the parking lot at Brandon Gap. Now don’t go telling too many people, because it is kind of nice to keep it that way! The hike up to the cliff is steep, providing a nice bit of exercise with a huge reward at the end. On our way up, one nice caring elderly gentleman made mention that it gets dark quickly, darker than you might expect. Normally such paternal instincts would annoy me, but I just thanked him and assured him that we had headlamps and he seemed relieved to hear that. When we got to the cliff we had it all. to. our. selves. It was nothing short of magical. We set up our spread and settled in.

Then we took a million and one pictures all while applauding nature with every twist and turn of the plot. O.K., well, the wine might have been talking, just a little. Photos never do the real thing justice, but here are some teasers nonetheless:

The whole time everything that I described above about vibrating with it all was in full force. Then, it occurred to me that the moon was almost full and should also be rising around the same time. Sure enough, right on cue, the moon peaked out as the sun waived goodbye. I can’t help but think that they talk to each other every chance they get. On this occasion, I imagine they were nodding at each other with the hugest smiles on their faces knowing full well the glorious scene that they were orchestrating, seemingly just for two lone hikers on a cliff way past when we should have been. This is our proper place in the world. This is what it is to be fully at home in the world.

We finished off our wine at the last possible second as the sun was disappearing in the distance. With headlamps on, we started our descent. But you know what? We never turned them on. It was dark, yes, but our eyes adjusted enough to be able to see the trail and watch our step. What could be more perfect than a night hike in the witching month?? It turned out not to be the least bit scary though. I had not anticipated this, but I was reminded of something that I haven’t experienced nearly enough of lately. I actually feel completely comfortable in the darkness. In fact, I love it. It reminded me of my days at Princeton when I would wander the campus late at night, often ending up running across and then laying in the middle of a field and looking up at the stars. It was magical to be in the forest, on a mountain, in the darkness, and to feel every bit as much at home as I did in the light. It reminded me that our fears are often unfounded. Yes, shit happens in life, but more than often than not it doesn’t. It’s worth wondering what gets missed when we spend so much time worrying about shit-aversion. Hell, even when it does happen, it gives us a great story!

As for stories, we have come to the end of this little non-haunted, yet enchanted, story in honor of my favorite month for all time. I love you, October. Thank you for bringing us all together. I am not done with you yet. We just decided to go touring again today. See you out there, fellow October lovers!

The Fall

This was a momentous week. But first things first. It’s October!!! My favorite month of the year has arrived! And it is everything you would expect… in Vermont, that is. The leaves are turning and, yes, it really is stunning. So for you less fortunate souls who live in, say, Texas, allow me to take you on a vicarious leaf peeping trip through Vermont.

To ring in my favorite month- because I couldn’t quite wait until last Tuesday- we went on an all day excursion the Saturday before last. Our day started with coffee, of course, at one of our favorite new coffee shops, the Kinder Way Coffeehouse in Castleton. We now have a favorite coffee shop on both sides of the Green Mountains (east side is Sandy’s Books and Bakery for inquiring minds)! What we love about Kinder Way, besides the excellent coffee, is the spirit of the place. The owners, Mark and Erika Gutel, run this place on love. With gentle reminders from Erika, Mark says “I don’t have to save the world, I just have to give them a place to rest for a bit.” After a bit of prodding, we discovered that they also run a nonprofit farm, Kinder Way Farm Sanctuary, which serves as a refuge for rescued farm animals. On this particular visit, Mark tells me “I’m so glad you two are in Vermont permanently now. You are in the right place. We are likeminded and we need to work together. We don’t have much time.” He is right. We have found kindred folk in the Gutels and we are looking forward to all that might lead to.

From there it was onto our main mission for the day: apple picking. Now let me just say that if you have only ever gotten an apple from a store, that’s a tragedy. Please put apple picking on you bucket list and get to it! We chose to try Boyers Orchard & Cider Mill, a family owned orchard in Monkton. The apple picking greeter (for lack of a better title) was the sister of the owner, an elderly Pre-K teacher who works there on the weekends during apple picking season. She oriented us as to what and where the multiple apple varieties were, making sure that we understood we were to taste test apples from any and every tree before we made our selections. Oh and we did! With a bag full of apples in hand we added their homemade apple cider and apple cider donuts to our spoils as the owner, sister of the aforementioned greeter, checked us out. Then we went over to their tasting room to try out the alcoholic versions of their apple cider as well as the red and white wines that they make from their on site vineyard. Yum! We made another friend in the taste testing lady (for lack of a better title) in the process. While she wasn’t related to the owner, you still got the sense that it was one big happy, messy family operation.

