Today we ventured into Bennington, Vermont to visit Robert Frost's Stone House. It is the place he penned one of his most famous poems -- "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening."
Frost owned many farms during his lifetime in the New England area. He was a farmer and a poet -- a real down-to-earth guy. It was easy to see signs of his famous poems around the farm: a stone wall like in "Mending Wall," birch trees, apple trees from "Apple Picking."
Joyce and I loved reading his letters and quotes - he liked to tell it like he saw it and didn't sugar coat his message. He didn't have much use for fancy literary types & critics who tried to read too much into his poems. A lesson there for us lit teachers I think. He kind of reminded us of Joyce's Grandpa Kohnert - a stern, tough guy with a soft side. Joyce says she wants to read more of his poetry now that she has learned about him.
Did you know he was also homeschooled? Did you know he owned a garden owl sculpture just like the one we have in our backyard?
From there we traveled across Vermont through the Green Mountains. They are really mountains! We started out in Bennington with a slight drizzle and couldn't really see the tops of the mountains, but slowly the sun burned through the clouds. Tough way to travel about 30 miles. Beautiful brooks crashing down the mountains because of yesterday's rain -- right next to the road. Stopped at Hogsback Mountain for a scenic overlook that claimed you could see for 100 miles.
On the other side of the mountains was the city of Brattleboro, VT where we had a chance to drive through one of the Vermont covered bridges that still exist.
Frost owned many farms during his lifetime in the New England area. He was a farmer and a poet -- a real down-to-earth guy. It was easy to see signs of his famous poems around the farm: a stone wall like in "Mending Wall," birch trees, apple trees from "Apple Picking."
Joyce and I loved reading his letters and quotes - he liked to tell it like he saw it and didn't sugar coat his message. He didn't have much use for fancy literary types & critics who tried to read too much into his poems. A lesson there for us lit teachers I think. He kind of reminded us of Joyce's Grandpa Kohnert - a stern, tough guy with a soft side. Joyce says she wants to read more of his poetry now that she has learned about him.
Did you know he was also homeschooled? Did you know he owned a garden owl sculpture just like the one we have in our backyard?
From there we traveled across Vermont through the Green Mountains. They are really mountains! We started out in Bennington with a slight drizzle and couldn't really see the tops of the mountains, but slowly the sun burned through the clouds. Tough way to travel about 30 miles. Beautiful brooks crashing down the mountains because of yesterday's rain -- right next to the road. Stopped at Hogsback Mountain for a scenic overlook that claimed you could see for 100 miles.
On the other side of the mountains was the city of Brattleboro, VT where we had a chance to drive through one of the Vermont covered bridges that still exist.
Rudyard Kipling lived just north of this city while writing Jungle Book and beginning work on Kim, the Just-So stories, and more. He married a woman from Brattleboro. His house is now owned by the British government and can be rented from them for stays. The only remembrance of him in town is the restaurant pictured below...
From there we drove back down into Massachusetts to visit the home of Emily Dickinson in Amherst. It is Amherst's 250th birthday as a city this year! (Hadley - a little town down the road is celebrating 350 years!) That seems so different than Wisconsin.
Joyce and I enjoyed a great tour of Emily's home. Their home is still much the same as it was in her time and many of the actual furnishings are still there. Pretty cool to walk up the same stairs she walked on and visit her bedroom where she wrote nearly 1800 poems! Dickinson still remains a literary mystery in many ways. Since none of her poems were printed during her lifetime, the story is even stranger because of the intrigues following her death in getting her poetry published. That story is lots like a modern soap opera.
Joyce and I enjoyed a great tour of Emily's home. Their home is still much the same as it was in her time and many of the actual furnishings are still there. Pretty cool to walk up the same stairs she walked on and visit her bedroom where she wrote nearly 1800 poems! Dickinson still remains a literary mystery in many ways. Since none of her poems were printed during her lifetime, the story is even stranger because of the intrigues following her death in getting her poetry published. That story is lots like a modern soap opera.
Her father was very influential in Amherst and beyond. Her mother was a practical sort who didn't see much use for writing. Emily was highly educated although later in life sequestered herself from public life. Their house overlooked the action of the city and its college. It was part of a 13-acre working farm that backed up to the city cemetery. The white dress that she purportedly wore most the time was really not a dress but a dressing gown. These were typically worn so that ladies did not have to get dressed up in the all corsets and fineries of fashion in those days. Emily loved her Newfoundland dog and gardening as well as writing. She wrote music as well as thousands of letters.
By the time we were finished with our guided tour of the Dickinson estate, the weather had turned hot and steamy. At the Frost farm, it was a cool, drizzly 66 degrees; in Amherst it had risen to a humid 85! Having skipped lunch, Joyce and I were pretty famished. We headed to Pizza Hut, but there were no customers there and the place was in disrepair so we decided to head elsewhere. We ended up at Kentucky Fried Chicken for comfort food. Both Joyce and I are feeling a little bit homesick after not seeing the familiar faces and places of home for the last week. Something so impersonal about hotels. Not many folks from the Midwest that we've seen. Passed a truck from Amherst, WI on the interstate the other day and Joyce got him to honk his horn! Even seeing license plates from Michigan and Illinois seems like they are friends in a strange land.
Also fit two thrift shops in today -- Goodwill in Bennington and Salvation Army in Hadley. Felt good to wander the aisles and look for bargains. First two thrift shops we actually have had time to visit. Tomorrow we hope to be on to Hartford to the Mark Twain Mansion and to Storrs, CT to the Ballard Puppet Museum.
Blessings to all!
Dave
By the time we were finished with our guided tour of the Dickinson estate, the weather had turned hot and steamy. At the Frost farm, it was a cool, drizzly 66 degrees; in Amherst it had risen to a humid 85! Having skipped lunch, Joyce and I were pretty famished. We headed to Pizza Hut, but there were no customers there and the place was in disrepair so we decided to head elsewhere. We ended up at Kentucky Fried Chicken for comfort food. Both Joyce and I are feeling a little bit homesick after not seeing the familiar faces and places of home for the last week. Something so impersonal about hotels. Not many folks from the Midwest that we've seen. Passed a truck from Amherst, WI on the interstate the other day and Joyce got him to honk his horn! Even seeing license plates from Michigan and Illinois seems like they are friends in a strange land.
Also fit two thrift shops in today -- Goodwill in Bennington and Salvation Army in Hadley. Felt good to wander the aisles and look for bargains. First two thrift shops we actually have had time to visit. Tomorrow we hope to be on to Hartford to the Mark Twain Mansion and to Storrs, CT to the Ballard Puppet Museum.
Blessings to all!
Dave
Vermont should be beautiful this time of year. All that snow... :D
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