Sweetness of the Season!

Fresh cider from the apple trees at our Vermont Bed and Breakfast!

What a difference a few months makes! When we last checked in our flowers were in full bloom, we were swimming in the pond, and enjoying everything summer has to offer. But, this is New England and just as soon as you get fully comfortable in one season, another comes knocking at the door! I know everyone likes summer to be just a little bit longer, but I personally love the changing of the seasons. Sure, the "to do" list might not have been fully complete; but each season brings its own fun activities and events, and makes you appreciate each season in its own special way. 

Fresh Cider!

Our guests enjoy local treats from close to home, like cider from our apple trees!

Shortly after our last blog post we acquired an apple press in order to make our own apple cider. We spent a few days exploring the apple trees scattered across our property and collected a few large barrels of apples. After that we got to work grinding them up and pressing them into delicious apple cider! The first batch came out a little tart, but we are still perfecting our recipe! As an added bonus, we gave all the leftover ground up apples to a local farm down the road to feed to their goats! 

We have a wide variety of heirloom apple trees on the property at our Vermont Bed and Breakfast!

Also this fall we made a quick afternoon trip over to the East Charlotte Tractor Parade. A truly Vermont event, the parade and festival is timed around the end of harvest season and features a pie eating contest, local vendors and music, and the main event: a stream of about 200 tractors of all sizes and ages rolling down the street. On the way home we stopped in at a family run apple orchard and I had one of the best apple donuts of my life! It had just come out of the fryer so was nice and crispy, then they put it in a dish and topped it with a maple creemee. A tractor parade, cider donuts and maple creemee? I'm not sure how more Vermont you can get. I think I was even wearing a flannel shirt! 

Quite the festive scene at the East Charlotte Tractor Parade!

Just as soon as you get content with the seasons though... 

Fresh snow at our Vermont Bed and Breakfast!

Sure enough, Mother Nature decided we had enough of fall and decided it was time to throw some winter at us. It was an unusually snowy November here in the Green Mountains, but in my book a fresh blanket of snow is just as pretty as the flowers we grow all summer (and i don't have to work for it!) Vermont is a skier’s paradise right now with relatively moderate temperatures and a thick blanket of fresh natural snow.

Snowed in at our Vermont Bed and Breakfast!

If snowshoeing is your preference (as it is mine) we have begun to carve out a network of trails across our property so guests can get out and enjoy themselves! We'll have some hot cocoa ready for you when you get back! 

With the holidays approaching and the end of the year upon us, we have been spending some time reflecting upon what an incredible time we have had this year at the Bed and Breakfast. Through the seasons, we continue to be grateful for the incredible guests who we have met since we opened our doors in 2015. Thank you!

We are full of good cheer and the magic of Christmas!

Wishing you the best this holiday season, from our family to yours!

- Luke & Carin McCarthy

Vermont Bed and Breakfast: History, Present and Future

The view of Camel's Hump mountain, to the north, from Vermont Bed and Breakfast at Russell Young Farm. (Notice the deer at the center of the field, by the stand of trees and shrubs.)

When Carin and I moved into this house in early 2015 we moved into our dream home. The first day we looked at it there was a fresh blanket of snow and the sky was so clear that the peak of Camel's Hump mountain was so defined it was practically calling for us to go hike it. On the spine of the Green Mountains to the right, you could almost see the top ski lift of Mad River Glen spinning around. We walked in the house and were met with the large field-stone fireplace in the living room and we had the same reaction I'm sure many of our guests do; that of relaxation, tranquility, and (for us anyway) a desire to spend the rest of our lives here.

A snowy day at Vermont Bed and Breakfast at Russell Young Farm.

The hearth in the Great Room, at Vermont Bed and Breakfast at Russell Young Farm.

Interestingly, this house didn't always have that fireplace we love so much, or even the front porch. When this house was first built in the 1870's it resembled more of a small Cape Cod style house sitting on a fraction of what is now a rather large footprint.

The Young family, Luthera and Russell, first moved to the property sometime shortly thereafter and worked the 500 acre property adjoining the house. They maintained a heard of milking cows, and a large barn across the street where the town road turn-around is located today. Each morning they would milk the herd by hand and put the milk in the shed across from the house, where it was kept cool until it could be picked up. There was a second carriage barn behind the house where a small shed now stands. One of their children, Ralph Young, was born in 1925.

When the Young family moved on, and the farm was no longer being worked, the house underwent a few major renovations. It's unclear exactly when, but somewhere along the way the house was expanded to accommodate a larger living room, and a full second floor was added. At some point in this time frame the field stone fireplace was added. The entire front of the house was re-worked to have an almost Greek-revival feel with pillars stretching from the ground all the way to the roof.  For some time, the house itself was being used as a ski dorm with several small rooms upstairs. We have enjoyed having some of the former residents' family come and stay with us. Hearing their stories and memories of the place has been a gift.

