MacGougan at Large

A Quick Trip North - 2

Second Stop: Woodstock

Woodstock, Vermont was not the site of the famous outdoor rock concert. That was Woodstock, New York - a scenic three-hour drive in a different direction. Woodstock, Vermont is a charming picture postcard of a New England town.

We met our friends at the Billings Farm and Museum, which adjoins or is part of (I’m not quite sure) the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, the only national park in Vermont. At the visitor’s center, they host a documentary film series.

The offering of the day was “Seeds.” Here’s the blurb from the distributor: “Seeds is a portrait of Centennial farmers in the geographical south. Using lyrical black and white imagery, this meditative film examines the decline of generational black farmers and the significance of owning land.”

It was definitely lyrical and meditative, but it wasn’t always easy to follow or get your bearings in, and I would have found subtitles helpful. Still, I’m glad to have seen it.

As we came out of the building, there was a beautiful full moon over a pinkish winter dusk.

We dined out with our friends, and the restaurant was very explicit that our reservation was for “a 90-minute dining experience.” The food was very good, but if we had wanted dessert we might have had to eat it out on the sidewalk.

Sunday morning we attended services at a place called Mission Farm in a beautiful setting near a local ski area.

A building on the property had impressive icicles.

It’s easy to miss when the place is covered in snow, but Vermont works very hard to maintain its agricultural heritage. One clue: the museum where we saw the movie and church where we attended a service both included working farms.

Later we bundled up so that Linda could go cross country skiing and I could totter around like someone who’d read about cross country skiing in a book.

Monday morning we left for home. It was February 2 - a cross quarter day, halfway through winter. Also known as Groundhog Day or Candlemas. In honor of Candlemas (who knew?) our hosts provided these beautiful crêpes for breakfast.