Fancy News - Bucky Beaver Back Breast-stroking in Black River - El Castor se despierta

It was just another beautiful day in the neighborhood. Taking advantage of the fine Spring day, sunny and warm, Springfield Vermont's resident population of Mallards could be seen along the river front, preening or swimming around and bobbing for water plants on the shallow bottom. Now that the snow was gone, this was a good time to park and walk up to see how they weathered the Winter. The surprise on the walk was the appearance of a Beaver trotting along in the water, not very far along. Camera had to see too, and nimbly caught the first, then second shot, in case this fine rodentian should bolt at this intrusion. It transpires that this Beaver was a Ham, and he proceeded to swim alongside (certainly defending his territory), challenging the camera to capture him slapping the water with his broad tail as he punctuated the occasional dive with a loud clap. There will be a piece of code for an animated gif of that display, here soon.

Ayer, un dia maravilloso de sol, pareció buena idea pateár a ver los patos del pueblo. Pasan el Invierno aqui, a lo largo del rio Black River que corre por el pueblo, y muchos dias se pueden ver en el centro la familia de patos, a las orillas de una antigua fabrica, (cerrada y limpiada hace muchos años claro),. En camino a ver estos patos, me encontré con un Castor joven, que parecía tener un plan y iva con certitúd a un lugar para un proposito muy fijo - parecía la Sra. Maria regresando a casa con una barra de pan con tiempo justo. Donde caminaba el camino es elevado por unos dos o tres metros de la superficie del rio, y el Castor no estaba mas de cinco metros de lejos, y como ivamos en la misma dire seguí tomandole fotos. En un momento dio una paliza al agua con su cola ancha y se metio, saliendo a los pocos momentos y dando la vuelta para atrás. Le segui, y volvio a hacer lo mismo. Por cierto, ya le iva molestando, pues lo dejé en paz, tomé mis fotos de los patos, y au. Aqui dentro de poco pondre un trozo de gif animado para mostrar su manera de usar la cola.

Fancy News - Mosses and Lichen don't miss a trick!

With such markedly defined seasons, one would expect all of the local organisms to be in tune with expected changes, and they are. Here in Springfield, Vermont, Official Home of the Simpsons, everything, from house painting to the greening of the countryside, is bursting into action faster than the ice can melt - neighborhood gardens can be heard even now, variously yawning, stretching, and barking for attention.
Here is a scene of the last bits of one of the once mammoth ice dams that form on live rock faces in the cold weather wherever there is a spring - which is about every twenty feet or so.


La Primavera aun sigue con frio, pero pronto se le quitan los ultimos rasgos de hielo - aqui un ejemplar de lo que se llama "hielo podrido", o, "rotten ice", claro no se pudre pero su estructura viene siendo muy debil y flexible en sus ultimos momentos antes de convertirse otra vez a ser parte de los muchos manantiales - y siempre alegre, el muzgo esta pronto para tomar el Sol antes de que se despierten los deciduos.

Springtime Traffic Light Maintenance Under Way

Yes, it's true, even in a City of Lights the size of Springfield, Vermont, Official Home of the Simpsons, everyone knows each other.

Albino geese?

Motoring along on a fine crisp morning up Scenic Vermont Route 5, northbound between Rockingham and Springfield, Vermont, Official Home of the Simpsons, this observer was astounded to see, in a flock of wild geese rising over the Connecticut River from the edge of the cornfield, two brilliantly white individuals among the dark - flying together in the middle of the flock as plain as day. They were headed away, and too quickly for the trusty Sony A100 dslr to wake up and take an impression, so I slowed the RoadMaster Estate Wagon to concentrate on live observation and decided that indeed, whether they were ducks or geese, I had seen among this wild flock two white flyers, likely a rare pair of escapees from some place where they would not be so free to wheel about on a sharp first morning of Spring. So, who says that there's no fun in Vermont?!

Fancy News - Restoration of the old Movie Theater building reveals ancient Art-Deco frieze!

Repairs to the old victorian building that houses the famous Springfield Movie Theater proceed quickly now that Spring weather is here, and it looks like the well-knit balloon frame that is rapidly filling the burned out sections will incorporate some approximation of the victorian frill of pressed metal and carved wood details that survived the fire but almost succumbed to neglect in the ice and snows of a New England Winter, the neglected remains of some of which has surfaced on the grounds now that the ice is melting.




