A pilgrimage:

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.

Whose woods are these I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

~ Robert Frost

Pligrimage on a Snowy Evening

Whose house is this, I think I know.

His plot is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his place fill up with snow.

My city car must think it queer

To stop with no dry pavement near

Between Vermont and Williamstown

The snowiest evening of the year.

Its tires spin in snow gone brown

To ask, why dally homeward bound?

The only other sound's the sweep

of easy wind and flakes' drift down.

But the house is empty, locked, and bleak,

And I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

~Viola Wilbanks

I beg permission for a little poetic license.

Yesterday we made an easy 15 min. drive to Bennington, Vermont where, being the good literature major I am, we visited both Robert Frost's grave and his nearby home. I was bemoaning the fact that I had forgotten Miriam's complete book of Frost's work. It just seemed appropriate to read something of his being there.

We did nearly get stuck at his house, since the museum is closed this time of year and the drive wasn't plowed. We've somewhat unexpectedly been caught in the first real snow here in New England this year, and Miriam's little car only has front wheel drive--no 4x4, no snow tires, no chains (in fact, we discovered after a fruitless search in Bennington, VT. that chains are illegal in Massachusetts!)

So on the drive home I certainly did wish to be traveling through the woods on a horse or horse-drawn sleigh. The front wheel drive wasn't cutting it on the way out of town. We actually had to turn around after getting stopped and thus stuck on a hill! After the hunt for chains, we ultimately decided to brave the conditions--very slippery and snowy--to make it back to Williamstown.

It was slow going, but we bought pizza by the slice for the drive, had plenty of water, and even managed to buy a book of "Immortal Poems" at the used bookstore in Bennington before heading out. On the drive we patiently waited at the bottom of each hill for the cars ahead of us to clear the crest so that we could get up speed and, most importantly, NOT stop in order to creep back home. But, it was lovely watching the 'woods fill up with snow' sitting in the warm car, reading and analyzing Frost together; so although it took us about two and a half hours to drive 15 miles, we were in good company, and in no hurry.

Today we spent the afternoon in North Adams mostly to get snow tires put on the car. Amazingly that only took 10 min. and then we were off exploring again. We visited Mass MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art), which had some really fun stuff and also got a little shopping out of the way. Angelines had charged me with buying her some Levi's since they're SO expensive in Europe. I must love the girl because spending my vacation hunting through a mall for jeans, isn't exactly my idea of fun! ;)

Now we're back at the Fort cooking for my dear Miss M who is upstairs reading her brains out.

Menu: Butternut squash soup with warm cibatta bread and fresh green salad.

Love from snowy New England!