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July 10, 2011

Even Scottish cows eat haggis

The area between the house and the back woods used to be used as a pasture back when my dad was a boy here. Cows and horses grazed it. When I was a boy, our neighbors ran their horses there. What used to qualify as a pasture can now be considered nothing less than a wilderness meadow. Sweet Bedstraw, Milkweed, Goldenrod, Wild Strawberries, Moss, Alders are all competing for space and pushing out the grass and alfalfa that used to hold so much sway.

While mowing yesterday, I produced quite a lot of mulch from this mix of wild growth and human-designed plantings and wondered what kind of animal — if any — could eat it. Danielle and I would love to get some Icelandic sheep to graze out there. We’ve recently started thinking about — at least I have — having some kind of cow (though a lactose-intolerant family would lead me to believe that perhaps a goat would make more sense) out there. So what kind of animals could survive on such a wild mix of crap? According to my dad not any kind of cow except a particular kind of Scottish breed. As I thought about that, it struck me as funny. So funny, in fact, that the following scene has been playing through my head since yesterday morning. I imagine a breakfast session in our back pasture might go something like this: (with honor to Danny Bhoy).

Morning on the farm. The sun rises above the northeastern woods. A few cows and sheep graze passively in the meadow.

Holstein (munching on straw and hay): Mmmm. I love this clover and grass here. It’s so good. Yum yum light tasty breakfast.

Icelandic (chewing contentedly on a string of moldy roots): Mmph. Ya pansy.

Ayershire (coming in with a giant wad of grassy, weedy, seedy stuff): Aye, sheep. That’s no way ta start tha day, Holstein.

Holstein: Ew. What’s that ball of sloppiness you’re chewing on?

Ayershire: It’s “graggis”. My mum used ta make it for me every mornin’ when I was a wee calf. Goldenrod, grass, moss, alder sprouts all wrapped up in a milkweed leaf. Wanna bite, lass?

Holstein: Heavens, no!

Ayershire: Suit yerself. Oi, sheep! Wanna a taste o’ the graggis?

Icelandic (spitting a mouthful of something out): Ya! That sounds fantastic. It will go well with this moldy squashroot.

Holstein: …

Filed under: family,humor,thoughts,vermont — Tags: achenmead west, ayershire, hardwick, holstein, icelandic sheep, meadow, pasture, vermont — Sabin @ 10:02

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July 3, 2011

Pulling magic from the land at Achenmead West

Our garden is coming along slowly compared to some others I’ve seen. We’ve planted squash — perhaps far too much of it — beets, corn, parsnips, chamomile, sage, thyme, rosemary, lavender, nasturtiums, blueberry bushes, parsley, calendula, and a few other herbs I’ve forgotten. I still haven’t gotten the zucchini, salad greens, carrots, tomatoes, or any of the other traditional veggies planted. I’m feeling a little lazy about that. Also, it’s a little disconcerting to see the meadow continue to creep into our planting space. Why milkweed, Bishop’s Weed, Sweet Bed Straw, Goldenrod and a thousand other species of “weeds” thrive while the stuff we want to eat doesn’t is beyond me at this point. Granted, there are some species out there that I normally value for potential herbal remedies, but still. They could at least stay out of our veggies. So did I use today’s sunshine and get a head start? No. I watched Rollerball.

Some days — like today — it seems so overwhelming to go and try and put my imprint on nature. Who am I, after all? This land we’re stewarding has been here far longer than the house has and will be here long after we’ve gone, too. For some reason, though, I feel an urge to try and convince this land to allow us some modicum of control over its tendencies: veggies here, pasture there, wood trees up there, maple trees on that side. I think in the long run the land will concede somewhat but so far it’s a struggle, the garden patch being a microcosm of the entire property.

By no means am I giving up or relinquishing any of my desire — from where ever that comes — to gain sustenance and support from this little piece of Vermont. Not at all. In fact, when I think about watching Rollerball for a fifth time, I feel myself willingly drawn to the encroaching meadows, invasive poplars and elders, and scarcely-growing vegetables to try once again to exert our vision.

Filed under: hardwick,thoughts,vermont — Tags: farming, garden, hardwick, mackville, meadow, nature, rollerball, vermont — Sabin @ 03:14

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April 12, 2011

Spring is breaking through

Here at Achenmead West, spring is starting to finally show itself in recognizable ways: the grass is showing brown and damp from beneath the heavy snow, small birds are flitting about and ravens are hovering above, the driveway is a nearly impassable run of foot-deep mud. Early spring in Vermont: two parts delight, one part slimy brown mud.

Before I get into that, though, I feel I should explain “Achenmead West”. It’s my dad’s name for the 10 acres we live on here in Mackville — an old village within the town of Hardwick. He takes the name from the mythical location of the Densmore family back in Scotland circa 1630 or so. The story goes that a Laird Dinsmoor lived in Achenmead and had two sons. The younger ran off to Northern Ireland and eventually had children who made it to New England. While the hunt for the factual Achenmead — Auchenmade is perhaps a candidate — continues, my dad felt that the legend was enough to lend name to the land here.

