Snow geese at Dead River Wildlife Sanctuary, Addison Vermont

Turtles catching some sun, Dead Creek Wildlife Sanctuary, Addison Vermont

Summer in Vermont: Shelburne Balloon Rally

Three Amigos (Alpacas)

Shelburne Bay, late winter

Best ambiance at a concert, 2007

Vermont Mozart Festival Orchestra at the Concert meadow of the Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe. July, 2007. 

Mozart, mountains and cows. The concert was on the day that the new Harry Potter came out, and there were 20 or so kids in the audience with their noses buried in the book. Perfect weather, sunset over the hills, and surprise fireworks following the show. During intermission, we paid our respects at Maria Von Trapp's grave, located in the garden between the meadow and lodge. In winter, the concert meadow is the center of the cross-ountry ski trails (link at right).

Best Performance I saw in 2007, Classical Division

Vanessa Perez, Bartok's 3rd piano concerto. With Vermont Symphony Orchestra at Flynn Theater, Burlington, December 1 2007.Our music director, Jamie Laredo, is from Bolivia and has been bringing in some unbelievable soloists from South America. I haven't especially enjoyed Bartok in the past, but Vanessa Perez laid it out clearly and eloquently, like an inspirational teacher. Plus she's really cute. And geeky. Have I mentioned that I love geeky?

Best performance I saw in 2007, Blues Division

Marcia Ball at the Higher Ground Ballroom (South Burlington) September 8, 2007. Check out her solo starting at about 3:30.

If you ever get a chance, get yourself to one of her shows. Incredibly talented and a ton of fun. She's done wonderful work for Katrina relief, and bragged about her new grandbaby at the show we attended. What's not to love?

A pause in the snowstorm

Yesterday, the snowfall paused for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Started up again around dinnertime, and we've had another 10-12 inches since then.

Strangely, no one was swimming at the neighborhood beach

Air temp is 12°F, but the lake is a balmy 37.

Ready for the start

Preparation for late fall mountain bike race (teenager's division) at Catamount Family Center, Williston VT. Historical house in background used to belong to Vermont Governor Thos. Chittenden in 19th century.

Summer is gone...

View of Mount Mansfield, looking east from my canoe in Malletts Bay. At this time of year I have to make an effort to remember weather like this, since much of November and December in the Champlain Valley of Vermont is pretty gray and disgusting, and the days are much too short. But the good news is that Mrs G and I are escaping to the Caribbean soon, to do some snorkeling and beach-walking.

The snow is already starting to pile up in the mountains, and the ski areas have had a couple of feet of snow in the past few days. Stowe and its ski areas are on the far side of Mt Mansfield, about an hour's drive from Burlington.

Lake Champlain & Adirondack Mountains

View looking west from the shoreline after brekkie. Some days it's hard to go to work. (Not today, though. 39°F and raining. Ugh.)

More moose in the city (tragic)

Burlington Free Press
Errant moose shot, killed in Burlington
September 25, 2007
BURLINGTON -- A bull moose that found its way out of the woods and into a backyard on Mansfield Avenue in Burlington this morning has been shot and killed by Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department officials. State officials said the moose, which was in close proximity to a school and residents, posed a threat to the public. The approximately 900-pound animal had been spotted before 8:30 a.m., running through backyards on Mansfield Avenue, across the street from Mater Christi School. At one point, it was lying down near a residential hedge row. Area residents, parents, University of Vermont students, and even a class of young students from Mater Christi stood a respectful distance from the creature, taking pictures with cell phones and recounting their stories of how the moose found its way into the city. Earlier this morning, Williston State Police dispatchers said the moose would have to move on in its own time, but it never did. Fish and Wildlife experts said they had to shoot the moose because it would have been too risky to tranquilize it.

...and then a moose swam by

Sitting at my breakfast table, working on a writing project, when I saw something strange in the lake. Grabbed my binoculars and then my camera. Mind you, this is in the largest "city" in Vermont.

Home

Aerial photography by Robert Lyons. He does great work. Link to his studio on the right.

Critter number one at 10 weeks

Sunset sky from Coates Island

Critter number one

14 Years old. He's no longer with us.

Critter number two