Spring Turkey Hunting

The hardest thing about turkey hunting is getting out of bed at 4 am. Once you're up, though, and have pulled on full camo, it's as simple as grabbing your shotgun, going outside, and quietly sitting through the early summer dawn. "Three-quarters of turkey hunting is listening," whispered Dave Brown on the morning he first took me hunting.

On the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend I got out of bed, walked along the edge of sleeping Craftsbury Common, sat down in a hedgerow by a corn field, and listened. A few days earlier Dave and I had seen six jakes in this field, but couldn't sneak up on them or call them into range.

It didn't take long to hear the first gobble. The turkey was down towards Sunny Sweatt's - not so far away. I called to it with my wooden Ol Yelper call, and it gobbled right back.

Before long I could hear four separate gobblers, each going off in a different direction. Sometimes it was hard to tell if they were gobbling at each other, gobbling at my calls, gobbling because the sun was coming up or gobbling because they felt horny.

The most frequent and vigorous gobbling seemed to be coming - ironically - from the meadow in front of my house, about a quarter-mile away. I waited as long as I could (though in retrospect I should have waited longer) and then headed towards the meadow through the cedar woods.

GobbleGobbleGobbleGobble. Now that I was closer to the turkey, I had a better sense of its position - in the farthest corner of my front meadow. Creeping along, I came to the edge of the field. The sun was up by now, and I was getting hot under all the camo gear. I paused, called, and the turkey gobbled back. There are small pines along the edge of the meadow, and I began crawling through them, getting closer to the turkey.

gobblegobble. That was a fainter gobble from somewhere down the Catamount Trail. GOBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLE. My turkey was really close now - only 100 yards away. I lay flat at the base of a little white pine and called. No response. Making it to another pine would get me ten feet closer. I crawled forward.

Gobble. Gobble. gobble. I still couldn't see my turkey. It wasn't far away, but seemed to have held up back in the woods. I crawled, waited, called, and waited some more. There were tiny violets and buttercups in the meadow grass. I called. I waited. I crawled forward.

I only heard the turkey gobble once more. It was well back into the woods by then, and the sun was high. I wanted a cup of coffee.

After taking over an hour to crawl across the meadow I stood up and trudged back towards the trail. I hadn't gone ten feet, though, when a turkey flushed up from the meadow grass. It had crouched down and hid when it saw me coming, and if I had taken one more step I would have stepped on its head - its bright red gobbler head - which I got a great look at as the turkey flew away and crashed into the trees.

The other gobbler, I realized. It had been following my calls, stalking me as I stalked the first turkey. If only at some point in my long and disappointing meadow crawl I had simply looked behind me.

I went home, made coffee, shed my camo coveralls, face mask, hat, and gloves, unloaded my shotgun, and got in the shower. But the hunt wasn't over. As I got out of the shower and looked out the bedroom window, what did I see but a red-headed gobbler, making his persistent way through the meadow grass.

I grabbed my rubber gobbler call, held it out the bedroom window, and gave it a shake. Gobble Gobble Gobble. The turkey stopped in its tracks, extended its neck, and gobbled back. There was no time to lose.

I scrambled downstairs stark naked, still holding the gobbler call. The church bells were ringing on the Common, just past the Craftsbury Public Library, and I paused for a moment to appreciate how awesome it is to live in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.

Then I realized that if I could see the church and library, people in the church and library could see me - standing naked in front of the window holding a turkey call that looks like this:

I quickly ducked into the mudroom, grabbed my shotgun, pulled on my coveralls and ran barefoot into the field. The turkey was down in the woods, gobbling. Once more I crawled to the edge of the meadow. Wilson had been told to sit and stay, but he followed me at a distance. I lay there amidst all the little flowers, listening. Wilson tentatively walked up, stretched out, and rolled in the summer sun.

Belvidere Mountain Hike

Wilson and I climbed Belvidere Mountain yesterday, starting from Tillotson Road in Lowell. The trail climbed gradually at first, crossing several small streams, including one that seemed big enough to hold brook trout. It was a hot sunny day, the wildflowers were in full bloom, and I could smell the blossoms of wild apple trees.

