Birch Ridge Inn
Killington Vermontt
August 30, 2006 

We still have a few more days of summer left at Killington, but Mary and I are starting the process of figuring out the best picture spots around the inn for the "Fall Foliage Picture of the Day". Sometime around the middle of next month, we will change the "Flower of the Day" picture to focus in on the changing colors of the trees around the inn.

The whole process of finding the right spot for the fall foliage picture is actually harder than it seems. For instance, do we just shot one spot, like last winters snow stake? or do we take shots of different scenes around the inn, like the flower gallery? Then there are the main actors in the tableau of nature that is fall foliage season...the trees!

Around the inn, there are trees that change color early. The birch tree in the driveway I showed in the last blog entry is an example. Some of the poplar and oak trees around the inn are slow to change. That would not represent what is going on around Killington.

So today, we spent some time outside, walking around the inn, trying to frame some pictures and guessing where a good spot would be to keep a running record of the progress of fall foliage. We have a little more work to do..for instance, what time of day should we shoot the picture and how will it effect the lighting.. before we decide on the spot. In the process, we are adding to our photo library of scenes around the inn, and getting out in the fresh air. And that is always a good thing.

Fall is coming!
Tree's starting to turn at Birch Ridge Inn. 

In case you missed it while watching Tiger Woods win the WGC-Bridgestone Classic at the Firestone course in Ohio, a hint of fall has crept into the mountains around Killington. Trees around the inn are noticeably starting to change, with the early ones already starting to display some color.

The damp weather and cool temperatures of the last couple of weeks are definitely changing the landscape. In addition to the trees starting to change, every day we are starting to hear and see flocks of geese starting their southward migration.

What does this all mean for fall foliage color. In reality, it is way too early to tell. The last couple of years, due to warm weather in late August and September, the onset of the fall foliage change was later than what we have been used too. Each year, the leaves begin their transition from green to multicolored about this time. Over the next couple of weeks, if we have normally cool nights, they trees would follow their normal schedule, yielding peak colors in the Killington area in early October. Of course, if we get a warm spell like the last couple of years, the pattern of fall foliage holding off till mid October could take hold.

In any case, over the next few weeks, we will keep you updated with pictures of the Killington area as summer transitions into fall.

Logo for KillingtonLinks.com 

As some of you may already know, I write a little software almost every day. Usually it has something to do with a web site, some html (although some may dispute that that is really software), some Java or Javascript, some PHP, with the occasional C program thrown in for good measure. If you looked at the blog yesterday, you would have seen the latest incarnation of software I have produced that got released into the public, the web site aptly named KillingtonLinks.com

KillingtonLinks.com is, very simply, a web site designed to display to the site visitor information about relevant Killington entities in a categorized list fashion, preferably including a link to the entities web site if available.

Why do this you may ask? It's actually very simple. At the inn, we are answering questions all day long about the Killington area. There are hundreds of businesses in Killington. Try remembering them all. Try searching Google for them (Google lists 2,170,000 pages on Killington alone). Try bookmarking them all in your browser of choice...try sharing the information quickly with a friend... you see where this is going...KillingtonLinks.com was designed to cut through the clutter so we could find specific references about Killington quickly.

Now, here is where I need your help. Over the last couple of weeks, I have been working to capture as much information about web sites that are relevant to Killington and categorizing them in KillingtonLinks.com. I am sure that there are interesting sites that I have missed. If you can identify a site that you think should be added, drop me a line by using the suggestion form on KillingtonLinks.com. I will review the site, and if it is relevant to Killington, I will categorize it and add it. If you are a business owner in the area, and I have missed your site, use the same process and I will add in a listing. If you run a website, and you would like to put a link to KillingtonLinks.com on your web site, you can visit the Link Instructions page on KillingtonLinks.com to find the necessary html to add to your website.

Hopefully you will find KillingtonLinks.com to be a useful tool.

The Berts 

Last night, Mary and I had a chance to step away from the inn and attend a surprise birthday party for our long time friend, Roberta Lynch.

Roberta is hitting the milestone of 60 in a few weeks, but her friends decided to get her good with a surprise party at the home of Dave and Diane Rosenblum. Bert was lured to the party under the excuse that the hosts were having an end of summer season party on Monday evening. The ruse worked. Roberta was totally surprised.

Roberta and friend at surprise 60th birthday party

Live entertainment arranged by Bert's girlfriends, a huge potluck buffet dinner, a beautiful birthday cake laid out as the 16th hole at Green Mountain National, and the traditional opening of gifts appropriate for a girl of 6 decades were the highlights of the evening. Bert's husband, Pete, along with Bill Barbieri, manned the grill. I served as Bert's personal bartender for the evening, making sure she had a proper dry gin martini, shaken not stirred, with olives, accessible throughout the festivities. Happy Birthday Bert!

Upper Deck in ruins.
Sign proclaims "We'll be back" 

The Upper Deck sports bar was destroyed by fire early Sunday morning.

At around 4:45 AM, Mary was awoken by a large explosion. She was not sure if she was dreaming, but she did get out of bed. When she looked out the window to the back of our property, she thought that she saw a full moon. Except it was pouring buckets outside. Upon closer inspection, she realized that a very aggressive fire was in the process of consuming the Upper Deck Sports Bar, which was located less than 100 yards from the back of our property. Burning embers were intermixed with the downpour, and raining down in the forest behind our building. The good news at the time was that the fire department was onsite, and the rain prevented any secondary fires from being started. The bad news is that when we went to see the result during the day, the building was totally consumed. A total loss.

We have not picked up any rumors around town as to the cause, however, as if in defiance to the fire, the note "We'll be back" was posted on the Upper Deck's sign on the Killington road.

Mary and Carolyn at
Williston Golf Course in July 

The ladies club championship played out this week at Green Mountain National Golf Course. Last years Ladies Champion, Carolyn Barbieri, successfully defended her crown, carding a 179 over the 2 day event. Congratulations Carolyn!

Second low gross was captured by former Fox and Pheasant Innkeeper Nina Tasi. Nina made a run for the title, carding a 183 over the 2 days. Nina had a great second round, turing in an 87 to close to within 4 strokes on Carolyn.

And lastly, there is currently a battle to be played on the low net side of the tournament. Alessa DeMartino and Carol Kostelnik tied for low net honors. A playoff between the 2 is being scheduled for a future date.

Mary prepares her bunker shot
from the front right sand trap on the 15th
green at Green Mountain National Golf Course. 

In the summer, it is tough to ask for a nicer day than today. We had an 8:50 tee time at Green Mountain National. The temperature was around 78 degrees, with a light wind and beautiful sunshine. Just perfect.

The course was set up nicely this morning, as this is the first day of the Ladies club championship at Green Mountain. The pins were generally in very receptive positions, with nice feed lines for approach shots. Of course, that did not help the game all that much, but it made the course a lot more fun to play.

If you can get away to Vermont for a few days this summer... with the weather we have had the last few days... now is the time!