A Long Weekend in Vermont: An Old Barn - Part 11 - Warren, Vermont, USA

A Vermont barn nearing the end of its useful days.

Interesting construction techniques on this corner support.

Classic New England scene: weathered wood siding, white birch tree, the only thing missing is............

......fall color! Just a hint of what's to come - soon!

A Long Weekend in Vermont: "Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!" - Part 5 - Warren, Vermont, USA

Wandering along the back roads, we stopped at the Mountain Valley Farm for some farm fresh honey, eggs, and maple syrup. The "store," sitting in the open doorway, was unattended - just an old metal cash box to leave payment on the honor system.

I guess the title of this post should be, more accurately, "Horses and Chickens and Cows, Oh My!"

I like the ramp out of the barn so the chickens can come and go at will - their very own yellow brick road.

Just down the road, this herd of cows was hanging out by an old school bus - perhaps discussing their bovine baccalaureate, or moving on to advanced study at cow college, or the finer points of wheat and oat content in corn silage, or how the black and white hair of the Holstein cow is the same color as the leggings of the Wicked Witch of the East?

These two curious ones broke away from the herd and wandered over to the fence to see if the tourists had anything of interest to offer - perhaps they thought we were big munchkins ready to raise our voices in song.  Finding neither handout nor serenade, the two went back to creating their own entertainment.........

....cow wrestling! Yeah, that's it, they're wrestling. Isn't that what parents tell the kids anyway? "Mommy and daddy are wrestling, go back to bed," or, in this, case, mommy and mommy are wrestling. Click those cloven hoofs together - there's no place like home........

A Long Weekend in Vermont: Downtown - Part 4 - Warren, Vermont, USA

Warren is a small town (population about 1700) in the Mad River valley surrounded by farms and forests and ski resorts. The small downtown features the Pitcher Inn, a fancy Relais and Chateaux member hotel and restaurant accommodation.

I'm not sure why they were flying the flag of the United Kingdom. I assume there was a special event this week.

Directly across the street from the Inn, the Warren Store offers pretty much anything a shopper could want - food provisions, deli, bakery, coffee, maple syrup, clothing, art, wine.....and a wooden screen door with a satisfying sound when it slams shut. The deli counter was very popular at midday lunchtime with at least twenty patrons in line when I visited.

Right next door to the general store, the Freeman Brook flows past before joining the Mad River and offers a peaceful and scenic spot to enjoy a drink, a snack......

.....or just a quiet spot to read a book - remember reading books?

A Long Weekend in Vermont: Covered Bridge - Part 3 - Warren, Vermont, USA

A covered bridge is always a popular spot for photographers. I suspect though, the local residents who want to drive through, probably find the tourists standing in the roadway gawking to be a bit annoying sometimes.

Just look for signs to "covered bridge road."

 A covered bridge provides a great opportunity for making silhouettes.

Why did they cover the bridges anyway?

According to NH Tour Guide.com, "Covered bridges may have been covered for many reasons. To speculate, the biggest reason was to protect the wooden structure from the weather. Rain, snow, ice and the sun all make wooden bridges fail much faster. By covering the wooden bridge, the bridge would last longer. Most claim that is the reason why covered bridges are covered.

Covered bridges are also covered to help get cattle over the bridge, the sight of the rushing water scared the cattle and made them hesitate going over the bridge. It would also prevent the cattle from stampeding across the bridge. Some towns used to fine people if their horses or other cattle went over the bridge too fast, claiming it was damaging to the bridge.

Covered bridges were also covered to keep the rain off the wooden deck of the bridge which would make it very slippery. The roofs on covered bridges also kept the snow off the bridge.

Some also say the roof and walls on a covered bridge covered up the ugly trusses, and also provided shelter in bad weather.

Engineers also claim that the reason why covered bridges are covered was that the roof and walls help strengthen the covered bridges, adding to the reason to cover a bridge.

Today, covered bridges are built only to attract tourists and really serve no modern day purpose."

An advantage (and disadvantage) of traveling with photographers is that you both have a subject and are a subject at any moment.

A Long Weekend in Vermont: the House - Part 1 - Warren, Vermont, USA

I am in the ski country area of central Vermont for a long weekend with a group of friends and photographers. This is the first in a series of blog posts that will cover the sights we saw and things we did.

It is clearly not ski season but, it is a perfect time to wander some of the back roads, hills, farms, barns, and bridges of this beautiful New England state. Our group is staying in this rented house near the town of Warren and near the Sugarbush ski area. Amy found the property on the HomeAway.com website (http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p3944213). It was a great place for our group of eight people - complete with both indoor and outdoor fireplaces and all the other comforts of home - s'mores anyone?

When I think of Vermont, I think of trees, trees, and more trees.  

There's a reason that it's nickname is the "Green Mountain State," since about 75% of the land is covered in forests. Vermont and Wyoming are the two least populated states in the United States. Another of Vermont's claims to fame is as the leading producer of maple syrup in the United States.