It took a couple of hours to reach the summit. There was one couple there, and Wilson ran over to say hello. They were from Montreal. His family has a place in Jay, and she grew up in New Zealand. They met in Shenzhen. I asked them for help opening my beer, because I didn't have an opener. It was a special maple wheat beer from Rock Art. We couldn't open it with the lighter, but I eventually popped the cap off against the metal leg of the fire tower. I offered some beer to the couple, but they declined. "It's a special maple beer," I told them, and the girl from New Zealand said "Wow - how Canadian of you."

From the top we could see the abandoned asbestos mine in the foreground, and the Lowell ridgeline just beyond. The access road and turbine pads for the Lowell wind project stood out as brown scars against the light green of the springtime mountains.

My picnic was pretty awesome. I had stopped at Pete's and bought a baguette from Elmore Mountain, a container of garlic cheese spread from Sweet Rowen Farmstead, and a bag of Pete's mesclun greens. There was a lot of food, but I was hungry, and Wilson helped me eat the bread and cheese.

Pete's Greens, Sweet Rowen Cheese, Elmore Mountain Bread, Rock Art Beer

Another couple arrived as I was getting ready to leave. They were from Cambridge, MA, and had a condo in Newport Center. I gave them the rest of my picnic. The guy asked if I was selling stock in Sweet Rowen because of my description of the cheese.

The hike down went by quick. There were so many wildflowers.

On the drive to the trailhead I had passed what looked like a great fishing spot, so I stopped on the way back, and Wilson and I explored the river. It was a gorgeous trout stream - the headwaters of the Missisquoi, I think, a series of pools and rapids carved into rock. My spinner was too big - a #2 Mepps - and although I attracted lots of strikes I only landed one fish - a fat 10'' brookie. There were some old cellar holes along the stream.

I quit fishing when I lost the spinner and drove home listening to a Quebec radio station that played 80s dance music. Later, looking at Google Earth, I saw that the beautiful trout stream flows right out of beaver ponds by the old asbestos mine.

Here's a video of Wilson on the trail:

Sterling College and the University of Vermont

My friend and colleague Jody Stoddard writes an absolutely wonderful blog called Farmer Jo. Her latest post describes the differences between Sterling College and the University of Vermont --- it's one of the very best things I've read this year.

Here's the post: Compare and Contrast

The Great Goat Road Rally of 2011

A couple of weeks ago I went to NYC with 12 goats, 12 college students, 1 professor, and 1 intrepid reporter - Melissa Pasanen, who was on assignment for the Burlington Free Press.

Melissa's article about the road trip came out yesterday, and what an awesome article it is - the Sunday Feature, with 5 full pages of story and photos.

Here's an excerpt:

Just a few blocks from the live market on White Plains Road under the elevated subway tracks, the smoky scent of charcoal filled everyone's nostrils, and a stoplight halted the van conveniently beside a large barbecue rig parked just off the corner of 234th Street.

Within seconds, Patterson and a few students had jumped out with one of the goat carcasses...

If you live in VT, try to find a print copy of the Free Press - otherwise the article is available online for a limited time here:

Great Goat Road Rally of 2011

Young People Moving to the Northeast Kingdom

Annie Myers, full-time farmhand, part-time reporter and all around rockstar, recently interviewed me for an article about young people moving to the Hardwick, VT area. It was a pretty comprehensive interview, and only a couple of lines made the Gazette, so I'm posting the whole shebang here. (FYI, Annie keeps a sweet blog - Thoughts on the Table.)

Craftsbury is a great place to call home.

Where are you from originally?

I'm a flatlander, born in Durham, Connecticut. My parents moved to Vermont in 1994, when I was eleven, and I started 7th grade at Craftsbury Academy. I loved fishing and hunting, so it wasn't too hard to make new friends at school.

When you came to Vermont, where were you moving from?

Well, central Connecticut, originally. My grandmother's family owned a farm there - Lyman Orchards, which is mostly golf courses now, and my grandfather ran a box factory. My parents loved Vermont, though, and when I was a baby they started a Christmas tree farm in Connecticut called Craftsbury Christmas Trees. They first bought land up on Eden Mountain, and we would camp out there in a big tipi every summer, planting Christmas trees. A few years later, they bought a house in Mill Village, and soon we were Vermonters.

