For several months now, we've had on the calendar a road trip to Vermont to see our
FSU friends, Flash & Bette. They have a dairy farm that has been in the family for generations. All the milk their cows produce goes to Cabot (as in the company that makes cheese, butter and all sorts of other delicious dairy products).
We planned to take 2 days to drive up, spend a few days on the farm and then 2 days to drive back. And while we knew our drive would take us through several states, we didn't realize we would pass through 9 (yes, nine) of them!
North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut,
Massachusetts, New York,
Pennsylvania and Vermont. We did learn that in Virginia it is illegal to use a radar detector and the speed limit is 65! (Fortunately, we didn't have to learn that the hard way...if you get my drift.)
We saw some beautiful scenery along the way as well as survived 16 hours (x2) in the car together.
Views from along interstate 81.
While it was tempting to see if Chick-fil-A cows named the town (Moosic),
we were headed to Scranton.
Basketball Hall of Fame in Massachusetts.
More scenes from the road.
Starting to see more farmland as we approached Vermont.
The directions to the Sprague's log cabin contained lots of landmarks, such as "take exit #3 off the highway and turn left. You'll go through several villages. Look for the cemetery on your left. Just past the cemetery you'll see a red school bus stop and an old red gas pump. Turn on that road. Go over a little bridge and when you come to a fork in the road, turn left and you'll be in the driveway." Surprisingly our GPS found it without a problem.
Flash & Bette's log cabin.
Flash & Frank
Bette & Leann
Yes, those are what you think they are....a chandelier made out of 'tit cups' from a milking machine with hand-blown glass cups for the candles. Very appropriate for a family that's been in the dairy business for a zillion years.
Regulation-size and outfitted baseball field at the family compound.
"Facilities" at the Pavillion. (Note the toilet-paper is well-protected in a Ritz cracker can.)
"Flashpoint Pavillion". (The hostas are as big as a dining room table!) This is a beautiful open air building with a huge fire-pit in the middle where they gather for family events, outings or even a cocktail in the evening.
You can't see the expression on his face, but this Excavator is Flash's FAVORITE toy!
During our brief time in Brookfield, VT, we were treated to the Historical Family Tour, where Flash was born, where he went to school, where girls lived that he dated along with all the acreage he's acquired over the years, along with other areas he's hoping to add to the fold. Beautiful property, with lots of hay and corn growing. To the extent possible, every acre is maximized in order to grow enough food for the cows to eat during the winter. It really was an amazing operation!
The two days we were in VT, were perfect! Like many other areas they have had record-breaking rains! Not a good situation when you need some warm, dry weather for the corn to grow. I now understand the expression, "Make Hay" and that is just what they did. First you have to mow, then form it up into wind-rows and then chop it (scooping it up and putting it in a big truck) before you can dump it on the feed pile. The sun comes up about 5:30am and doesn't set until about 9:00pm. Needless to say, they had some long days. And oh yes, in between, there's feeding and milking the cows which they do 3 times a day.
Fort Brookfield. Beautiful view from Flash & Bette's front porch.
One of the cow barns, where the younger cows hang out. The all-black one doesn't want to be with the rest of them.
Happy cows!
Nope, this is not a tire farm, but nothing goes to waste! The old tires are used to hold down the white tarp that covers the feed pile.
The main barn where the calves live and milking is done.
It's "udderly" amazing how 400 cows get milked 3 times a day. Each cow has an electronic collar that records everything, including how many steps taken, how much milk produced, etc.
These cows know the drill...come in, back up to the machine, gets her tits dipped in antiseptic, cleaned off, milking machine attached, milked pumped out, antiseptic dipped again and off she goes for some more feeding until the next milking time.
Yummy...fresh hay, corn and supplements.
"Ahh....much better. Time for more food and maybe a nap."
The calves get their own 'calf condo'. The youngest was 3 days old. Very cute and they love to suck on your thumb!
Typical scene while driving through the country-side in Vermont.
"Noah's Ark". Yes, that is a dock with a boat at the end. The owner is going to be ready when the waters came and he could float away. (Keep in mind the only water near-by was a small pond and creek.)
Another scenic view.
Rock of Ages. A company that has been around since 1885, with quarries in several states and countries, excavating top quality granite. What an operation!
View from high above, looking across the expanse of the quarries and operation. This particular quarry is about 1000+ feet deep. They use the derricks and 'scoops' to bring out the "benches" of granite.
The derricks looks a lot like Erector Sets and along with the wires and red scoops pluck the granite from the earth. Technology has progressed and now instead of dynamite, they use a diamond wire to cut the benches out.
This cute little deer was hanging out with its mama in the field.
Granite graveyard. As with the farm, nothing goes to waste. This are 'less than perfect' pieces of granite which will be crushed and used in concrete or as gravel, etc.
The granite goes from benches (about 40' square) to blocks to slabs like above in various thicknesses, depending on what the final use will be (building, headstones, counter tops, etc.)
The inside operation is HUGE! There are various stations in the shop - cleaning, polishing, cutting/shaping, engraving, etc.
"What in the world?", you ask. Back in the 1950's, Rock of Ages experimented with an outdoor bowling lane. Their thought was many of the upscale resorts would enjoy having something like this as one of their amenities. After it was built, they invited someone from Brunswick (bowling ball company) to come test it. After one roll and his ball going in the gutter, they nixed the idea. Guess the lanes were too slick.
We just had to give it a try. :o)
We ventured to the state capitol, Montpelier.
Capitol Building.
Throughout the town, we found various
sculptures, all made of recycled bicycles.
Viewing window where you could watch the student chefs work.
Back on the farm, the chopper is scooping up the hay that had been mowed the day before and filling the truck. That day they would chop nearly 100 acres.
Oh yeah! I got to ride in the chopper. Note: flipflops do not make good tractor-riding shoes.
Just like a big ol' vacuum cleaner.
Frank, Flash and Keith (Flash's nephew).
Keith runs the farm and dairy operations, with help from his father and 2 uncles.
What an experience! We met Flash's brothers and sister (who all live near the farm), got to see nearly everything involved in running a dairy farm, ate delicious meals and enjoyed the beauty of New England.
The morning of our departure, we ventured to Chelsea for breakfast and the town-wide flea market being held that day. While there wasn't anything we couldn't live without, there were many people who were successful in buying/selling.
Thank you Flash & Bette for sharing your piece of paradise with us.
We had a wonderful time!
