The Fall Foliage season has wrapped up and we are now in the lovingly-termed Stick Season, here in Vermont.
It’s always a betting game, to time the foliage just right. This year, we had a long, dry summer and expected the fall foliage season to be browner than usual. We were pleasantly surprised with a foliage season that was bright and it just kept giving. The foliage started to change around September 20th and continued shifting colors and filling the forests through well into mid-October. The final colors really left the trees in the days just before Halloween, much later than usual.
Typically, we have our first “killing frost” (that lays the gardens bare) in late September and then proceed steadily into cozy boots, scarves and jackets. This year, we experienced unseasonably warm weather, even into the last days of October. To the joys of outdoor enthusiasts, the mild weather just kept up.
We used this opportunity to start planning a new design for holidays lights! The winters can be a dark time, so we enjoy creating the warmth and light in ways that bring us together, create new memories and help us feel connected with our broader community.
“The changing colors allow us to see the passage of time in a real sense and remind us that there is beauty in letting go. ”
This year, this commitment has included us volunteering on two different committees in our town; Luke to renovate the Jerusalem Schoolhouse and build a new, more substantial Fire Station in South Starksboro, and Carin is collaborating with community members to create a new Town Green Pavilion and community space. Giving back to our community and being involved in what happens here is something we feel strongly about.
One gift of foliage season is we are reminded that people from around the world value what we have in our backyard. The changing colors allow us to see the passage of time in a real sense and remind us that there is beauty in letting go.
I always knew that I wanted to live in Vermont but I never thought that I would create my home so close to the place where I grew up. It has been a gift to develop a strong connection with this place, to have the opportunity to leave home and travel the world, and to realize it’s important and know in my heart that this is home. It is a privilege to be able to share this space with guests and help them fall in love with the landscape, community and all there is to offer here.
You might have heard the song by Noah Kahan, entitled Stick Season, which describes the post-foliage pre-snow scene in Vermont at this time of year. If it isn’t already on your playlist, give it a listen! While the song describes a sort of “stuck” feeling, I view Stick Season a little differently. This is the time of year when we prepare for the winter. We connect with others with intention, creating thoughtful meals and sharing cookies with our neighbors. We light up the darkness with holiday lights. We test the generators and make sure we are prepared for the winter season.
We finished up our home renovations and reopened the B&B in mid-September, which felt a little bit like skipping pre-season and suiting up for the big game. Foliage season is usually very busy and this year was no different! We were so excited to share the space with guests again and felt the giddy excitement of finding a new home for our belongings and learning new locations of light switches!
It feels so good to be back in the swing of hosting guests and helping people to connect with each other and feel at home in a new space.
We hope you can come and visit soon!
-Carin McCarthy