That the work started just as soon as there was a break in the weather is a pleasant surprise in itself to be sure, but recent observations of the work in progress reveal the hidden traces of what must have been a charming decorative frieze surrounding the entrance of the lobby - charming, even though it must have been as out of place on the victorian front then, as the more recent plasticly horrorific signage was lately. Here are the photos, including this artists brief, gestural interpretation of the hacked remains of the carvings, photoshopped on Seashore, to give a better impression of what was lost.
The facade - what an opportunity for some nice leaded glass of one design or another - does anyone have any pictures that pre-date the art-deco facade to see what was there before these banal factory lights?

On the corners of the entry there are what appear to be gathers of musical instruments and an open book, suggesting a pause in a happy musicale - the picture above shows the details on one of these corners, and the results as the last workmen slavishly followed the architects injuction to remove a whole half of an inch for the precious new work, geesh.



this gives the barest idea of what the same corner detail might have looked like, and of what it could look like again with a little careful work.From the patio looking up - how those fragile painted white cast iron architectural details like the acanthus leaves on the column capitals ever lasted this long is a mystery that may go onsolved for generations to come of Springfielders, as the residents of Springfield, Vermont, Official Home of the Simpsons, are sometimes known.

Another accident again! Springfield's rush hour

Here is a photograph taken at just about five o'clock in the middle of a busy Monday afternoon rush hour, of the scene of pickup truck mayhem. This photograph was taken within approximately two to four seconds after the loud report of a traffic accident was heard to erupt from this, the busiest controlled intersection in Springfield, Vermont, Official Home of the Simpsons, and it shows that the light is red already - this leads to the idea that the East bound driver was running a yellow light as his vehicle's rear end was crumpled. Of course, the question remains of why the Northbound driver didn't just stop in time to avoid contact. No one appeared more than surprised or annoyed, and everyone behaved well until the local police arrived.

Un accidente increible, en el centro de Springfield, en esta foto se ve el escena dentro de tres o cuatro segundos despues del acontecimiento infeliz - nadie se hizo danyo, y todos se portaron bien hasta llegar la poli.

Fancy News! - Sugar Shacks are a-firing up all over, Sugaring has begun!

And about Springtime - Tropical beaches are certainly fine. Yes indeed, the Torrid Zones have their interesting attractions, but if you want to see the glory of Spring you need to travel North. In Vermont we see many sides of Spring, one of them is of course "Mud Season", for such a time of thawing and reawakening must include such a distinctive moniker, but the best part of Springtime is Sugaring Time, and it is starting right about now - if you need an excuse for a road trip this is it, come on down!


"Visitors Welcome" says the sign at Fair View Farm, and you can believe it. Scott, Dan and Craig Stevens are glad to see you and they are ready to tell you all about the process of turning Maple Sap into Maple Syrup - they are the proud fourth generation of a wonderful tradition and family operation here at Fair View Farm, producing the kind of natural product that is unique in the region (if not in the world), as Vermont has the most stringent controls in place to ensure that any maple syrup with the Vermont label is pure, unadulterated, and made the old fashioned way, almost literally.
Not to deride possibly lesser products in other States in the region or in Canada, but you have to know that there is a good, dare I say delicious, reason why one pays a premium for Maple Syrup made in Vermont.
To see the actual sugaring process, and to take home your own bottle of Vermont's Pure Maple Syrup you should visit "Fair View Farm" - just zip up good old Scenic Vermont Route 5 and immediatly North of the Springfield/Weathersfield Bow line you will find Fair View Farm, right next to all the spotted goats - catch them by chance or when the sap flows, (that boils down to chance too of course).
Who says there's no fun in Vermont?!?

The Stevens brothers have only just fired up the works in the last day or so, and they have not consulted with other farmers to see what the prices will be like yet, so keep posted for updates on prices and availability of this rare seasonal delight. fairviewfarmvt@gmail.com is an email address.



El Jarabe de Arce es un azúcar naturál hecho de la savia de un arbol muy conocído por New England, el Maple - el Arce. Es muy diferente a lo que es un azúcar normal, y, por supuesto es un gusto adquirido, pero una vez apreciado, viene a ser imprescindible en asuntos de Pan Cakes. Claro, puede ayudar la dieta de muchas formas, y es un producto natural - desde luego, hay que ver que se sabe que el Jarabe de Arce hecho en Vermont, EEUU, es el mejor que produce la region, ya limitada, por la razón de que el gobierno de ese estado tiene muy controlada la calidad del producto. Preguntas? fairviewfarmvt@gmail.com