We have conserved about 127 acres of land that were originally part of the farm that Bill's parents bought in 1957. We did this by donating a conservation easement to the Vermont Land Trust. This land will remain agricultural forever. The local Valley Reporter published an article describing our donation of this conservation easement to the Land Trust.
A number of folks have asked about our farm in Vermont, to which Sue and have retired, so I thought that it would be nice to post some pictures for you to see. The farm is located up on a mountain in Fayston, Vermont, roughly equidistant from Burlington and Montpelier (the state capitol), in the Mad River Valley. The Mad River Valley runs roughly North-South along the North-flowing Mad River, and we are on the West side of the valley. My parents bought the farm from Sam Strong in 1957, when he was 83 years old (and he lived a good ten years after that). There are several ski areas nearby, Mad River Glen and Glen Ellen (in Fayston) and Sugarbush (in Warren, the town to the South of Fayston). For those worried about winters, the roads are plowed regularly because the skiers have to get to the slopes. And yes, it can be cold. "Mud Season" (along about April) is the worst time of year weather-wise. The summers are mild and the autumns spectacular ("leaf peepers" from out-of-state are common in late September). Because of the skiers, there are numerous good restaurants and other amenities. We have DSL access to the Internet, so I'm able to read the journals and keep up a modest research program.
So, here are some pictures taken of and from our farm.
This is the house. It was built in 1936, and is cozy and well insulated so don't worry about us! The porch was extended around three sides of the house by my parents when they bought the farm. Since this picture was taken we have added some space and made some modifications to the original floor plan.
This is the spectacular view towards the South from our front porch. The "notch" about one-third of the way from the right has several mountain peaks about 60 miles away which can be seen on a good day. The left one is Pico Peak, and the right one is Mendon Mountain.
Facing South from behind the house and barn, this shows the barn (on the left) and the house, and in the distance the "notch" with Pico Peak and Mendon Mountain.
This picture is taken from above the house, facing Northeast towards the barn. The barn dates approximately to the Civil War era and once was located about 6 miles from its present position. In the 1880's, when Sam Strong was a child, the barn was taken down and rebuilt, piece by piece, in its present location. We have tried to keep the barn in good repair with regular maintenance, and there's every reason to expect it to be around for a good long time. We are currently making some major structural and other repairs.
This is an aerial shot of the house and barn. South is to the left. Time is late fall, there's a bit of color still but there has been a light snowfall.
Cowabunga! These cows were owned and pastured many years ago on the land below the house by a local farmer. We hope that something like this may happen again. Right now, a neighbor grazes some sheep on our land to the East of the main house.
This is the barn as seen from the West. The large doors open into the hay loft. Below the ramp that leads to the loft is another level of the barn that once housed the cows. The stalls are still there.
This is the barn as seen from the East. The entrance to the stable is on the right but out of sight.
This picture was taken in late August or early September, showing the promise of spectacular colors soon to come which will soon bring out the "leaf peepers", and the mountains on the other side of the valley.
There are frequent spectacular sunsets. The farm is on the West side of the Mad River Valley, so the sun sets on the West, and if you look East you sometimes see views like this...
...and this...and...
Spectacular views happen on an irregular but not infrequent schedule. This double rainbow was a full double arch on one such occasion.
Here's another view of the same double rainbow. The Volkswagen in the lower left corner was "my wheels" when I was a graduate student. Just beyond it is the milkhouse, where the milk was kept cool when this was a working farm.
Sue and I hope you have enjoyed this brief tour of our retirement home. We hope you'll visit, just let us know.
All materials at this website Copyright (C) 1994-2016 by William H. Jefferys. All rights reserved.