The start of spring at Vermont Bed and Breakfast at Russell Young Farm

Over time, the majority of the land was divided and the house went back to use as a single family residence, until the early 2000's when another major renovation took place. The porch was reconfigured to take advantage of the beautiful mountain view. The pillars were boxed in to create two large guest rooms upstairs and the entire back half of the house was added on, where the kitchen and garage are today.

We are fully aware that this house has significant history. Not just for the individuals who poured their hearts and souls into it over the years, but for the town as a whole. As the current caretakers we want any changes that we make to not only accommodate our guests and our own future at the house, but also keeping the extensive history of the house in mind.

Energy efficiency renovation at Vermont Bed and Breakfast at Russell Young Farm.

This spring, when the bed and breakfast is closed, we are embarking on a small modernization and energy efficiency project. All the windows and siding on the front of the house will come off so we can add some insulation, replace older windows for a more energy efficient style, and install sturdier siding. These improvements will keep our guests a little cozier in the winter, improve energy efficiency and go a long way toward extending the longevity of the house.

Welcoming entryway at Vermont Bed and Breakfast at Russell Young Farm.

Ralph Young, who was born here in 1925, passed away in 2014 and we hope he, and all the other former occupants of this house, appreciate the love and care currently being put into this wonderful home. We love sharing the experience that this property provides to our guests and we are happy to take good care of it and call it home.

-Luke McCarthy

Verdant Vermont: The Growing Season Begins!

It's been a little over a month since our last blog post and things have been happening fast around here! As we mentioned, we have started our own little fruit orchard in one of our fields. So far we have 5 Peach trees and 4 Pear trees planted, and we have 2 Plum trees sitting in the driveway waiting for the yard to dry out a little so we can drive over it without making a mess of the lawn. Eventually we will get a 3rd Plum tree to make the orchard a little more symmetrical, but that may wait until next year. Hopefully if all goes well in the next few years we will be whipping up some peach cobbler or plum preserves... or perhaps some Perry? (Pear Cider.) We are excited to add new fruits to the breakfast menu at our B&B and serve local fruits that we have grown on the property! Food is better when it's so fresh you can still taste the sunshine!

Our new plum trees, making their way to the orchard!

Seedlings, safe and warm inside!

The little seedlings we started a few months ago are itching to get into the garden. Admittedly, I started them too early. Last year, by this time, things were dry and pretty warm. This year things are still a little too soggy, and the nighttime temperatures are still dipping a little too low to get them out. (Chilly nights make for great sleeping weather!) But that's OK, they are perfectly cozy in the little greenhouse with all of their friends. Eventually the peppers and tomatoes will be placed in the garden under the gardening hoops you can see in the picture below. Then a white fabric gets stretched over the hoops and secured. This will keep the plants warm, and protected from the elements while they get settled in and grow roots. 

The greenhouse plays a key role in keeping our plants safe and warm in the early season!

While we grow 100% of our vegetables from seed, space in the house, as well as time commitments on the part of yours truly, prevents us from growing everything from seed. While we still grow a fair amount of flowers from seed, including zinnias, sunflowers, and petunias; and divide and overwinter our dahlias every year, there are some things we rely on local greenhouses to provide. This last weekend we were visiting family down in the Lebanon, NH area and stopped by one of our favorite nurseries, Edgewater Farm. We picked up some basil and mint for the wonderful breakfasts we will be serving up, and we also picked up some impatients for the flower pots on the front porch. I also snuck some creeping phlox and delphinium into the shopping cart for around the pond.  I can't resist flowers!

We prepare the soil with compost, then overlay it with ground cover to keep the weeds down without using chemicals. The hoops are covered with fabric to provide shelter to young plants in the early season.

Over the next few weeks all of this will be going into the ground and the property will start showing it's true colors. I can't wait!

-Luke McCarthy

Lucky Ducks! (Take two)

We love providing fresh food to our Bed and Breakfast guests, so this year we decided to raise ducks and chickens. In May we picked up three day old ducks that we had ordered in the spring from our local hardware store. When we put in our order we were not able to specify whether we wanted male or female ducks, we were only able to order a "straight run." Since we only wanted females for egg production we hedged our bets and ordered three ducks, hoping for at least one female who would produce eggs for our breakfast menu.

Duck eggs are particularly rich and good for baking. In addition to being larger than a chicken egg, ducks lay their eggs all year round, while chickens tend to slow down in the winter months. It takes a few months for either bird to develop to adolescence and start laying. We were hopeful that the cute little ducklings would turn into a brood of layers so we could make delicious breakfast breads and muffins!

Zucchini Apple Bread, made fresh from the farm!

