| PASTORAL 5 |
| Just as a quiet spring feeds a brook that joins a stream and flows into a river to fill a lake, an ocean of wisdom lies in the connectedness between all things. Feature 1 Shelburne SHELBURNE FARMS : Guiding a matrix of experience and thought Nearly 100 years after Dr. William Seward and Lila Vanderbilt Webb—one of America’s most prominent 19th-century couples—established their Vermont home, the Webbs’ descendants were challenged with a vast and important asset to save and revive. Shelburne Farms, the model agricultural estate that their great-grandparents had created in the late 1800s, needed to change to reflect a new era. Faced with 20th-century economics and a deep love and devotion to the place that was their home, the Webbs’ descendents and their families and friends carefully embarked on a plan to breath new life into the estate and shift its focus by establishing it as a nonprofit educational organization. Over the following decades, Shelburne Farms evolved to become an educational resource dedicated to environmental stewardship. This prudent and timely change saved the extraordinary property from irreparable divisions and furthered Dr. and Mrs. Webb’s original dream of creating and maintaining an innovative and beautiful farm. Layers of history and interpretation encompass the farm’s many assets: landscape, agriculture, architecture, people, and thought. Today it is a place accessible in countless ways through a matrix of experiences offered to those who are open to absorbing the superlative connections that nature and design have to offer. Firsthand experience is key to appreciating Shelburne Farms as an innovative and beautiful place. Inspiration is an inevitable product of that experience. Composed of vast natural and designed outdoor spaces and massive Victorian domestic and farm architecture, Shelburne Farms draws much of its beauty from its extraordinary setting on the Vermont shore of Lake Champlain. For many visitors, appreciating the farm is not a linear experience but one that at every turn suggests connectedness to the past and present, to the land and its conservation, and to the ideas and products it inspires. As a place of dreams, Shelburne Farms becomes an exciting equation of possibilities for an inspiring and vital future. The Inn at Shelburne Farms When the Webbs’ residence, Shelburne House, was built in 1888, it was the largest private domestic structure in Vermont. After 100 years of use and slow decay, and facing demolition, the house was rescued through an ambitious plan that helped restore it and convert it into an inn for guests. The inn retains many of its original furnishings, and it is here that visitors fantasize of a bygone era by relaxing in its many Victorian and Queen Anne–style rooms. Outside on the lawn, Adirondack chairs face Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains. The chairs and view inspire guests to simply enjoy the leisure of respite and the dramatic beauty of the natural landscape framed before them. Inside, connectedness to the land outdoors is profound. The inn’s restaurant chef and staff are dedicated to working with only the best quality and freshest ingredients, and the food they serve is grown or raised at the farm or purchased from nearby food producers. The distance between garden and kitchen does not get much closer than it does here. The quality of the ingredients, the exceptional skills of the discerning cooks, and a changing menu that reflects daily harvests attest to the inn’s reputation as having one of the most progressive restaurants to be found anywhere. The Coach Barn In addition to Shelburne House, architect Robert H. Robertson designed three other major buildings on the property: the Farm Barn, Breeding Barn, and Coach Barn. Completed in 1901, the elaborate Coach Barn was designed to accommodate the desires and reflect the lifestyle of an affluent family living on a country estate. Originally, 80 carriages were stored here, offering the Webbs and their friends a variety of travel styles. The family’s horses were housed in 32 stalls, and immaculate tack was neatly organized in large, finely trimmed rooms. Today the impressive brick building, which retains its original stone roof, is used for farm-sponsored or private events. The accoutrements of the Gilded Age are now gone, but beauty still reigns through the design of the building’s architecture. Appearing more European than American, the barn contains a splendid interior courtyard that is accessed through an arched gateway. Inside, protected from the winds sweeping across Lake Champlain, it is as if one has entered a room turned inside out; the courtyard is both an interior and exterior chamber. Here, one discovers that the courtyard’s interior walls are the building’s exterior walls and its magnificent ceiling is the sky. Lake Champlain Lake Champlain forms much of the border between Vermont and New York and links the Hudson River with the mighty Saint Lawrence Seaway in Canada. The lake—among the largest in the country—shares a unique distinction with the Nile:both bodies of water flow north. This unusual natural force may account for the awe-inspiring energy that it imparts. If Shelburne Farms were located 20 miles inland, it might not have the same appeal, drama, or spirit that it draws from its connection to the lake. The farm may owe much of its identifying character to its extraordinary location where land and water meet. The expansiveness of the vast plain of water is a startling contrast to the mighty Adirondack Mountains that rise along the lake’s western shore. The lake and mountains become a changing picture that is constantly reframed by the innumerable vantage points along the farm’s lengthy shoreline. The lake’s reflective surface mirrors the changing activity in the sky and provides what seems to be more light than is usual. Light is everywhere—shimmering on the water’s surface, filling the enormous Champlain basin with changing color while reflecting its luminosity on the pastures, hills, and mountains that surround it. Walking Trails In the 19th century, landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted conceived of the Webb estate as both a farm and a park. Olmsted’s concept for Shelburne Farms has remained virtually unchanged: pastures, woodlands, hay fields, buildings, roads, open spaces, and trails still exist where the designer had planned. Later, Dutch elm disease destroyed hundreds of trees that had lined the carriage roads and formed the park near Shelburne House and changed the look of the property dramatically. Today, healthy 250-year-old maples and oaks thrive in the woodlands, which are managed through sustainable forestry practices. The