It’s Monday again, time to start another work week! It can be hard to get going on a Monday I know. Speaking of hard, I thought I’d write a short post about,,rocks! One thing that anybody who lives in Vermont knows, is that we have lots of rocks. The state of Vermont is made up of rolling hills, valleys and rivers and creeks.

Under all those hills are rocks, lots of them! Vermont does not seem to have one single place where it’s flat, it’s all hills and slopes and rocks. Farmers that plant crops deal with rocks all the time. In fact most say their main crop is rocks! Picking rocks and stones from the field is a full time job.

It’s even a hard time to get a good lawn without rocks poking through. Hitting rocks with the lawn mower is just a fact of life here. Lots of places make rock gardens because you have so many, you might as well make something with them! (more…)

Hey everyone, happy Friday night! I hope you have something planned for the weekend. I’m a bit in a lazy mood today, so I thought I would just leave you a cool youtube video I found about trout fishing in the Bennington, Vermont area. Or rather they film the trout, not fish for them. One is a damn good size rainbow trout.

It looks like it has a hook in the side of it’s mouth or something. Anyways I hope it keeps you entertained for just a few minutes at least. I have to go down to the sugar house now and check on some things I need to fix so that next years pure Vermont maple syrup is processed right. So enjoy this youtube Vermont trout fishing video!

Hello everyone, hope your having a great summer. I sometimes forget that people that visit Vermont don’t really know much about the wildlife we have here. Some people think we have mountain lions, wolfs and grizzly bears, which is not the case. So I thought I would break down just what type of wildlife Vermont does have.

Lets start with the reptiles. Yes we do have snakes, but often you will never see them. The most common by far are the garter snakes. These are small and green and do not hurt anyone. We do have one or two snakes that are poisonous, but you will hardy ever see them. In fact with all the time I have spent in the woods I’ve never come across them.

We have frogs, toads, salamanders and several types of turtles. We do have snapping turtles, so be careful about reaching into any holes along a riverbank or pond. A few other small reptiles and that’s about it for Vermont reptiles. You will just about never see them. (more…)

HI everyone! Boy have I been busy. There is always something to do when you make pure Vermont maple syrup, even at this time of year. Well summer is in full swing, and the weather is getting hot. Vermont for most of the year is cool to downright cold! But we do have month or two where is really warms up. At that time the locals seek out their favorite Vermont swimming holes and beaches.

Now Vermont has many streams, rivers, ponds and lakes. So different people have different preferences when it comes to soaking in the water. Some people who live up more in the mountains love to swim and cool off in the beautiful trout streams we have. Since those streams wind their way down all mountains there is always one close by.

The Vermont mountain streams flow over rocks and cliffs, sometimes making big cold pools below the falls. These are popular with the local young people. Many have their own secret place they go to, but there are some popular spots that everyone knows about too.

The problem with this type of swimming is you have to really be careful. It’s all rocks, and a slip or fall can be very dangerous. In fact there is several popular water falls that have claimed a few lives over the years. Don’t dive in the pool, as it’s hard to see hidden rocks below. (more…)

He everyone, boy have I been busy! Summer is the time of year when so much is going on. It’s also the best time for camping in Vermont. Vermont has many campgrounds & RV parks. You can find very simple ones that are just for tents, to fully equipped ones that can handle 40 ft. RV’s with pools, snack bars, full hookups and more.

Now you have two kinds of Vermont campgrounds, private campgrounds and state campgrounds. Private ones have more amenities on average, with full hookups and other things to make life easier. They also tend to cost more. Most of them are just a spot for your tent or RV, not really in any big woods that you can walk to and explore.

State campgrounds are in a park or a forest. They can be just a bare spot for your tent, to full hookups for RV’s. Normally you can walk from your spot and go hiking, fishing, hunting and so on. A lot are on a lake or even Lake Champlain, the 7th largest lake in the USA. Most spots are cheaper than the private campgrounds, but most don’t have as many amenities. (more…)