Apple mission accomplished, we followed the suggestion of the taste testing lady and headed over the mountains, leaf-peeping along the way, to continue our taste testing at Mad River Taste Place in Waitsfield. The purpose of this place is to help small, local food and drink producers get their products to market. We sampled way too many Vermont artisan cheeses and then washed it down – so to speak – with samplings of Mad River Distillers rum and whiskey. Realizing we had yet to eat anything resembling a meal (and having consumed one too many alcoholic samples), we crossed the parking lot toward Worthy Burger Too to share a locally, responsibly sourced craft burger. So good.

En route we couldn’t help getting drawn into a local clothing shop called Product Think Tank. With a name like that, we were instantly intrigued. The owner, Annemarie Furey, beckoned us in as we started peppering her with questions. It turns out that she left the fashion industry because frankly she just couldn’t stomach it anymore. She started her own company to replicate the “farm to table” concept in the clothing industry. For one, her clothes are made with only natural fibers to model the elimination of petrochemical-based synthetic fibers (think polyester, nylon, acrylic, spandex, etc.) from our clothes. If you don’t know this already, petrochemical-based synthetic fibers contain not only toxic chemicals, but they are also non-biodegradable. In our fast fashion culture in which we turn over our (relatively cheap) wardrobe at breathtaking speeds, toxic landfills and environmental degradation are the result, nevermind whatever it is doing to you. Annemarie further utilizes family owned farms in democratic countries to grow and produce her clothing, which is made to last for life. Shannon and I picked up a few sweaters, because guess what folks… sweater weather has arrived in Vermont!

We spent the following day up at our mountain retreat, which we unfortunately neglected all summer. I have missed this place! I am happy to report that everything was in good shape. Shannon, Finny, Greta and I hiked “our” 40 acre forest to enjoy the fall colors while continuing the process of getting to know the place. Ultimately we will co-create a thriving ecology, humans included, alongside the genius of the mountain, the forest and all of the living forms that make up the community (ecosystem) of this place. On a related topic, I am currently reading The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben (link to our local Northshire Bookstore, not Amazon). This is a must read if we are to understand (and save) the world in which we live.

So that rounded out our celebration of the arrival of October. Of course we have celebrated with fall foods galore all week: apple cider, apple cider donuts, homemade apple compote, apple crumble with vanilla ice cream, homemade pumpkin muffins, butternut squash ravioli, and acorn squash soup- all from locally sourced ingredients. There is something about fall, yes, but you aren’t really experiencing it if your culinary connection is coming through a pumpkin spiced latte collected at the Starbucks drive-thru. This is why we moved home to Vermont:

1/2 natural ecology + 1/2 real community = 1 place that has a snowball’s chance in hell of not just surviving, but thriving

I am not advocating that everyone move to Vermont. What I am advocating is that, first of all, you discover the natural ecology of the place in which you live and then find the people who are doing such amazing things as I described above. Form a community with these fearless people who are putting themselves out there, daring to change the course of humanity. If you have an amazing idea of your own, do it. Go for it now. Don’t wait. There is no time for that. Find what, where and who you love and support it with everything you got. You will never, ever regret such a decision.

All that said, I started by saying that this was a momentous week for us. It was. We sold our house in Houston. As I have mentioned in a previous post back in the spring, we had painstakingly poured love into the renovation of what had been my home for twenty years, where I had raised my kids, and had been Shannon’s home for ten years. We put way more money into it than was advisable, knowing that we would be selling and moving to Vermont in the not too distant future. We had completely transformed the energy of the place from where it was when I first purchased it. I had always envisioned this as a gift to the next resident(s) of our beloved home, that had cared for us all so well, rollercoaster ride as it was. I didn’t get the sense that the first potential buyer was the right guy. Fortunately (in retrospect), he backed out. The next buyer made me so incredibly happy. While I haven’t met her, what I do know is that she is a nurse and a caregiver. I knew instantly that she was the one… the one who we had done it all for. I’ll never know her story, but I trust that she will be well cared for herself, at least by this house, from here on out.

As for us, I am going to say words that I never imaged I would be able to say. We are debt free. No car debt. No student loan debt. No mortgage. Nothing. At least not for the moment. We will enjoy just a small respite. Then we will be right back at it… renovating Shannon’s childhood home that has cared for her family so well and brought so much joy over the years. We will overhaul it, while saving everything we can, in order to bring it into alignment with the lake ecology and world that we love so much. That means net zero energy performance. That means longterm durability. That means responsibly sourced and local materials to the degree possible. That means a new septic system, drainage curtain, and raingardens to keep our human wastes from polluting the lake. And, yes, it means a super comfortable and cool home to host our wide community of friends and family. It’s coming, folks. Just give us this winter to rest and then probably a few years of sweat, love, help from our friends, and no doubt some tears! It will be an expensive endeavor, yes. We will go back into debt to accomplish it. However, it is not nearly as expensive or as soul crushing as the alternative of watching the planet, humans, and other species laid to waste. We can do this, one house, one community at a time, if we all work together. The cost is worth it. We are worth it. Every human and every species is worth it.