Seasonal

One of my BDFF (Best Designer Friends Forevah!) is Becky Herrick. Becky was my companion through my first TNNA and I got to meet not only a talented designer but also a sweet, caring, loving, fun girl. Her post made me smile and realise how much I miss her. Is it June (TNNA time!) already??

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Winter has wrapped Vermont in a cozy blanket of snow. I walk my dogs under a cloudless, star filled sky and woodsmoke scented air pinches my nose as I breathe. Winter didn’t come on all at once. It drifted in slowly, quietly. A few flakes appeared in the air one November evening. There was a light dusting of snow on the car windshield the next morning. The dustings slowly added up to a blanket of white.

Winter is my favorite season. I love its soft muffled sounds and a quiet appearance. Winter finds myself and Neil snowshoeing through a silent forest in the watery afternoon light. We spend the short days racing downhill with waxed planks stuck to our feet (whose idea was skiing, anyway?) There’s exhilaration to be found just walking through the front door on a -20F morning. And there’s peace, knitting in front of the fire with my dogs curled up around the wood stove.

As February turns to March, and then April other parts of the country start warming up. In Vermont we’re still wrapped in snow. I begin to long for spring. I miss the smell of damp earth. I miss digging my fingers into the cool soil to plant little pea seeds. I miss being able to open my windows and air out the house (you know it’s bad when I start to miss cleaning.) When spring arrives it is my favorite season! The bustle of life! The activity! People I haven’t seen all winter visit for lunch; we’re waking up from our hibernation. The crocuses by my foundation bloom while the lawn is still covered in snow.

Soon I am spending every available weekend in my garden, planting, transplanting, weeding, and seeding. The chickens dust bathe happily in the sunshine. Everything starts to bloom. Muddy, crazy dogs emerge from the undergrowth and we must wash them before letting them back in the house.

Spring is full of promise and planning. But as the green things start to fill out and the days get longer suddenly its June, and the summer solstice. And that must mean it’s summertime.

Music festivals crop up every weekend. We want to go canoeing and hiking, picnicking and camping all in a single weekend. I make sure to weed in the garden every evening. The days get hot but the night breezes cool us off. We watch the stars and the fireflies from the roof of our porch. Summer is my favorite season.

The daylight lasts until 9:30 in summer, and I spend my evenings enjoying it. We take the dogs for long walks. Watch the sun set from the Long Trail shelter that looks over our green valley.

Just as I’m lying awake, listening to crickets, wondering why is it still hot tonight? A thunderstorm rolls in. Heat lightning sparks through the sky. Rain pounds on the roof as I drift to sleep. The next morning is chilly and damp and I need a sweater as we walk the dogs.

And one day, as I’m busy in the kitchen – freezing sweet corn and canning tomatoes – I’ll realize it’s September. The next week there’s a nip in the air. Eight days later I need a jacket as I’m scraping frost off my windshield. Suddenly it’s fall again, my favorite season.

I love the foliage, pumpkins, corn, and apples all competing to see which can put on the brightest, flashiest seasonal display. I love the smells in the air; wood smoke mingles with crunchy fall leaves. Indoors the scents of cider doughnuts compete with mulled cider. I even love the craziness this time of year as I rush to finish putting up my garden produce; broccoli in the freezer and pasta sauce, apple chutney, and canned chicken broth filling my shelves.

I love the starkness of the landscape once the leaves are all gone. The oranges and reds shift to russet and earthen brown, and then they shift to grays and browns and whites. Just as the starkness of the fields becomes dull…

BAM. Snowstorm. Suddenly it’s winter, my favorite season.

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Becky Herrick is a knitwear designer living on the western slopes of the green mountains. She doesn’t believe in having to choose favorites and applies this to everything from ice cream flavors to books to, yes, seasons. One of her favorite things about Vermont is that at least once in August it’ll be cold enough for a sweater. She’d like to point out that living such an idyllic life takes a lot of hard work. You can find out what she’s up to right now on her (appropriately named) blog: Ramblings.