Vermont | Ghost of Midnight

#VT gardeners pitch in to help neighbor in need

Posted on Sunday, February 27, 2011 by Michael • Comments are off for this post

Robin posted this on Westford’s Front Porch Forum yesterday…

Dear friends, neighbors, and fellow gardeners – I have been an avid gardener for years. But last fall I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and I am undergoing chemotherapy treatment every four weeks, which leaves me feeling very weak and sick. So this year I will not be working in my gardens. (I will try to grow some vegetables in containers on my porch, though – I HAVE to have a garden!)

So, my greenhouse and raised beds will lie fallow this season. And I need help to put my garden beds to sleep. I would like to have fertilizer put on the greenhouse beds and cover them with weed mat and my raised beds covered with weed mat before the spring weeds start growing.

The greenhouse has three raised beds that are 4′ x 18′. The outside garden has fifteen raised beds that are 4′ x 4′. All the work could probably be done in one Saturday morning.

Is there anyone – teen or adult – who would be interested in helping me put my garden beds to sleep this spring? Once I find a willing gardener, we can discuss compensation.

Followed by her posting today…

Thank you so much to all my neighbors – many of whom I have never met – for all the offers to help me with my garden! There has been an overwhelming response to my request for help, and as I told some folks already, it truly humbles me and warms my heart! What a community we have – I treasure it!

I have accepted an offer from a local 4-H group to help with the job, so I wanted everyone to know that my need is being met. And again I want to thank all of the kind folks who have offered to help me. It was extremely kind and generous!

She does live in a wonderful town, full of good neighbors. And so do most people in most places. The challenge is unlocking that neighborliness in this era or busyness, individual isolation, and distraction. Reading stories like Robin’s above gives me heart that FPF is succeeding in fulfilling its mission… helping neighbors connect and build community.

Neighborly appreciation in Colchester #VT

Posted on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 by Michael • 3 comments

Thanks to Shirley in Colchester for her Front Porch Forum posting today…

Last week, Seven Days ran an article entitled The “Porch” Expands. It gives the “history” of the founding of our local Front Porch Forum and I must admit that I was truly impressed by all the work done by Valerie and Michael Wood-Lewis. The Seven Days article was well done and provided all the information I was hoping to find. Thank you to Seven Days and thank you especially to Valerie and Michael for a job well done! May your future endeavors be as successful – if not more so.

I also want to thank my neighbors who have graciously shared the names of your favorite service providers. I am keeping a list and will check it out once the need arises.

How to start a book club in #VT

Posted on Monday, February 21, 2011 by Michael • Comments are off for this post

A few months ago I formed a book club via FPF — what a fantastic way to connect with neighbors — and while the attendees have shifted each month, the meetings have continued…

Posted by Kate on Front Porch Forum in Burlington today.

#BTV #VT Urban Bald Eagle Dogding Crows

Posted on Monday, February 21, 2011 by Michael • 1 comment

Reported on Front Porch Forum today…

Bald Eagle spotted today flying around Intervale compost mobbed by crows around 1:30 pm. I believe someone else reported spotting them at the Intervale on FPF a week or so ago.

#VT Heat Emergency? Neighbors to the Rescue

Posted on Wednesday, February 16, 2011 by Michael • Comments are off for this post

Vermont is cold… about 5°F as I type. So this Front Porch Forum posting in Bristol yesterday caught my attention…

A family in need is about out of wood. We have donors lined up. But are in need of a truck to pick up the wood and deliver it in Bristol. The need is today, so it would be great if some can let me borrow a truck or drive with me for a couple hours.

That evening, Bob from the Bristol Energy Committee posted again…

Even with the posting of my request for a truck around 2pm Tuesday – very last minute – I did get responses. Thank you so much!

It turns out we could not wait for the truck – so a car trunk load was delivered this morning – enough for a couple days for the family in need.

We now have a truck lined up to deliver half a cord of wood on Wednesday evening, thanks to a very generous donor. More may be needed, but this amount should hold them for a few weeks.

Thank you all for your generosity – neighbors helping neighbors – YOWZERS!!! Bristol rocks!

Thanks to e-Vermont for bringing FPF to Bristol! Here’s the list of 60 Vermont towns where FPF is now available.

Seeking frozen rhubarb in #BTV #VT

Posted on Saturday, February 12, 2011 by Michael • Comments are off for this post

A friend reported that one of the things he loves about Front Porch Forum is that it inspires him to be a better neighbor. For evidence, he cited this recent posting from Deb in Burlington…

A elderly friend is turning 88 this week and he loves rhubarb pie. Does anyone have rhubarb in their freezer from last summer that I can buy or trade for (pie or cookies)?

I see what he means. I especially love the way Deb’s posting will rope others into her act of neighborliness. Kinda makes me want to go clear the iced-up snow covering my neighbor’s impassable front steps. Maybe I’ll get a cookie!

Neighborliness in the snow

Posted on Friday, February 11, 2011 by Michael • Comments are off for this post

From Sarah in Burlington’s Old North End today on Front Porch Forum…

I would like to thank my neighbor for helping to free my car from the snowbank at the end of my driveway this week. Relying on each other makes a neighborhood, and you came to my rescue when I really needed help, with my dog barking at you the entire time to boot! Thanks again for your help.

We’re seeing many such postings during these past few weeks of extreme snow in Vermont.

How to reconnect #VT neighbors?

Posted on Thursday, February 10, 2011 by Michael • Comments are off for this post

Front Porch Forum has people from across Middlesex communicating in ways they haven’t in years.

Received this quote tonight from a very plugged-in person in her rural Vermont town. I love it. That’s a critical part of FPF’s mission… to help neighbors connect… and not just online. Rather, once FPF gets rolling in a community, people start talking with neighbors more face-to-face at the store, school, church, sidewalk, etc. This becomes ever more important with Town Meeting in a couple weeks.

Random Acts of Kindness in Vermont

Posted on Thursday, February 10, 2011 by Michael • Comments are off for this post

Here’s a Front Porch Forum posting from Winooski today. During the last few weeks of heavy snow, we’ve seen a lot of this kind of thing.

I wanted to extend a heartfelt thank you to my neighbors on Dion St who have cleared my driveway on several occasions this winter. Your random act of kindness is so appreciated, thank you again and again!

It’s heartening to read about these kind actions and the gratitude of the recipients… especially as we head into Town Meeting Day, a time when debate among neighbors inevitably heats up.

Coyotes in Suburban South #BTV #VT

Posted on Monday, January 17, 2011 by Michael • Comments are off for this post

Traditional media frequently uses Front Porch Forum for story leads. Today it’s the Burlington Free Press covering coyotes in suburban South Burlington…

In the wake of a rabid coyote attack last year on several people in Westchester County, N.Y., coyote-spotters have maintained a lively dialogue on the Butler Farms Front Porch Forum.

Chuck LaBombard, who has lived in the Oak Creek development for 11 years, is one of them.

“The coyote population has continued to increase during the past decade and I get it. We live in their territory,” he wrote in a January post.

“To occasionally see them on the golf course or in back of the development is one thing. To routinely see them on our sidewalks is totally another,” he continued. “Imagine if a child s pooked them or a lone adult was in the wrong place at the wrong time. My 11-year-old daughter is becoming afraid to play in her own yard… front or back! I am not a house-on-fire kind of person, but I am concerned!”

LaBombard and other neighbors have found no easy fix, and Police Chief Trevor Whipple has cautioned them against frontier justice in a crowded neighborhood: Firearms discharge is illegal within city limits…

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