I never hit spring in Vermont. It's like the old joke - blink and you'll miss it. One day it's miserable. cold and raw, with bare trees and brown grass. Two weeks later, the trees have leafed out and it's summer. So I really had no idea what to expect last weekend. Just needed to get out of Boston, and Vermont was calling. I planned a route that would give me some variation, Woodstock to Rutland to Bennington, through the mountains and into the valleys, and threw in some nature preserves as well. My shotgun tactic worked - I can now say I have Vermont in spring.
The Old First Church in Bennington is best in spring. By summer, the maple leaves are heavy and overshadow the lovely architecture. But spring leaves are open and allow a view of the steeple. The adjoining cemetery has headstones from the 1700s, grim Puritan markers and more modern memorials, including poet Robert Frost's.
The Old First Church in Bennington is best in spring. By summer, the maple leaves are heavy and overshadow the lovely architecture. But spring leaves are open and allow a view of the steeple. The adjoining cemetery has headstones from the 1700s, grim Puritan markers and more modern memorials, including poet Robert Frost's.
In the mountains, only birch and aspen were turning green, but the rivers were beautiful and there were wildflowers on the forest floor. And a nice surprise - my favorite road for red farms is lined with wildflowers of several kinds. Spent time talking with a farm wife who was cleaning up after sugaring season, and she had lots of pointers for shots along the road.
In Manchester village, the Hildene estate charges admission to the mansion, but welcomes visitors to the woodlands for free. Fiddleheads, Trillium, and even a Jack-in-the-Pulpit were waiting for me. A satisfactory trip, to say the least.
