Fall-ing for Vermont

It’s no secret, I love living in Vermont. And at this time of year, Mother Nature reminds me just how lucky I am.

A simple morning walk provides fodder for the trigger-happy shutter finger.

Last weekend, after viewing some (ridiculously stunning) photos of photographers I follow on Instagram, I turned to my husband:

Me: I’m missing out! Everyone is out taking awesome pictures while I’ve been hanging around the neighborhood!

Greg: Want to take a ride? We could go up to the sugar shack for a maple creemee.

Side note: Only in Vermont is driving an hour each way for a soft serve ice cream cone considered a fun outing.

Me: But it’s midafternoon—the worst time to take photos.

Another side note: Never underestimate the draw of a maple creemee. I could call our little drive a “photo scouting” trip and still get ice cream out of the deal.

So, here’s the thing about driving the back roads of Vermont:

1. They’re all back roads.

2. No matter where you drive, you’re in for beautiful scenery.

3. If you happen to be carrying a camera, your driver had better be prepared to stop.

First stop. Yeah, I know the foliage isn’t fantastic, but I’ve got a thing for barns…and stone walls…and distant mountain views…and moody clouds.

Moving on:

Me: Let’s drive to the top of Okemo. Other than skiing, have we ever been up there?

Chessie (disgruntled in the back seat): Groan… (Translation: You promised me a pup cup!)

To the top of Okemo we went. She may be a spoiled dog, but she doesn’t get to call the shots.

Normally, after taking photos, I’m excited to go home and load them onto my computer, only to be mildly disappointed. After shooting this one, I got back into the car and said, “Yeah, it’s too hazy. This one is going to be terrible.” And I was half right. It was too hazy to capture the vivid colors of the mountain in the background.

This one, too. But hey, I can’t resist the allure of a bendy country road. They take me back to my John Denver days. (Really, how cute was he?!?!? ☺️)

Anyway… Back to my story about missing out on hopping the Vermont foliage photo-taking bandwagon.

We stopped for maple creemees, and, as expected, Chessie snarfed hers down so quickly that it doesn’t seem possible she even tasted it. Mine was delicious, though.

We arrived home and, convinced I didn’t shoot any pictures worth looking at, I set my camera on the kitchen table and looked out our back door.

Moral of the story: When admiring other people’s work, it’s easy to forget what you have right at home.

That, and when in Vermont, never turn down a real maple creemee from a sugar shack. You never know what you’ll find along the way.

Until next time, be well,