October 24th: Burlington, Vermont with the Scott family

 I always enjoy spending time with the Scott family. Given I was on the East side of the country, I planned to spend a couple weeks with them. The activities include hiking, bird watching, kayaking and game playing.

The visit began with a Pollinators Presentation at the Science Center on Lake Champlain. Stephanie and Terri had already planned to attend and I was able to join them. We arrived early so we went for a nice walk along the water.

There were many displays and a great deal of information. If you enlarge this poster you can get a good summary. I learned quite a lot about pollinators, which includes many insects beside bees. Another interesting fact is that all of our honey comes from domesticated European bees. The bees were introduced to this country from Europe and prior to their introduction, there was no honey being produced for humans.

There was a focus on what each of us can do to help by planting the right plants and leaving fields and yards to wild flowers instead of grass.

There was even a sing-a-long led by 4 women dressed as bees! They present at other pollinator meetings around the area promoting the protection of pollinators.

I was anxious to visit my nephew Chris' family and their newly completed lake house. Here are some pictures I took in May before it was completely finished.

Second floor deck

1st floor screened in porch below

It's on a beautiful lake which is great for kayaking, swimming if you like cold water, and fishing. I think my great niece Annika is cold blooded! She's standing on an inflatable 

raft waiting for Stephanie to throw her the football. She'll run and catch it while jumping in the 60 something degree water.

The Lake house is perfect for family gatherings.

A trip to Burlington always includes kayaking at Stephanie's. The reservoir is absolutely gorgeous.

Terri and Stephanie getting the kayaks
 ready from Stephanie's inflatable dock

Great Blue Heron taking flight
Wish I had it on video!

Beaver Den under construction

If you look closely at the picture on the left you'll see the work of a beaver. It chewed off the small trees and is building a den. We didn't get to see the beaver.

We spotted this odd growth in the water. Looked like an alien brain! No idea what it is. If someone knows please tell us!

There were several hikes involved. Usually about 5 miles. The country is gorgeous. One was at the Green Mountain Audubon Center. Here are some pictures from our hikes..

Terri labeled this "2 old guys on a bench!"

Terri and Scott

One morning our signals were crossed. We thought we were to meet Stephanie at 6 am for a bird watching hike. I got up at 5 am to get ready! Terri sent Stephanie a text to say we were on our way. Stephanie said, "Wrong day, dentist appointment." What to do now! It turned out great Terri suggested we hike on the rail trail going across Lake Champlain. So we arrived just before dawn. The sunrise amazing.

Lake Champlain Rail Trail

This picture shows the trail. It was very, very long! We walked as far as you can see.

The silhouette of the mountains as the sun came up was truly memorable.

As we walked along, we saw a large bird on the trail ahead. As we got closer Terri identified it as the largest seagull species. Here's a link with interesting info. Black Backed Sea Gull

Terri, Stephanie and I also enjoy birding. I don't know much, but Stephanie is an expert. 

This was a very nice trail where we saw some interesting birds. I couldn't get any good pictures of them.

This little marsh had quite few birds flying around. At least I got to see some!

The leaves were changing colors here. Unfortunately, it was cloudy at this time so the colors weren't very vibrant in the picture.

Burlington offers a lot of fun things. There was a farmers' market that we thought we should check out for dinner. There were very few food vendors. But one was all we needed it was great. We definitely over bought!

There were very few food vendors. But one was all we needed it was great. We definitely over bought!

Terri and Steve

Rain was forecast one day so we decided to visit Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream birth place. We saw a lot of ice cream coming out very rapidly. They produce a tremendous amount at just this one plant.

It was pretty cheesy but fun and we got free samples.

One highlight was the ice cream flavors cemetery. They had little tombstones for all of the flavors that never made it or were retired. Some were predictable but not all. 

You can see all of the retired flavors and what is in them at this link. Retired Ben and Jerry Flavors

It's always fun to visit Stephanie's wilderness property. Here are some current pictures. The fields are filled with wildflowers she planted.

Seafood dinner

Our visit concluded with our usual lobster/seafood dinner. Christopher and Annika in particular enjoy seafood. I made clam chowder for an appetizer and we had swordfish and lobster for the main course. It was a great dinner. The bonus was Annika made a peach upside down cake for dessert.

Annika's peach upside down cake

 The bonus was Annika made a peach upside down cake for dessert.