The LC

Fall in Litchfield County

From our walk at the farm on Sunday. We are just getting close to peak color.  This weekend will be even better.

Goshawks

The View from Up Here

Taken yesterday here in Washington, CT.  I continue to be amazed that we are just over ninety minutes from our place in the West Village.  If you've never been up to Litchfield County, you should consider a day trip.

Vineyard Vines

I discovered Vineyard Vines last year.  They started out several years back making great silk ties.  Today they are fast becoming the go-to source for classic and preppy clothes.  J Crew, which was once the king of prep (remember those multi colored block corduroy shirts?), has gone the whole generic metrosexual/classic/sophisticated young professional route that Banana Republic made famous nauseous.  Vineyard Vines is rooted firmly in the New England classic persona.  The towns up here are like moving billboards for them, with hundreds of prep school kids from The Gunnery, the Kent School, Hotchkiss and the like running around in V.V. clothing.  I love these clothes for several reasons:

1. The colors are awesome
2. The polo shirts are the perfect weight
3. The fabric quality is on par with many luxury brands (and you can machine wash)
4. The patterns are timeless
5. Pricing is comparable to higher end brands but the quality and craftmanship far surpasses them
6. Their flip flops kick ass
7. Their Murray and Burgee shirts are daily staples.  Get them in every pattern.

Head over to their website and check it out.

Trade Secrets

Today was the annual Trade Secrets garden event.  It features nearly fifty of New England's most unique and interesting garden exhibitors.  You can shop for anything from unique perennials and small shrubs to antique garden furinture as well as topiarys, pots, garden ornaments, birdhouses and the like.  The show benefits Women's Support Services organization in Litchfield County.  Admission is $30, or the die-hards can pay $100 to get in 2 hours early.  51, his mother, and I went for the early session.  It was a great time, the farm where it is held has amazing grounds, including a barn converted into an indoor pool house, where Michael Trapp showcased his awesome weathered teak furniture.  Other favorites of ours were Bunny Williams, showcasing her goods from Treillage , and our local celebrity potter Guy Wolff , who was exhibiting with his equally talented son Ben (whose style I prefer even a bit more than Guy's).  The weather wasn't ideal, but that didn't stop us (or Martha - who looked great in her relaxed Connecticut garb as she casually walked and shopped).

Damage done: two Michael Trapp antique pots, a vintage teak bench, a half dozen Ben Wolff pots in a new, almost black clay, a hurricaine lamp with antique glass on a stone base, a pair of iron trellis supports, many interesting plants from a grower in Rhode Island, and an antique Haws watering can.

 

The LC Guide: Predators

TICKS

When I say that ticks are everywhere here, I mean everywhere.  Most of this section of Litchfield County is still very rural with forests, hills, and grassy countryside, and the deer population is tremendous.  Last night I went with a realtor friend to one of her new listings.  We walked the grounds for about 4 minutes before I looked down at my jeans and saw a half dozen deer ticks.  Those fuckers are the ones that carry lyme. My realtor friend got jumpy, as she had just finished taking a round of doxycycline for a tick bite she received recently.  We high tailed it into her car and we bid each other a hasty goodbye so we could each head home to shower.  Keep in mind that a nymph stage tick is about the size of this here period >.  An adult tick is about the size of an apple seed. They aren't easy to see.  Everytime we take Jake out in the woods, we have to get him in the tub right after to wash them off.  Even though he takes Frontline and has been vaccinated against lyme, we still want them off him.

So while I absolutely love it here in the LC, and certainly endorse that you come and visit, you have to be careful. 

The LC Guide: Predators

Litchfield County is a wonderful place but comes with its own cast of characters.  Coyotes are quite common here, especially in the more wooded areas.  We live deep in the woods and hear these guys frequently. Trust me, there is nothing like taking Jake out before bed, in the pitch black night, and hearing the piercing howl-yelp-song of one of them out in the woods.  Or laying in bed at night and waking sudenly to the hysterical howl.

The only way to describe the sound is to try to spell it for you:

AWRRRRRGGRROOOOOOIIIIIOOOOUUUUUUU!

If you ever see me in a bar, be sure to ask me to demonstrate that in person.