ont Country Sam rm ple Ve r Free April 2015 • Statewide Calendar of Events, Map • Inns, B&B’s, Dining, Real Estate • Plenty of Good Reading! “Vermont At Its Very Best!” Montague Golf Club and ~ 102nd Anniversary ~ Randolph,Vermont 18 Holes for Only $60/pp, Including Golf Cart “Best Lodging, Dining and Sports in Central Vermont” x Abeautiful,6,300Ͳyardlinksgolfcoursewithmanyholes x Centrallylocated,only2milesfromExit4,IͲ89. frontingontheThirdBranchoftheWhiteRiver. x isopenattheInnfordinneron x Discounted“Play&Stay”golfspecialsofferedatadjacent Willy B’s Tavern ThreeStallionInn. FridayandSaturdaynights. x Formoreinformation,pleasecontactPaulPolitano,PGAGolf x Adeliciouscontinentalbreakfastisincludedinroomrate. Professional.Foramembershipapplication,visitourwebsite. x Airconditionedguestroomswithluxurybathsand x 2015Dues:Family$1,450~Adult$799~Senior$380 highͲspeedwirelessInternetaccess. x Checkoutourwebsitetoviewournewcoursetour! x Golf,tennis,biking,fishing,swimmingpool,sauna,hottub andFitnessCenter. The Sammis Family, Owners www.MontagueGolf.com - 802-728-3806 • www.ThreeStallionInn.com - 802-728-5575 “A fun, friendly, private golf club open to the public” April Journal April and November by Bill Felker It is the nature of the known universe that absence and presence are complementary, that they are two aspects of the same subject, and that each is the key to other. —Poor Will’s Almanack, 2015 In the still of autumn recol- To become too wedded lection, the absence of spring to either autumnal grief or and summer sometimes leads April anticipation is fraught to melancholy, a nostalgia for with the danger of disap- things that have disappeared. pointment. Faced with an Decay is a reminder of the empty woods, emotions cre- brevity of fulfi llment. Past ate wonder and doubt: will time may seem too short. Its winter never end? Will the distance may make it seem November landscape rise like betrayal or like illusion. again? Standing among new The falling of fruit and foli- wildfl owers, we want them to age sometimes seems to be a last forever. terminal condition that only Even though we know that leads to a cold conclusion, transience is as much a part black and white. The loss of spring as it is of autumn, of warmth and color leaves that knowledge in itself does A family visits the dairy barn at Billings Farm & Museum. photo by Billings Farm & Museum emptiness, not necessarily bring conso- The hope and thrill that lation or make our humanity accompany spring may not bearable. It is not analysis Adam Boyce, Fiddler from Reading, VT Releases New CD only feel like a disproof of that saves us. It is not reason Fiddler Adam Boyce of for various places and indi- contra and square dances in Please make checks payable autumn’s insights and re- that offers the truest and most Reading, VT, has just re- viduals, including “Went- barns and town halls over 80 to Adam Boyce. alizations, but also feed an credible compensation. It is leased his newest CD, en- worth, NH Waltz,” “Bob years ago. The album may also be amnesia of the cold. Here, rather a strange and stubborn titled “Waltzing with You.” McQuillen Memorial Waltz,” The CD is not sold in downloaded online for $10 bare ranches are no longer desire, a willful longing that Boyce learned to fiddle “Crackerbarrel Fiddlers’ stores, but exclusively from at: https://adamboycever relevant. It is what the earth welds sadness and excite- from the late Harold Luce Contest Waltz,” “The Pride the artist, Adam Boyce, and montfi ddler.bandcamp.com/ will produce that matters, ment. It is a gut sorrow and of Chelsea, a renowned tra- of Plymouth Notch,” “Aunt may be purchased directly album/waltzing-with-you not what it will draw back joy in the unity of opposites ditional old-time “Yankee” Miriam’s Waltz,” and, for from him at various dances You can follow Adam into itself. that make us whole. fi ddler, who was especially his mentor, “Harold Luce’s and events he plays at. You Boyce’s events on Facebook, known for his slow waltzes. Waltz.” can also purchase a copy at “Adam Boyce, Vermont All 15 tracks are waltzes The tunes are played in the by sending a check for $15 Fiddler.” VERMONT REGIONAL that Boyce himself has com- old-time New England way, per CD, plus $4.00 ship- posed over the years, written a form once very common at ping and handling to: Adam To contact Adam Boyce, CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE: Boyce, 1076 Rush Meadow call (802) 484-7719 or e- Mt. Snow Valley Chamber of Commerce: 877-VT-SOUTH Rd., Reading, VT 05062. mail [email protected]. Londonderry Chamber of Commerce: 802-824-8178 ROCKINGHAM ARTS AND Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce: 800-756-8880 MUSEUM PROJECT (RAMP) Brandon Area Chamber of Commerce: 802-247-6401 Addison County: 800-SEE-VERMONT Economic Development Jay Peak: 800-882-7460 • www.jaypeakvermont.org