Vermont Landscapes

Barns & Buildings

A few random images of barns and buildings we passed in Vermont.

Vermont Teddy Bear Factory

Is any trip to Vermont complete without a tour of the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory?  I think not...especially if you have little ones. 

We watched how they make their bears, including these that were custom made.


All their bears come with a lifetime guarantee.  That means, when your bear gets sick, it can come back to the bear hospital for first class treatment.  They will even set up an IV drip of honey for a really sick bear.  How sweet!  After a visit to the hospital, your bear is returned to you "good as new".

Everybody needs a bear hug every now and again.

We adopted a couple of bears, too.  One for Princess E.  Another for Mama.  And one more for a special someone who needs a special friend.

Cabot Creamery

No trip to Vermont is complete without a visit to Cabot.  In our hometown, many hours away, Cabot cheeses are stocked on the shelves at our local grocery stores.  Much of it is produced here, at the Cabot Creamery, in Cabot, Vermont.

Come along an join us on our tour of the Cabot Creamery as seen through the eyes of Princess E.

Hmmm...wonder if they will let us taste any of the cheese?




Hey Mom...when you make cheese at home, it doesn't look like this.  Can you make some of this at home?

You mean people actually get PAID to eat cheese?  I wanna do that when I grow up.

Happy cows make happy cheese.  Yes, they did set out samples of their wonderfully delicous cheeses.  Good thing we packed a cooler, too. 

One day, a cow walked into a coffee shop, sauntered up to the counter and ordered a cup of delicious coffee.  (Since it was a Vermont coffee shop, it was probably Green Mountain Coffee).  The waitress brought the cow the cup of coffee and asked "Would you like cream and sugar?".  The cow grimaced and replied "No, I take my coffee black."               (Let that sink in a moment if you don't get it at first.)

Why does a cow wear a bell?  Because the horns don't work!

What do you call a cow who has just given birth?  De-calf-inated.

Cold Hollow Cider Mill

Over in Waterbury, Vermont, we stopped in for a visit at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill.  There, we had the opportunity to learn about the process for pressing apples to make delicious apple cider.  After the learning tour, there was the tasting part.  They had a large barrel/vat of cold cider with a tap for pouring samples into our cups.  It was so delicious!  I liked that it was not sweetened.  Being one of those unusual folks who prefers unsweetened coffee and tea (and applesauce and yogurt), I much prefer unsweetened cider.  I really should have bought some; but the cooler was occupied by cheese. 

They also had a display on bees, with an actual section of hive protected from curious hands (and curious hands protected from bee stings). 


The cider donuts were yummy, too. 

This is an older press.  They use state of the art equipment today. 

Vermont Covered Bridges

Did you know that Vermont has about 100 covered bridges? I think that's even a rather conservative estimate. We made it a point to see as many of the bridges as we could during our trip.

We used this site to help us find them. Also, we were directed to others not listed here by local folks. These bridges are a connection between our past and our future, and are well worth preserving.

We did not photograph every bridge we visited.  Some are privately owned (and preserved) but are not accessible for up close viewing.  Others have been damaged by vandals.  In any case, here are a few photos of some of the ones we visited.

Yankee Candle Village

After we finished our weekend with Princess B, we headed off for a vacation in Vermont. But first, we had to stop in western Massachusetts at the Yankee Candle Village flagship store.  I didn't post anything about it, but in September, I had the opportunity to visit the other store in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Don't you just want to sit a spell on the porch?

All around the grounds there were places for wonderful photos. Unfortunately, it was raining, so I actually took very few pictures. During one break in the rain, I had Princess E pose with the wagon of pumpkins.




Just before we left, I managed to get this picture of her in the autumn-y setting.


I spent a small fortune in that place, but the car smelled sooo yummy. My house smells like pine and cedar right now because I've been burning candles ever since I got home.

New Dishes

I GOT NEW DISHES!!!  Yes, I'm excited about it! 

King J and I have rather different opinions about home design and home furnishings.  When we decide to make a change, it often takes months to come to an agreement about what the "new" should be.  In the case of our dishes, we've been looking for well over a year.  Yep, that's right.  It took us a year to find a set of dishes we both like.  (One of these days, we're going to agree on a new couch.  One of these days...)

These dishes are Corelle Livingwear, in Spring Blue.  We did agree, from the beginning, that we wanted Corelle.  It was just a matter of finding the pattern.  Never fear, we don't argue over something as unimportant as dinnerwear.  Oh no.  We just walk through the stores looking at patterns and rule them out one by one, until eventually the right one appears.  Then, we make a spur-of-the-moment purchase, lest they disappear forever.  Ha!

Aren't they pretty?