Wine Weekend

Every year around the beginning of November, we have a tradition of heading to Charlottesville, VA, to commemorate my daughter's anniversary with "Wine Weekend." We all arrive at different times over the weekend, but the festivities normally begin on Friday afternoon with lunch somewhere, maybe a small wine tasting at a local vineyard, and then a fun dinner together before we head back for a good night's sleep so we can start another day of exploring on Saturday. We may go to some old favorites or maybe try a new winery. What matters most is the company, the laughter, and the heady feeling you get from sipping each brand of a vineyard specialty. The dessert wines are my favorite. The weather is usually crisp and wonderfully cool, and the mountains oblige by putting on a spectacular show of color. I can't really put down everything I feel about this special time. I just love it. I love the mountains. I love the people I go with.

My daughter and her sister-in-law (WW 2008)



The pond at Oakencroft
(photo by Kathryn)

Wine Weekend, the celebration of your love,

Reflects a time of happiness,

Bright and shining

As the sun on the mountains

And the gilded leaves of fall.

The twining vines,

No longer burdened by their fruit

Caper and dance in the wind.

The bounty has long been harvested and

Given up its spirit to honey-colored nectar

And crimson ambrosia.

We trek the mountain tops

Tasting and searching

for our treasures to take home.

Vintners speak of aroma, notes, and finish.

But we take in the beauty around us,

Delight in shared laughter

And somewhat irreverently swill

The wine in happy draughts.

This is our tradition,

Each year’s memories,

Our anniversary celebration of

Each passing year

At wine weekend.

GMB

MOSAIC MONDAY

I found the idea for this wonderful photo collage on A New England Life. Then followed her link to Little Red House where you can learn to make a picture mosaic to post on your blog! I love the way this turned out. Thank you, Little Red House!

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Homegrown Traditions

One of the yearly traditions I've created with my kids is the annual poem requesting their Christmas lists. I always ask for them in the regular way by phone or e-mail; but somehow, the fact that they're all married with families of their own and full time jobs seems to waylay the requested lists. I usually follow up with a silly short poem I compose and send to them, hoping to jump start the process:

Here is this year's poetic request:

The days are getting shorter,
The leaves have turned to gold
And the wind's begun to bluster
As the temps grow ever cold

Just around the corner,
Christmas lies in wait
And spirits start to wonder
If lists have e'r been made

It's only weeks away, you know
Till Santa Claus arrives
And Christmas trees are all aglow
In little children's eyes.

So send your lists to me, my dears
I don't want to get tough
And have to box your dainty ears
With mother's soft kid gloves.

And last year's:

The weather is weird.
They say we’ll get snow,
And the cold north winds have started to blow.
It’s been howling all day here in VA,
And it’s almost too cold to go out and play.

I went to the store to look for some fixins to
Go along with my turkey and trimmins.
And all the stores along the roads here
Already have Christmas lights hung everywhere.

I couldn’t believe it when I saw wreaths and trees
For sale at the store just bold as you please.
By the time Santa comes near the end of December,
Good Lord, they all be as dry as dead weeds.

And then when I thought of the shopping days left
I thought to myself, hey, where are the lists?
My kids haven’t sent any wishes or wants
Do they think I’m a psychic who can guess their response?

Please send me a list to shop from, I pray
I need your gift list without any delay.
If you can’t help me out
I don’t know what I’ll do.
Don’t make me get tough and use the thumbscrew.

Corny, I know; but hey, I have fun doing it; and sometimes they even respond in prose!

Bennington Battle Monument

The Bennington Battle Monument, dedicated to the famous Battle of Bennington that took place during the Revolutionary war in 1777, is a 306' stone obelisk opened to the public in 1891. It is located north of VT Rte 9, about 4 miles east of the New York border. A guided elevator takes visitors to the observation floor for spectacular views of Historic Bennington and three states. There is a diorama and several interpretive exhibits on the ground floor along with General Burgoyne's cook kettle. Statues of John Stark, Seth Warner and other notable monuments adorn the grounds. Tickets can be purchased for a small fee in the gift shop that specializes in historical items relating to the Battle of Bennington and Vermont.