As the weeks passed our little ducklings got their voice and started speaking to us. Not a distinct quack, but a shallow raspy honk almost. From everything I had read this was a telltale sign that we had males. Hoping for at least one female we waited a few more weeks for their full feathers to come in to find out exactly what we had. Sure enough, as their full feathers came in we saw a distinct curled feather on each of their tails. We had three drakes. No eggs would be coming our way.

The little ones, on their their arrival day!

After doing a little research I found out that when customers order from hatcheries, hatcheries fill the order for females or males first, then they fill the "straight run" orders after. Since a lot of customers are in it for the eggs, the female ducks get ordered first which leaves the straight run orders largely male. Since the local hardware store only fills orders for straight run ducks, I knew we would be in the same situation next spring if we ordered more. So, in early September I made a bold choice and special ordered four female ducks from a hatchery.

Taking a field trip to meet the neighbors!

Our four female Pekin ducklings shipped from Metzer Farms on September 6th, and they showed up at our Post Office on the 8th first thing in the morning. It's only been a few weeks but I can already hear a difference in their voices from the males. They are nearly fully feathered now and can go out and join their mates on a full time basis.

Enjoying the grass and pool on a sunny day!

We started out by housing them in the shed under a heat lamp with some supervised time with the other ducks and chickens. Now they have full run of the coop but are still finding their way around. They haven’t yet figured out how to climb back up the ladder to their house, so every night we collect them by hand and make sure that they are tucked in, cozy and warm under the heat lamp in their house. As the nights get colder, it’s a bit of race to see how quickly their full feathers come in.

The little ones enjoy the heated lamp at night, while their mates prefer to sleep outside under the stars.

The little ones are getting along well with the chickens and other ducks. We’re hoping they will figure out how to climb the ramp into their house on their own but until then, we’ll continue to make sure they are cozy and warm before we turn in for the night. 

-Luke McCarthy

Summer time and the living is easy!

Summer is in full swing!

We’ve had such an amazing start to the summer season! Vermont is greener than green and our garden is flourishing!  We are enjoying fresh fruits and veggies from the garden and planning B&B menus to share with our guests. In the next few weeks, we expect to have melons and some veggies ready to work into the menu.

The view from our front porch at Vermont Bed and Breakfast at Russell Young Farm

Updates from the farm:

Our strawberry towers have blossomed and born their first fruit! I’ve never tasted a juicier, more flavorful strawberry. We’re excited to share these delicious treats as part of our menu of breakfast offerings.

We planted blueberry and currant bushes, as well as a peach tree. While these won’t fruit for a few years, we’re excited to envision our guests walking the B&B property and enjoying a delicious tour of Vermont’s truly local foods.

Our brood is doing well. The chicks have grown into chickens! They are still figuring out their gangly bodies and exploring the lawn with great interest.  We are anticipating that they will be laying fresh eggs for the B&B by foliage season.  In the meantime, they are really funny. They spend most of the day stealing food from the ducks and keeping cool by rolling in the dirt. In the evening, they snuggle into the coop and – while they have spacious sleeping quarters – they all try to squeeze into one little nesting box together. It’s really funny to see. They have made us understand the term “all cooped up” in a new way.  They all appear to be female, so thankfully there hasn’t been any crowing or early morning wake up calls.

We had a funny story with the ducks. A few weeks ago, our neighbors approached us because they had found a little duckling that had been abandoned. Naturally, we took it in and tried to raise it with our ducks. It looked a little bit like a Wood duck, but we weren’t sure. It was a few weeks younger than the others, and they weren’t getting along so we had to keep them separate from the Pekins. After a few weeks of continued struggle, we started comparing images of the birds we suspected it might be. As it turns out, the little Wood duck was actually a Canadian goose! Our little "ugly duckling" seemed a little lonely with the ducks and chickens, which makes sense now. It had started presenting a little differently than the others, so we got curious and realized its true identity. Canadian Geese are federally protected, so we have re-homed it at a local rehabilitation center, where it was quickly adopted and warmly taken in by a true Mama goose.

The real ducks love to swim! They have their adult feathers now, and they spend much of the day jumping in and out of the water and then shaking their tail feathers, literally. While we have provided them with a little swimming pool, they sometimes take a refreshing dip in their drinking water.  One of the ducks is smarter than the others, and has figured out how to access the ramp to their coop with ease, so it always enjoys the freshest food and water. The others will figure it out soon enough, we hope!  It should be just a few months before they are also laying fresh eggs that we can use to make fresh baked goods for the B&B. Duck eggs are bigger and richer, so they are great for baking.

Our peonies are still popping in the garden and filling our guest rooms with aromatic scents of summer!  We have also planted a number of dahlias and other flowers for cutting along the edge of the pond. I’m excited to see them sprouting up and adding color to the landscape.

Dahlias, adorning the bedside table of the Blue Spruce Room

So! Sorry for the long-overdue update. We are busy enjoying the best of summer in Vermont and invite you join us.

-Carin McCarthy