Although it would appear from the pictures in this post that I am campaigning to have my children appear in the next Shelburne Farms brochure, in fact it was the two of them that insisted on wearing these t-shirts this morning when they found out where we were going.
Shelburne Farms sits right on the edge of Lake Champlain and is a Platonic farm, absoultely immaculate, fastidiously landscaped, with a glorious barn and outbuildings. It is probably the only farm that Oscar Wilde would have been comfortable on. The estate was laid out by no less than Frederick Law Olmstead.
It’s not that different today, although its staff also works hard to educate its visitors about the virtues of caring for the environment and eating locally. The “grand family residence” has been turned into an inn and it is a persistent fantasy of mine to spend a weekend there, sleeping in a luxurious room and eating all kinds of wonderful food grown on the property. But until the boys are a little older I’ll content myself with visits to the beautiful Farm Barn where today my children got to milk a cow, card wool, touch chickens, feed baby goats, and look in on a pile of baby pigs. Oh, and they also sampled some artisinal cheddar cheese (Tommy recommends the 2-year variety).
The children’s farmyard is clean and bright and a perfect place to while away a not-yet-rainy morning. Of course, Teddy was more interested in the plastic animals than the real ones and made a giant cow parade. But he also had to go into the chicken coop seeking baby chicks, which he sadly did not find, although he did touch this one. He didn’t care for the “love peck” he received in return.
We made Tommy leave behind the toy tractors to learn how to make yarn out of sheep’s wool, and he was completely fascinated, carding and twisting like a pro (and proudly wearing his product as a bracelet all day and into bed tonight). When the yarn was wound, both boys got a chance to feed some voracious baby goats.
Walking trails meander around the property, taking visitors out to the edge of the lake. After we were done in the barnyard, we headed that way for a picnic but were stopped after a short distance by the sound of thunder and the approach of clouds. We happened to be at the top of Lone Tree Hill when this happened, and we could clearly see the weather arriving from across the Adirondacks. Happily, this proved the perfect spot for a picnic, complete with a glorious view.
We ate our lunch listening to the intermittent booms as they came closer and then decided we should probably head back, picking blackberries as we did so. They were warm from the sun.
This is the children running down the hill back toward the barn:
And here’s the grownups:
We beat the rain.
It was a lovely day, and I officially renege on any kvetching about the challenges of travel and the difficulties brought on by thunder and lightening. Ths was a vacation day to savor and remember. As if to prove it, tonight Tommy wrote this poem in his notebook (I’ve taken the liberty of correcting his spelling, but the punctuation and line breaks are his; please note that we have been to neither Pennsylvania or Florida this summer, although he has friends who have gone both places):
Summer
Vacation to Pennsylvania
Then Florida
Then home
Sunlight, sleepy tight
All on a summer’s day
Vacation
Vacation
Vacation
I love vacation
Vacation
Vacation
All on a summer’s day
Going to Vermont
Vermont canoeing
Green mountains
Frogs
But the most important thing is…
The little chickees!!!
I've taken with my children and those I want to take. Explore and you'll find family travel tips, information about vacation destinations, and lots of stories about our adventures! 
