september 12

i really had no idea how crazy vermont is. first of all, that gay-only bed and breakfast is clothing optional, and one of the guys who runs it told a story about how the owner of a gelato store in the town over once asked him for ecstasy.


today, we used the backhoe to dig up the road to finish replacing the pipes that lead from the spring to the house, so that there's running water again. but, in doing so, i ended up meeting a few of the neighbors. the road that we were digging up is a dirt road that leads up the hill. there are enough houses on it for there to be cars passing, but few enough that robert and the plumber (whose name i just forgot) knew most everyone that went by. a few of them stopped and a few more people came by just to say hey. it was a strange neighborhood feel that i haven't been a part of since i lived in summerville, and even that wasn't quite like this.


the weird part, though, was how antiquated a lot of the conversations were. robert bought this land in a deal where he also bought another 1150 acres (or some absurd amount of property like that). but, on the man's deathbed, he stopped the sale and gave that 1150 acres to his daughter, liz, who built a house next door to robert. they do not like each other. this problem with the water started when liz was logging some of her property, but failed to tell the loggers about robert's spring-fed water system which they were logging on top of, so they broke it. she also sold eric (who drove me up here) some land she claimed was hers, but which may in fact be someone else's. all this talk of water rights, right of way for logging, and property lines makes this place seem like the old west. there's also a controversy brewing about stolen pumpkins and some dead quail. but that makes vermont seem more like a hardy boys mystery.


i also spent a long time talking to an old man who owns a hundred some odd acres at the top of the hill. he's my favorite of all them. he was born in 1938 or so and has owned this property for decades with his brothers. he claims to live in new hampshire (because there's no income tax) and also has a florida driver's license. he explained how he grew up in vermont and has lived here since "before the liberals moved in." i wonder how he feels about a nudist gay bed and breakfast in town. he also, when i asked him if he skied, replied "hell no. not with all those young people with their colorful outfits and their attitudes." and he described his love of road trips by saying "i just like to boogie, you know?" yes sir, i do know.


but it's just one of those places where every family knows the others, houses are traced by lineage and family trees are public knowledge. it's very different for any community i've ever been a part of. also, as a side note, this farm (called taft hill farms) was founded in the 1700s by the family of william howard taft. none of this is familiar at all, but it's definitely interesting to be a part of.