Poultney Vermont – A little bit if heaven

I’ve landed in Vermont and it’s seems like a little bit of heaven. I’m tenting in my longtime buddy Al’s backyard. He got a beautiful place in a small town near the New York boarder.

It’s quite lovely here; cool (high 70s and low 80s), lush and green, a very welcome change from the intense heat of North Carolina and Central America from my recent travels. We been dinking mojitos, enjoying his hot tub, swapping stories, talking photography, hiking and more. Al and his wife Angele are incredibly good hosts making this homeless guy feel quite at home. It’s so nice here that I’ve given some thought to settling in Vermont, not in my good friends back yard as tempting at that seems, but in the area. But I don’t have to think too long on it, as beautiful as it is right now, I know that winters hear are just too dame could.

I had a good two week stay in Connecticut camping in my ex-wife’s back yard. While I was there I replaced rotten clapboards on her house and built an “L” shaped bench for her deck.

I hooked up with my good friend John for some climbing. That was a double bonus; seeing John and getting back on the rock. I also got my tooth fixed. It had broken four months ago when I was in the Bahamas and didn’t want to explore third world dentistry so it went untreated. There was also plenty of alone time that gave me space to decompress form the breakup with Susan. At the time of our breakup I blocked the pain in the interest of emotional self-preservation and survival. There is a sadness deep down inside that I know needs to come out but I don’t think I’m strong enough for that right now. I had to get away from Susan to a safe place to start healing. I’m on that road now but it will no doubt take a while. This place and my friends are helping me get closer to a place where I can heal.

Al took me to a private nature sanctuary that he’d discovered and it was amazing; deep woods, wide meadows, cliff top vistas and even a Japanese garden. We walked and talked but mostly we soaked up the wonder and natural goodness of the place.

The Buddhist have a saying; “Every snowflake lands in exactly the right place.” I can feel the truth of that saying in every cell of my body. As I move forward on this journey I’m making an effort to pay attention to the context as much at the content of my travels and I find the interplay between the two has been fascinating; the snowflake and it surroundings.