Most recently, I moved home from Boulder, Colorado, where I was working for an educational travel company called Where There Be Dragons. Prior to Boulder I worked as a teacher, travel writer and guide for about 5 years, mostly in Southeast Asia. A year ago I was embedded as a journalist with a rebel army in northern Burma; 6 months ago I was on scavenger hunt around Damascus at 2 in the morning. It was an exciting life, but I felt the pull to come home and put down roots and devote myself to one place and one community. The most important thing I've learned in my travels is that the Northeast Kingdom is one of the best places anywhere to settle down.

How long have you lived here?

Two years ago, I bought 2 acres just west of the Common, in Craftsbury. That's when I knew I was coming home. It was last August when I found a good job in Craftsbury and moved home full time.

Who is your employer?

Sterling College. I actually saw the employment ad in the Hardwick Gazette, which I subscribed to while living out in Colorado.

What is your position with them?

Director of Advancement. When people ask me what the job entails, I like to say, Moving Forward. Basically, I need to get the word out about Sterling.

What attracted you to the position itself?

This is a big moment for Sterling, and for all of Vermont.

Bright young people from all around the world are way ahead of the curve when it comes to appreciating the concept of sustainability in an authentic and grounded way. They don't want be work in cubicles and live in boxes. They understand that there are real problems with our society, and they want to do their bit to fix those problems. Some of these young people are idealistic, some are cynical, some are naive, but all of them are ready to roll up their sleeves and work.

These young people are reading Ed Abbey and Khalil Gibran, and, believe it or not, they're reading Ben Hewitt, too. They are gaining new respect for hard work and the sort of practical values that are rooted in a deep sense of stewardship. Sterling is a college where they can live in a community with strong values and a healthy working landscape, and where they can study things like Permaculture, Wilderness Stewardship, and Ecology. And they study at a college that's right down the road from people like Pete Johnson and Steve Gorelick, who, whether they like it or not, are both leaders in the sustainability movement.

Sterling - and the whole Northeast Kingdom - has a chance to showcase a form of success that's much more meaningful and lasting than any short-term economic boom. It's going to take a lot of work and a lot of support to make it happen, and I want to help.

What aspects of the Northeast Kingdom attracted you?

Geez, where to begin? The seasons. My family. Concerts on the Common. Robert Linck's farmstand. The April Fool's Edition of the Gazette. Hardwick Men's Night at Mountain View. Barr Hill and blueberry pie. Deer and turkeys in the yard. Riteway. The Church on the Common. Claire's. The Outdoor Center. The accessibility of state government. Sonny Sweat's carvings of trout. Lake Willoughby. Duck Pond. I could go on.

What aspects of the Northeast Kingdom made you hesitate to move here?

I thought I would miss the excitement of traveling, and the energy of larger cities and towns, and I do. Winter is long and hard. The cost of living is high. In Thailand I once helped build a small adobe house for $300, start to finish. My house in Craftsbury has been more expensive. The cost of healthcare is ridiculous.

I did not look forward to needing a car to get around. America is hopelessly addicted to cheap energy, and I think the addiction is deeply unhealthy in a physical, spiritual, and economic sense.

Give me some highs and lows. What has surprised you about living in this place?

I'm surprised by the increasing gap between wealthy and poor in Vermont, which seems more pronounced than it was ten years ago, when I last lived here full time.

I'm surprised by how many incredible people live up here, and surprised by how hard it is to get to know each other sometimes. Everyone is busy, and focused on their own lives, their own battles.


How long do you expect to live here? Could you keep your current employment indefinitely?

I don't have any plans to leave. I'd be thrilled to have the same job 5, 10 or 20 years from now.

Besides your current job, are there other opportunities in the area that interest you? Don't laugh at that one. It's important.

Oh, sure! I would love to help connect Vermont with Asia in some fashion. I speak Japanese, and some Chinese, and have spent years working in Southeast Asia as well. Quebec has poured a ton of resources into marketing maple syrup in Japan, for example, and it's paying off for them, big-time. I'd love to do something like create a premium market for Vermont sugar-makers in Asia, or develop exchange programs between Sterling and colleges overseas.

This September I'll be leading a global field study program to Japan for Sterling, a program that's partially sponsored by the Freeman Foundation - it would be cool to have more of those opportunities.


