Allow me to properly introduce you to our newest family member, Scout! He is an eight week old Border Collie pup who is settling in so nicely here at home.
You know, I never told my family this (until after the fact), but the week leading up to vacation I had this crystal clear vision (more then once) of us adopting a puppy on the ride back from Vermont. How silly, right? But this very clear scenario kept running through my mind's eye.
Now, we have been planning on getting a puppy this summer, but the odds of randomly stumbling upon puppies while traveling are not to be counted on. Especially puppies of the very breed that my husband and daughter both had at the top of their list. Being that we aren't the type to seek out a breeder, we were counting on the right puppy to present itself to us, Border Collie or otherwise.
We decided to hop off the highway and drive through the town of South Royalton, to show Emily the law school Adam chose not to attend so many years ago, opting for the one with the better scholarship instead (oh, hindsight can be such a stinker). As we approached the town green we noticed a farmers market winding down, only fifteen minutes left before closing time. Thinking of the near empty refrigerator we'd be returning home to, we decided to stop for a few provisions.
Among the eggs and carrots and radishes and kale - we found the sweetest little tumbled up pile of puppies! We were smitten and talked with the owners who farmed grass fed beef and an apple orchard. Everything felt right and we had a brief but serious family meeting by the gazebo... the decision was made to welcome this little guy into our family. Normally we prefer female dogs, but something about Scout's temperament spoke to us and after three days together I am happy to say he is a wonderful match.
I guess there was something to those visions after all.
The day after we returned home was spent hanging laundry, as well as harvesting and weeding the garden. I think it's fair to say that for every day we were away, one hour of weeding was required. Six hours of weeding paid off though because things are looking pretty good out there. (Though why does it still look weedy to me in these pics? It's really not!)
{The newly dug section.}
Most of our garden was properly prepared in the early Spring, with lots of great compost worked into the soil. In a bit of a 'we have more plants than space' panic right before we went away, we dug up another eight feet and stuck the remaining plants in. This is not ideal soil, but my fingers are crossed (and I did add a whole bunch of compost last night). Now the rain is pouring down and I do hope those roots are being happily nourished.
I noticed one potato beetle last night so I must read up on them today. I've got three rows of potatoes to protect and am feeling like a mother hen about that. Other than the rogue beetle - our chard, kale, and lettuce have not seen a single pest yet for which I am super thankful for. Now, let's hope tomato, melon, and corn season looks the same. What a miracle that would be!
Tonight I'm going to make a version of Alice Waters' Onion Tart using swiss chard with the caramelized onions, I think that will be a nice combination and we have a beautiful crop of chard at the moment.
We're taking Scout to visit with some friends as well. Other than that, just continuing with our puppy-moon and enjoying the garden and the rain. It's good to be home.
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Some of you wondered where we were staying in Vermont. We were at The Stowe Mountain Lodge and we were happy to take advantage of pre-season rates combined with a 20% off coupon, as part of their summer promotion. It was a wonderfully luxurious place to visit and we look forward to returning again some day. Thank you for enjoying Vermont with us last week, such fun to be able to share our beloved Green Mountain State with you - especially those of you that have never had such a glimpse before. Perhaps we'll do it again in the future.