While I think that the naming of the land was partially a joke or at least tongue-in-cheek on my dad’s part, it still gives a great deal of credence to this house and the land around it. Here is where my dad grew up with his mother and father and grandfather; here is where I grew up with my mother and father; here is where my son and daughter are growing up with their mother, father, and grandfather. There’s a cycle of history within the last few generations around this place and to give it a name that hearkens back to pre-family times that cycle is strengthened and made clearer. This is my father’s land as it was his father’s land. I continue the cycle as its current steward — I’m in no hurry to own it, just in case any wights are reading this — and the name gives all of that a reason to tell the story.

A farm of your own is better, even if small,
everyone’s someone at home;
though he has two goats and a coarsely roofed house,
that is better than begging.

Cattle die, kinsmen die,
the self must also die;
I know one thing which never dies:
the reputation of each dead man.

The power of the place and of having a place of our own. Stories of family, of names of land, of histories of homes all lend to building the reputation of all of us. Here in Mackville in Hardwick is Achenmead West staking a humble claim to these 10 acres. What stories might be told about it and its residents in the future? What stories do we want told about it? Those future stories are our current lives. We make them as we live.

Filed under: hardwick,thoughts,vermont — Tags: achenmead, densmore, family, hardwick, house, vermont — Sabin @ 10:38

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November 3, 2010

Elections are over; what’s the score?

The 2010 mid-term elections are complete. I’ve always hated that term: “mid-term”. I don’t like that the election cycle is defined by the president’s time in office. It somehow dumbs-down the legislative elections in the same way that a mid-term exam might not be worth as much as the final when in fact the legislative elections are worth much more.

This is the election cycle that has the potential to drive and shape policy, most accurately voice the will of the voters, and generally set direction for the country in terms of what is likely to be debated. It’s a huge deal. I prefer we go with the term “general elections” and “presidential elections”.

The democrats finished badly — though not as badly as some had said — and it looks like we’re in for an interesting and corruption-filled two years before we try and fix this. I can’t believe you all voted for republicans. What were you thinking? Do you seriously think we’re better off with the same people who supported Bush for eight years? Really?! Why do you think we’re in the mess we’re in. The debt, unemployment, financial crisis, wars, pollution: all of them were inherited by the current administration. Left as a legacy by Bush.

So that’s the national picture, and I’m unpleased. While I’m not by any stretch of the imagination a democrat, I’m certainly not in the fold of the current republicans. Locally, things look a bit better.

My county district voted back in our long-standing representative at the state level — Lucy Leriche — over a former schoolmate of mine, Nicole Ling. I had to learn quickly about the two, and found out that Leriche would be my choice. For one, she’s experienced and has actually accomplished stuff. Secondly, she can spell her position. Thirdly, she’s not republican and doesn’t seem to let religion or morality interfere with her political work. I’m happy there. I don’t know that much about our state senators, but I will find out.

As the dust settles, I’ll be posting data on the turnout and who voted for whom. We’ll see exactly how many people have just decided upon fate for the rest of us, eh?

Filed under: elections,politics,thoughts,vermont,voting — Tags: elections, government, politics, vermont, voting — Sabin @ 12:24

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October 20, 2010

Living in Mackville

Carey Road was graded today. You can tell when that’s done because there are loose stones on the surface of the road where there once were only potholes. Generally speaking, these loose stones are on the outside edges of the sharper turns. Add to that the fact that here in Hardwick we only put up guardrails where someone has already died, and your nine p.m. trip to the convenience store becomes fraught with danger.

Mackville was first settled in 1834 when the Mack family built and moved into the first dwelling here. Prior to that, a sawmill ran up by Nichol’s pond. It’s an area about one mile south of Hardwick Village, and was once home to a woolen mill, granite shed, ice house, saw mills, and granite quarry. Right now, it’s a quiet town road that fades into dirt about one mile south of our driveway.

It is quiet here. The moon tonight is bright, unhindered as it is by absent streetlamps — which end at the Village edge — and darkened houses shadowed further by full trees and ample space between neighbors.

The 10 acres on which we sit is mostly wooded. A steep birch and evergreen infused granite/slate ledge rises some 500 feet out of the pasture east of the house proper and plateaus to give rise to a stand of maple and old hemlock. We are bordered on the north by a rising pasture that separates us from the neighbors there, and a low marsh that keeps us apart from the southern folks.

Once a busy, factory-centric neighborhood, Mackville still seems to vibrate with a thick and separate energy from the village just north of us. There’s something about the central pond, the overflow that once generated power for all of Hardwick and the bordering mountains that make this section of Hardwick town special and different from the rest of it.

Filed under: hardwick,vermont — Tags: hardwick, home, mackville, vermont, vt — Sabin @ 22:30

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September 18, 2010

Back in VT

We’ve been back for about three weeks now, and the list of stuff to do just keeps getting longer. Here’s a sample in no particular order:

Help Gabe organize his new bedroom
Finalize the layout of the office
Unpack all of our stuff
Get in wood for the winter
Finalize the process of revisiting old haunts
Get a bigger propane tank
Build the bee hive
Finish the pasture road/path
Build the sugar shack
Finish the trail up to the sugar bush
Layout the woods road

Of course, each task above involves minute sub-tasks which also could involve additional, laterally-related tasks. I figure I’d better get organized, though, because each thing I try to do seems to take longer. For example, it took me a week just to get downtown to pick up the boards for the hive.