Have you been able to meet people in the community here, outside of home and work? How? Has it been easy? Hard? Not a priority?

Hmm, sometimes easy, sometimes hard. People are friendly and approachable, but everyone is really busy. I've barely had a chance to see some of my best childhood friends, because we're all working so hard.

I think it will be easier to meet people in the summer and fall, when we're all outside in the fresh air.

Could you imagine yourself living here forever? Starting a business here?
Why/why not?

Yes, yes, yes. Because this is home.

Southeast View of my House

Job Opening in Craftsbury, Vermont

Sterling College is looking for an Apprentice Farm Manager to start work this May. The job is pretty sweet for an aspiring farmer, with housing, food, and a stipend of $800 per month. Best of all, you would get to hang out with me every day.

The Sterling Farm is a small-scale and diversified organic teaching farm, with livestock, draft horses, a hoop house, an edible forest garden and some exciting new developments around permaculture certification courses.

More info on the job opening here: Sterling College Jobs

Ice Climbing at Sterling College

I've been working on this video for a few days now. Check it out!

Sterling's New Summer Culinary Program

Sterling College is launching a new program in farm-to-table food studies this summer. Check out the program description: Vermont Culinary Program.

Why go to college to become a farmer?

I've recently begun editing the Sterling College blog. One of my goals is to use the blog not just for campus news, but also as a community forum for questions like this one:

Why go to college to become a farmer?

Building a Local Food System

High Mowing Organic Seeds on "Dan Rather Reports" from High Mowing Organic Seeds on Vimeo.

The Middle of Somewhere

I stole the name of my favorite bar in Mondulkiri, Cambodia, for the title of a post just published on the Sterling College blog about the hum of activity up here in northern Vermont. Here's an excerpt, with a link:

Looking at a map of New England, Sterling College might seem as if it’s in the middle of nowhere. In recent years, however, this rural corner of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom has become the center of an energetic movement focused on the nexus of sustainable agriculture and strong local community.

Local businesses are thriving, new non-profit organizations are opening their doors and the national media is paying attention to Craftsbury and surrounding towns. In the midst of national economic malaise, the new shoots of green growth in northern Vermont are big news...Read More

Home in Vermont

Well, it's been a big month.

In an unplanned and surprisingly swift turn of events, I've changed jobs and moved home to Craftsbury Common. Leaving Boulder is bittersweet, and leaving my work with Where There Be Dragons is painful, but from my window I can see the maple leaves changing color. It feels good to have finally come home.

I'm writing from my new office in Mager Hall at Sterling College, the smallest 4-year private college in the nation, which happens to be located a 2-minute walk from my land (photos coming soon). Sterling has always positioned itself at the confluence of community and the environment, as students live and learn through the practice of sustainability. Bill McKibben spoke here a couple of years ago, and told the crowd that Sterling is "one of the most important places we can be in and honor in this country." With only 110 students it's hard to say that that's true, but it might be - Sterling is certainly a unique college, and the values of this community - including plain hard work and profound reverence for place - could go a long way towards solving the ills of modern society.

If you had asked me 3 weeks ago when I was moving home, I would have told you "in a few years" - and I would have meant it. Sometimes the world spins in unforeseen ways, though, and after coming home for a short vacation, I realized that Crafsbury is where I'm meant to be right now. The job opening was serendipitous - my title is publications editor and director of media relations, and I'm throwing myself into the work.

As for Dragons, I have the utmost respect and admiration for the organization and for every one of my former colleagues. Moving home was a personal choice, not a professional one. I've been incredibly fortunate to land in jobs that allow me to work in accordance with my values - whether that means cultivating cross-cultural understanding or an appreciation for small-scale sustainable agriculture.

If you're ever in northern Vermont, please come visit. There will be a spot saved in front of the woodstove for you.

Mt. Mansfield View

Vermont's highest peak, as seen from my house.

My New House!

Come visit :)

My Land In Craftsbury Common, VT

Last fall I closed on 2 acres of pasture just west of Craftsbury Common. The land is sloping and a little wet, but the views are gorgeous and it's just a 2 minute walk from the Common, the library, the post office, the high-school and Sterling College.

Here's a nice photo of the Common.

This summer I plan to break ground on my future homestead, although after the septic system goes in I probably won't have any money left for actual construction.

