I was told before leaving for Vermont that I should keep a blog. At the time I thought that was a great idea, and planned on making it happen as soon as I arrived and settled in. 2 weeks later I am now actually sitting down and starting.
2 weeks ago I woke up early and got in my car (or what's still left of it) to make the 7+ hour drive from New Jersey to Vermont. I spent the last year living in New York City, and while I loved it and always figured I'd wind up living there for a large portion of my life, it seemed like not such a bad idea to get out and spend some time in the middle of nowhere. Sure that thought was mostly induced by the Turnpike traffic surrounded by the grossest area of NJ imaginable, Elizabeth-Newark, but you know, there are parts of being up here that feel alright. It was tough to leave the suits and big black boots at home but jeans, flannel, and rubber work boots haven't felt that bad.
While I'm no Jack Kerouac, living in solitude on top of a fire lookout station, I am certainly living in a bit of wilderness very foreign to me. Sure I work with a handful of people and there are some people that stay at the Inn (I'm living in a B&B Inn that is for the most part closed and empty), there is a lot of wide open space.
Last week I went exploring a mountain. I ventured up through the fog covered hills and swirling spirals of green, red, orange, yellow leaves to find sights I have never seen before. It was the first weekend in October and the mountain tops already had some snow. The morning was breaking and the sun was coming up which transformed the snow into mist. As I ventured up higher and higher through this snow-rain hazey shade of fall I reached the top to find a pond. I sat on a rock and collected my thoughts then quickly turned and made my way down.
I'm much further north than Thoreau's Walden Pond and the land is slightly more populated than it was in 1854. Still, I'd like to think perhaps I'm experiencing a little of the same.
Hopefully I'll keep this blog updated on a regular basis. Also, I'll actually get into the day to day cheese making and cellars at Jasper Hill work soon.
