100th year anniversary of the Paquet Family Farm in Barre, VT

My very first post showed pictures I did of the Paquet Farm that belongs to my in-laws. I grew up in Barre, Vermont, and married a local boy, Gary. We were married for 34 years until he passed away in 1998. My sons moved back to Vermont since then and stay involved in the farm operations. This year is the 100th anniversary of the farm and there will be lots of big doings. I expect to feature more Paquet Farm pictures in this blog. The painting is the Paquet corn fields at end of day. That's Camel's Hump, a definitive VT mountain, in the clouds. I took a bit of artistic license and relocated it. Camel's Hump is featured on the VT quarter if you have one in your pockets. The colors say summer day's end in Vermont to me. These corn fields provide much of the income at the farm stand every summer.

I was excited this morning to join a Yahoo group created for the Paquet Farm. I will be able to keep up on the farm events on the calendar. Next up is a February date for buying seed. The group is featuring my most recent paintings and some family photos. The photo above is "The Pumkin Lady, " created from the farm pumpkins, and with her is my sister-in-law, Val, fearless leader of farm stand operations. (I've asked for permission to paint the pumpkin lady. Stay tuned.) With Val is her small dog and some corn stalks and squash from recently harvested fields. The third picture shows the healthy size that some of the pumpkins can become. Pumpkins are another major cash crop.

These art thoughts all began with a Saturday morning phone conversation with son, Jeff, in North Danville, VT. While we were riding bicycles in 70 degee temperatures yesterday, they were watching the horses sun themselves on a day that started out with -38 degrees and never reached zero. (This is why I have lived in California since 1976.)

Vermonters are hardy folks.