Right now the water well is in (only 220' deep, which was lucky) and I've got a couple Adirondack chairs in the meadow, which were gifts from my parents.

This morning I went up to the land, set up my tent and took a few photos. Come visit!

Vermont's Healthy Economy

Even in the midst of the market meltdown, the economy in my corner of rural Vermont is healthier than its been at any point in my lifetime.

It's not just the new jobs, the thriving young companies, the reenergized downtowns or the university partnerships. The economy is healthy in a way more profound than economic statistics alone can quantify.

Because the main growth industry is small-scale organic agriculture, my family and neighbors have access to nutritious, tasty and relatively inexpensive produce. This helps keep healthcare costs down and protects the scenic farming landscape that draws tourist dollars.

Even more importantly, the small-scale enterprises depend on cooperation. The sense of community involvement - always strong in Vermont - is off the charts and growing stronger every day. People work together, eat together and help each other out in hard times. There's a vibrancy and neighborliness that transcends socio-economic and political divisions.

Today the New York Times, otherwise drowning in agonized economic doom and gloom, published a glowing feature on my hometown's economic resurgence. It's an important and inspiring article - please take a moment to read it.

Uniting Around Food To Save An Ailing Town

Thank You Peter Welch

Peter Welch, Vermont's sole member of the House of Representatives, courageously voted against the Wall Street bailout bill today.

Thanks to principled and astute representatives like Mr. Welch, the 700 billion dollar bailout was rightly defeated, confounding the financial industry and delighting working Vermonters who believe in thrift, fairness and common sense.

Vermonters know that the best investments are education, strong local communities and good topsoil. Thank you, Mr. Welch, for standing up to tremendous pressure from financial lobbyists and the Bush administration and doing the right thing.

To send your own thank you note to Peter Welch, please visit his website.

To get a sense of how outrageous this bailout proposal really is, please take a moment to read 10 Reasons We Should Say NO to the 700 Billion Dollar Bailout.

Random? Hell No! Why "Vermont's Energy Future" Conference Made Me Feel Like A Rat In A Cage

This past weekend has been extremely interesting.

I was a "random participant" in a deliberative polling conference held at the University of Vermont designed to involve residents of the State of Vermont in the issue of Energy.

Although participants were told that their selection was random - and technically, it might have been - I am beginning to suspect that very little about this poll or conference was actually random.

I think the conference was very cleverly engineered to have the maximum effect of stimulating civic engagement on the issue of Energy Policy in Vermont.

This is a good thing. We need to talk about Energy in Vermont.

I don't have the whole story - yet. I'll get it. Even though I feel like a lab rat, I'm going to run on the wheel until I figure a few things out:

1)

Just how socially engineered was this "deliberative poll"?

2)

Were there any hidden agendas? If so, why were they hidden?

3)

Why did the state and the energy utilities spend around $500,000 on this unique weekend event?

4)

Most importantly, what decisions do Vermonters need to make about our energy use and production?

I'm in the library now reading the academic papers of the Stanford and University of Texas research teams who designed this event, and I'm going to stay up all night following this trail.

There is a VERY big story here.

Jet Lag

I'm back in the US of A, cat on my lap nuzzling at my hand as I type, snow on the hills outside. My parents drove 8 hours roundtrip through sleet on dark highways to meet me at the airport with a bag of all my favorite foods - smoked cheddar cheese, dark Vermont bread, a bag of baby carrots, a Fuji apple - to tell the truth, the main reason why I feel comfortable traveling so far is because I know I have a wonderful family waiting for me back home.

Spring in Vermont is a good time to write, and that's what I'll be doing for the next few months. Look for more content on Matador Travel and a piece on Luang Prabang should be out soon in the travel section of a pretty good sized paper - exciting times. I'm thinking of taking a writing course this summer, but by June I'm sure the high mountains of the West will prove irresistible. I've got some inside info on wilderness areas in Colorado scrawled on various pages of my travel journal, much of it hard to decipher - names of towns that are names of rocks, like Marble and Basalt, something about a Frying Pan and a rather disturbing note that reads - BLOOD OF CHRIST!!!! (spanish) - that I believe dates to a late night encounter with two Mountain Divas in Vang Vieng, Laos. Clarifications and suggestions are welcome.

Good times.