White puffed clouds floating in a sea of perfect blue sky, light breeze  and shirt sleeve and shorts 80 degree temps. Sort of like being on the top rung of the ladder that leads to heaven!. I was lucky enough to be out with customers viewing some properties north of Mount Snow. After leaving one of our Place in Vermont listings on Smead Road, Wardsboro we headed out towards Newfane via Potter Hill Rd in Wardsboro. Now I will warn you that you will not want to attempt this trip in the winter- (they don’t plow Potter hill Rd).

My customers Fred and Maria were really enjoying the trip.(and though I have been living here for more years than I can count anymore, so was I) Through the forest, by exposed ledges and ponds with bull frogs singing their summer song and the occasional view of distant ledges. Down the other side we picked up South Wardsboro Rd towards Newfane.

            It was along there that we were treated to a little man-made beauty. I had recently been reading a book entitled “Listening to Stone” by Dan Snow who is a local stone-master/magician. Dan does dry stone work. Everyone is familiar with stone walls that line the fields. Beautiful in their own right. Dry stone work is just that- there is no mortar used. So in order to keep it all together there must be a very tight fit between one stone and another. If all we were talking about was a wall this technique would be amazing. While Snow does indeed build fabulous walls, he also does arches, bridges and even huts! So it was indeed a stone hut that we came upon in Newfane- gravity-defyingly beautiful! Then a short way down the road we came upon another free-standing stone structure. Wow what a treat- Now I do need to note that I am assuming this work to be Snow’s. There are not that many people in the world who do this sort of thing. But as I do not want to be found guilty of calling a Picasso a Rembrandt- if someone knows differently please let me know. Happy trails!

Joe Specht,  REALTOR ®

A PLACE IN VERMONT