Through the Arts 7 Canal Street Bellows Falls, VT 05101 (802)463-3252 www.ramp-vt.org Flames Stables The Exner Block provides live-work spaces for artists Route 100 South, Wilmington, VT and retail spaces supporting the arts: (802) 464-8329 Scenic Year-Round Trail Rides: $25 for 40 Min. Teacher Treasures Vermont Country Sampler Children Over 6 Can Ride Alone A Teacher Resource Store & More! April 2015, Vol. XXX ~ By Reservation ~ Scrapbooking Materials & Gently The Vermont Country Sampler is distributed free over-the- Used Books/Lending Library counter in and out of Vermont. Back issues, $2 per issue, fi rst Great Family Fun at the Lowest Prices Around! class. Subscriptions $24/year. “A Hands-On Store” Calendar of Events published free of charge. Mail your School Year Hours: information to us by the 10th of the preceding month. 2–5 pm Wed–Fri and 10–5 on Sat Advertising rates available upon request. Deadline the 10th of ylo (802) 365-4811 • (802) 365-4426 fax the preceding month. a r Cynthia W. Nau • [email protected] T F Vermont Country Sampler • Charles Sutton it ar PO Box 197, N. Clarendon, VT 05759 • (802) 772-7463 s m Right on Rt. 30—just north of Newfane Village [email protected] i vermontcountrysampler.com V Open 7 Days a Week • 6 am - 9 pm Billings Farm & Museum Gateway to Vermont’s Rural Heritage FARM MARKET Our family run business has been growing since 1956, and we’d Baby Animal Day like to thank all of you for helping us get to what we are today! ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Saturday, April 4, 2015 Home of the BEST Cider donuts, BAKERY Breads, Cookies & Pies 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• A New Vermont Tradition! Features Homemade Mac & Cheese, DELI Calves, Lambs, Visit our Farm Store for Vermont Pizza, Strombolis & Panini’s ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Chicks, and cheeses, raw milk, baked goods, Growing Fresh Local Tomatoes, Ducklings honey, syrup and more. FARM Salad Greens, Corn, Strawberries & More ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Children’s Craft & Come for a seasonal Greenhouses Full of Our Own Heirloom Seed Activities horse-drawn wagon ride! GARDEN Farm Life Exhibits CENTER Annuals, Hanging Baskets & Perennials 825 Rt. 11 West, Londonderry, VT ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Horse-Drawn (20 min. from Manchester or Stratton) • Indoor & Outdoor EaƟ ng Areas • Wagon Rides Free WI-FI • Restrooms • Gas & Diesel (802) 824-5690 • [email protected] Route 12N• Woodstock, VT www.taylorfarmvermont.com Exit 5 I-91 Route 5 Westminster, Vermont allenbrothersfarms.com • 802-722-3395 802-457-2355 • www.billingsfarm.org Page 2 Vermont Country Sampler, April 2015 photo by Billings Farm & Museum A newborn calf rests at Billings Farm & Museum. photo by Billings Farm & Museum photo by Billings Farm & Museum Fluffy yellow ducklings ready to admire at Billings Farm’s Baby Animal Day. Time to feed the lambs at Billings Farm & Museum in Woodstock, VT. Woodstock, VT Billings Farm & Museum Hosts Baby Animal Day on April 4 Visit Billings Farm & Mu- Billings Farm has an heir- of agricultural excellence and seum with the family on loom garden worth explor- offers farm programs and his- Easter weekend. You are ing. Start planning your gar- torical exhibits that explore invited to Baby Animal Day den as you learn about the Vermont’s rural heritage and on Saturday, April 4th, from importance of heirloom seeds values. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and select a few varieties The event will feature from the Billings Farm gar- The Farm & Museum is lo- family-centered programs den to plant at home. cated one-half mile north of with the farm’s calves, lambs, Admission includes all the Woodstock village green chicks, ducklings, and gos- programs and activities in- on VT Rt. 12. Admission: lings, and learn about their cluding the farm and farm adults $14, 62 & over $13, care, diet, and growth from life exhibits. children 5-15 $8, 3-4 $4, 2 the farm staff. Pom-pom The Billings Farm & Mu- & under free. Open for Baby chick and lamb handprint seum is owned and operated Animal Day from 10 a.m. to craft activities will be on by The Woodstock Founda- 4 p.m. Open for the season hand for children. tion Inc., a charitable non- May 1 through October 31, See the award-winning profi t institution founded by daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., working dairy farm and take Mary French and Laurance weekends Nov. – Feb., and a horse-drawn wagon ride Spelman Rockefeller. Christmas & Presidents’ with the farm’s Percheron Billings Farm is an oper- weeks. For more information draft horses. Visit with the ating Jersey dairy farm that call (802) 457-2355 or visit photo by Billings Farm & Museum calves and new lambs. continues 143-year tradition www.billingsfarm.org.