Yesterday we got to drive through Vermont, with all its trees leave’s starting to turn a shade of burnt orange or yellow. Off the main street, down a dirt road we found the Kreuger-Norton Sugar House, where our hosts Trish and Art reside. The showed us around the place: the chickens with plenty of room to roam, the horse in its stable, the two sheep in their fenced in area. They have a large fenced in garden that is kept up beautifully and feeds the two of them…and us for the time being. We get our own cottage near the house, fully stocked with everything we could ever need.
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The structures here, the house, the woodshed, the workshop, our guest house, are all beautifully simple, designed and built by Art and Trish themselves, using the very trees they cut down to clear the space to build.
Today we moved the sheep to a new grazing area, as they had successfully eaten just about all the greenery in their confined space. Ryan got to help Art hitch a plough to the horse and use it to till some space in the garden. We then planted spinach seeds in the freshly tilled dirt. Tonya helped Trish to harvest green beans, and then blanch them in order to put them away for the winter.
As the day went on, the sky grew darker with heavy clouds moving in quickly, bringing a soft, but consistent rainfall. We sat for a long time and just listened to the wind and the rain. It was so simple. It’s funny how we seem to spend so much time creating busy lives filled with the things that we tell ourselves are important. But life is more than just the sum of its parts. The simple moments are really what we should allow ourselves to become immersed in. The sound of rain falling in the maple forest of Vermont, or any woods for that matter, will definitely let you do that.
Ever mindful,
Tonya & Ryan
Just as Free 