It's quite tall and reminded me of a shorter Washington monument.

General John Stark Statue from the Battle of Bennington

Here is a plaque about the Battle that took place here.


From the vantage point of the knoll, you could see the entire village of Bennington with it's gorgeous fall colors. It was such a quaint and beuatiful little town. I loved it.



Moose standing near monument



Gorgeous fall tree

Grandma Moses

Anna Mary Robertson Moses started painting at the tender age of 76! I guess there's hope for me after all. She painted nearly every day and turned out more than 3600 paintings during the time she painted. Bennington has a museum that features some of her beautiful paintings. I couldn't wait to see them, and they're all amazing when you consider that she didn't use a paintbrush at first and used whatever paint she could find, including regular old housepaint. They have the old wooden kitchen table on display that she used to create her paintings. The museum has a store connected to it where you can purchase prints and cards with her paintings in them and also those of her grandson, Will Moses.

The museum also had beautiful quilts from Haiti, vintage and perfectly preserved antique grandfather clocks that were made in Vermont, an antique car, civil war era weapons, and a replica of an old schoolroom. I loved it. The outside of the museum is guarded by two identical Dalmations, one on each side of the doorway.


And just at the entrance, to the left of the gated pathway, there is a wonderful sculpture named the "American Spirit: Faith, Hope, and Charity."

Bennington Covered Bridges

Bennington, Vermont, is known for its covered bridges. They actually have a covered bridge museum where you can learn all about them and how they're made. I didn't actually tour the museum, but we took the time to drive through three of the five bridges. The bridges were covered to protect them from the harsh elements, keeping the wood dry and preventing it from rotting.

The Silk Bridge

Inside structure of the Silk Bridge

The Silk Bridge crosses the Walloomsac River and was built about 184. The inside structure is called Town Lattice, and all of the covered bridges in Bennington are the same type.

Paper Mill Village Bridge

Wallomsac River by the Paper Mill Village Bridge

The Paper Mill Village Bridge was originally named for a 1790 paper mill in Vermont. It was built by the son of Benjamin Sears, the man who built the Silk Bridge.

Henry Bridge

The Henry Bridge was named for Elnathan Henry who bought the land from James Breckenridge and constructed the Henry House in 1769. The Henry House operates today as a Bed & Breakfast Inn and is located directly across from the bridge. The Henry Bridge spans the Wallomsac River. The original bridge was constructed in 1840. In 1989 a complete restructuring was done by Blow and Cote, Inc.

Wallomsac River view upriver from Henry Bridge



Small dam and water fall Henry Bridge

Sunflower field next to Henry Bridge

Robert Frost

Vermont was a beautiful state. We stayed in Bennington, a city known for its covered bridges and Robert Frost's burial place. He lived in Shaftsbury, VT, after moving from Derry, New Hampshire. You can see a picture of his little stone house in Shaftsbury and read about his dream of planting a Garden of Eden with a thousand apple trees. I personally love his poetry. We visited the Old First Church in Bennington where he's buried in the graveyard behind the
church.

Old church of Bennington

Entrance to graveyard

Robert Frost's gravestone

"And were an epitaph to be my story I'd have a short one ready for my own. I would have written of me on my stone: I had a lover's quarrel with the world. "

On the drive down to Massachusetts, I wanted to stop at his farmhouse in Derry, New Hampshire. Unfortunately, the house was closed to tours for the season, but I managed to snap these few photos. Just thinking about the fact that he walked where I walked was amazing to me.

Front of farmhouse in Derry

Side of house and children's garden

There was a maple that had to be removed at the right side of the house. When people heard about it, many of them requested pieces of the wood from the tree as mementos. You can actually purchase a keepsake piece of the wood from the maple.