Vermont’s Change of Season

In Vermont, change marks the beginning of each new season-change in weather, change in color, and change in activity.

Winter
The beginning of winter brings smoke curling out of chimney tops, frost on old farmhouse windows, and mittens, boots, and woolen hats piled by the front door. Snow shoe trails wind up the steep field into the trees.

Spring
Steam billowing from sugar houses and smoke curling from stove pipes usher in spring as maple sugar makers scramble to fill their evaporators with sap. Green bursts forth filling trees and pastures that have laid gray and brown for 7 months. The faint sounds of lambs baaing come from the barn as new moms deliver their young.

Mud Season
Mud season sneaks its way in between spring and summer, with muddy roads and ruts. Trucks sunk up to axles and muddy boots announce winter’s thaw.

Summer
Summer arrives sometime after July 4 with parades, roasted marshmallows, and smoke curling from outdoor ovens and backyard bonfires. Farmer markets burst with produce, red, yellow, orange, and green. Cows, sheep, and goats dot the countryside as they graze in the fields.

Autumn
Autumn speaks color…..

The ridge across the road from our farm bursts forth with color.

Autumn sneaks in when you least expect it with an early frost, apples hanging from trees, morning mist in the valleys, and mounds of tomatoes on the counter to be processed. Leaf peepers fill the roads, stopping traffic to take pictures of the stunning foliage, and locals scurry to put gardens to bed and fill their wood boxes for the winter. There’s a nip in the air, getting puppies and sheep excited. Barn kitties curl in their woolen bed, and smoke rises from chimney tops.

Distant field surrounded by autumn!

Morning mist over the mountain gives way to afternoon haze