In addition to the above, there is the constant challenge of maintaining a remote presence in Boston. I’m being given a phenomenal chance, and every day I work hard to make sure it’s worth it for everyone involved.

I wouldn’t trade this for anything, though. We’re all living together in good humor and I think it’s working out well. I like it here and sincerely hope this is the last time we move, because I’ve got plans to be settled for a long, long time.

Filed under: thoughts — Tags: family, vermont — Sabin @ 11:54

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October 10, 2009

Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduces extension of Patriot Act sunset

GovTrack: S. 1692: Text of Legislation, Introduced in Senate.

With the bill linked above, Patrick Leahy is attempting to move the end date of the USA Patriot Act from December 31st 2009 to December 31 2013. On October 8th the bill was read twice and submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which Leahy is chair.

Specifically what S. 1692 will do is amend the USA Patriot Improvement and Re-authorization Act of 2005 by changing ’2009′ to ’2013′ in various sections of the law which reference the bill’s “sunset”, a fail-safe date placed into the law in order to make it more palatable to its detractors. The next step for Leahy’s bill is for it to leave the Judiciary Committee and enter debate on the floor of the senate.

If Leahy’s amendment goes through, the USA Patriot act and all that it allows will stay with this country for another four years. This law needs to run its course and end this December.

For eight years now we’ve lived in a shadow of fear brought on by first the destruction of the World Trade Center, the fall-out caused by the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and — not the least — the fear-mongering actions of our representatives in congress, of which the Patriot Act is one.

The structure of the United States is such that we can either entertain personal and civil liberties, or we can give all of that up for the illusion of perfect safety. We can’t have both. The Patriot Act represents the latter. It’s time for the former. There is still time for us to contact our senators and representatives and let them know that we’re done with the Patriot Act and the fear it represents.

Filed under: congress,democracy,libertarianism,liberty,politics,vermont — Tags: constitution, government, patriot act, politics, vermont — Sabin @ 00:56

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May 15, 2009

This is Tucker, our new cat. We just picked him up tonight. He’s about ten weeks old and just about as playful as he is cute. I don’t really have anything else to say about him, other than the announcement that he’s here. Oh. And that he’s god-awfully cute.

Danielle will get a chance to spend some quality time with him this weekend, as Gabe and I are headed to Vermont for some garden work.

Filed under: thoughts — Tags: cat, garden, tucker, vermont — Sabin @ 18:56

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May 7, 2009

This year we’ve decided to replant the family garden. The plot my mother, father, and I used to use is about 3,000 square feet and should be plenty for my father, sister, and the three of us here in MA. There’s something phenomenally exciting to me about this plan. Not only does it involve more trips to Vermont — which are never bad — it also is a start towards what I think the future will be like: a further reliance on the land for survival. Because for everything this garden is — educational, an excuse for weekend VT trips, a supply of food — it is also about survival: ours and that of the food itself.

There will be a point at which the cost of fresh food will be so hampered by the cost of delivery and logistics that unless people grow their own or purchase extremely locally, it will be unaffordable for most families. People will be forced into buying the less-nutritious, more genetically-altered veggies in the local frozen or canned goods aisle. While I don’t necessarily believe that frozen or canned food is poisonous or will be in the future, there is something to be said about eating food that hasn’t been engineered. Engineering food changes its relationship with the ecosystem, introduces unknowns into our diet, and otherwise messes with Mother Nature. Engineered food may or may not cross-pollenate with un-engineered varieties and could limit our chances of preserving seeds for the future. And even if that’s not likely, why would we take the chance?

Anybody with a small bit of grass, window space, a porch can start a garden for themselves. Even if you live in the middle of a city, there is probably a chance to start a neighborhood plot somewhere. Anytime humans can do something for ourselves that keeps us in touch with the way the earth works, we gain a little something out of life. It’s not tangible nor measureable, but I do feel it’s noticeable.

I designed the garden with not only work in mind, but also with the idea that it could be relaxing place to laze away a few hours. There’s a central circle with some benches and plenty of paths. The patches are all raised beds, and the paths are covered in straw or compost to keep the weeds down. Around the garden is a fence to keep the dogs from romping around willy-nilly. We plan on putting some pleasant chimes on the posts to hopefully kepe the deer away, too. There are animals, however, that we do want in the garden.

The grey circles are piles of stones for snakes, and the tan/sienna circles represent toad homes: clay pots on their sides. Both toads and snakes will help keep the nasty bugs to a minimum. Milkweed, Queen Anne’s Lace, and other wildflowers around the outside will attract butterflies, ladybugs, and bees.

All-in-all, I think we have the potential for a pretty good space, and I’m looking forward to getting a start on it. First planting should start on the 15th of May, with the second one being the week after.

Filed under: thoughts,vermont — Tags: garden, hardwick, nature, vermont — Sabin @ 20:22

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