Hi, friends. The high for today here in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont (NEK) is 57 F. We did have some snow on Tuesday, with a morning temperature in the teens, but now that dusting is gone.
The large masses of snow have been gone, in fact, for a few weeks.
That means our hens are happily free-ranging and laying more eggs.
They can also jump into our laps again for chicky snuggles. I swear, Doris, our oldest girl, acts just like a cat. She even burbles in a way that reminds me of a cat’s purr, these sweets sounds indicating how thrilled she is with the warmer weather.
The changing season also means Burke Mountain, our local ski resort, is about the close, but not before holding their annual pond skim, which happened last Saturday, April 4th. They titled this year’s event Pond Voyage (click that link to see a fab video!) and our family went to see it. I’d never been to a pond skim, and it was a straight-up party! Daphne loved it too, so much so that she wanted to stay for the entire thing.
If you’re not familiar with it, a pond skim is a playful competition where skiers and snowboarders (many dressed in hilarious aqua-themed costumes) come down a mountain to skim over the surface of a pond–this small body of water (real or man-made) representing the snow melt and, of course, winter’s end.
So it’s snow to water skiing!
Whoever gets across the pond without falling or sinking advances to the next round, but the challenge increases as participants have to start further and further down the mountain with each round, picking up less and less speed. Thus, with each round, the physics of the challenge get tougher, until there is only one man and one woman “standing,” meaning only one man and one woman making it all the way across, becoming the victors. This year, Burke awarded each winner a free 2026-27 season pass.
Based on all this evidence, then, it’s clear. Mud season is here, and true spring is just four weeks away.
This makes April a month all about transitions, which is fitting since it’s also the month we rolled into Vermont back in 2021. In fact, five years ago today, April 9th, we (Texan suburbanites) arrived in tiny Canaan, at our little Airbnb in that most northeastern corner of the Green Mountain State, to start our new lives. We had no idea where we would permanently live, what exactly it would all be like, or even if our daughter would enjoy it, so it was a huge gamble.
And, man, what a ride it’s been, but mostly a wonderful one! I’m a different person now–more peaceful, practical, creative, and grounded.
I’ve also become a proud chicken mama!
Daphne loves the snow and lakes, and my husband is back home in New England and much more content.
I also love living closer to nature, surrounded by so much rich, visible history.
Our decision to uproot was a radical and even painful one in certain ways, but it ended up being the change we needed. This lifestyle suits us better.
It’s fitting, then, that we’re about to purchase the remaining nine acres that was part of the original owner’s homestead. The seller, a local man whose family has deep roots here, sold us a majority of his mother’s family property back in 2021 but kept a small part because, as he told us, he simply wasn’t ready to let it all go. His mother just passed away, though, bless her, so I think that was the catalyst for his decision to offer us the remaining portion. We close on that final piece next Wednesday, April 15, bringing our property’s grand total to 19 acres.
We appreciate our own family’s support for this decision. Thank you so much!
Daphne’s birthday is also later this month, on April 28th, and her grandparents will be in town to celebrate. She’s turning eleven, something else that’s hard to believe. When we came to Vermont, she was only five.
She’s grown up a lot.
Lots of good things, then.
All of it has taught me not to fear change. Change is disruptive and sometimes scary, but when you go about it with some thought, planning, faith, and resilience, you realize it isn’t actually dangerous (scary and dangerous aren’t always the same things, as Jer likes to say). This has been one of the best lessons of my adult life, and I owe it in large part to our move here.
I’ll leave you with my little haiku for mud season:
Things are ugly, then
they grow beautiful again.
Brown buds of new hope.
Thank you for reading! Feel free to tell me how your April is going in the comments below.
XOXO,
Jenn
Jennifer Shaw 