fertile land—originally accessed by horseback, wagon, or carriage—was Shelburne Farms’ strongest asset, and carriage roads and riding trails were created to ease access for those who lived, worked, or visited there. Later, as travel by automobile became fashionable, access to the land became limited. Automobiles could not reach the farm’s most splendid scenes and views which were—and still are—only accessible by horse or on foot. Today, shedding the car and determining to explore the 1,400-acre farm simply and slowly at one’s own speed on foot is perhaps the best way to discover the magnitude of the natural and designed landscape. Miles of trails link meadows, pastures, buildings, and activities and make it easy for the intrepid walker to reach all destinations on the property and to absorb the incredible beauty of the land, water, and sky along the way. Walkers can allow themselves time to reflect on experiencing the vast scale of the open meadowlands, the well-tended woodlands and forests, and the glorious vistas of Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains that no quantity of superlatives can adequately describe. Farm Barn As a counterpoint to the powerful American industrial expansion in the 19th century, Dr. and Mrs. Webb instead pursued a vision of pastoral splendor with the hope of creating a model estate where agriculture, science, nature, and architecture would coalesce in a beautiful landscape designed for productivity and leisure. In 1890 the stately five-story Farm Barn became the first major farm structure to be completed on the estate, and it clearly exemplifies the unification of the arts—the magnificent stone and timber structure was created for utility as well as for beauty. From here, Dr. Webb’s dreams of designing and building, planting and harvesting, and process and product were carefully administered by overseers and carried out by several hundred employees and 80 teams of mules and horses. Renovated in 1991, the building today houses administrative offices, an education center, children’s farmyard, and cheese-making facilities, as well as private enterprises. It is at the Farm Barn that the farm’s mission of cultivating a conservation ethic is presently centered, encouraging learning by introducing visitors to the world of natural and agricultural resources. Throughout the year, schoolchildren, families, and educators participate in a range of hands-on activities and programs designed to inspire learning through the farm’s natural features: meadows, gardens, woodlots, pastures, animals, and lakeshore. A simple diagram in the cheese-making facility illustrates the connections that the educational philosophy seeks to inspire: the sun ® nourishes plants ® that cows graze ® whose milk ® is made into cheese ® for people to enjoy. Hundreds of acres of the farm’s pastureland are home to a herd of Brown Swiss cows that graze and are moved every 12 to 24 hours from one pasture to another. Rotational grazing is a sensible practice of land management that allows plants to regrow between grazing periods, thereby restoring energy to the roots and nutrients to the leaves. After two to five weeks, the herd is allowed back into a pasture to graze. This practice minimizes erosion, helps the pastures become a bountiful salad of green and healthy plants, and serves to provide better nutrients to the cows, which in turn results in better milk and ultimately contributes to the superb taste of Shelburne Farms’ cheddar cheese. The cheese production provides a clear example of the thoughtful development of a product and the connectedness of agriculture to science, nature, and conservation. Market Garden In addition to making its own cheddar cheese and maple syrup and raising its own lamb, Shelburne Farms also maintains its own produce garden on the site of the estate’s original gardens and greenhouses. The farm has also formed partnerships with many independent local farmers who produce a wide range of fresh foods, including dairy, eggs, cheese, poultry, fowl, beef, lamb, fish, mushrooms, and fruit.The Market Garden supplies the inn’s restaurant daily with seasonal organically grown greens, vegetables, and herbs. In a highly unique culinary setting, the garden coordinator and the restaurant’s chef plan the year’s garden crops in advance. Produce from the Market Garden, combined with food products from local resources, delights diners with appetizers such as the charcuterie board (duck prosciutto, country pâté, rabbit rillette, and chicken-liver mousse); handcrafted pastas such as ricotta gnocchi, served with baby artichokes and sage cream; entrees such as roasted rabbit with chanterelles, bacon, polenta croutons, and whole-grain mustard; and desserts such as blue cornmeal johnnycake, with sweet-corn ice cream, raspberries, and raw honey. Shelburne Farms is also host to a few independent food producers: beehives, tended by Bee Haven Honey, are located along the edges of the farm’s vast wildflower meadows; bread, baked daily by the O Bread Bakery, is offered for sale in the Farm Barn; and Shelburne Vineyards makes wine from grapes grown on the south side of the property. The important links maintained between farmers, chefs, and consumers attest to Shelburne Farms’ philosophy to cultivate land stewardship locally. Breeding Barn and Old Dairy Barn When it was completed in 1891, the Breeding Barn—an architectural marvel—was the largest open-span structure in the United States. It held that claim for the following 32 years. The enormous stone and shingle building was designed to stable over 200 horses, and 20 of the 32 box stalls were reserved for stud stallions. Located opposite the Breeding Barn, and separated by a wide, verdant field, another large barn was built the same year to house brood mares. One of Dr. Webb’s dreams was to breed the perfect Vermont horse that was strong enough to pull a plow yet elegant enough to pull a carriage. Webb’s ambitious experiment to incorporate strength and beauty in one breed, the hackney horse, quickly yielded to a dawning technological era: the development of the internal combustion engine changed farm work and transportation forever, causing Webb’s dream of the perfect country horse to dissolve. The horses were sold. The Breeding Barn was later used for activities such as indoor polo competitions. The brood-mare barn was converted to a dairy and later used for storage. The two magnificent barns managed to stand unspoiled for many decades, until time and weather began to erode the impressive structures. Both buildings have recently undergone some restoration aimed at halting their deterioration. In 1996, a new foundation was poured for the Old Dairy Barn to assure its stability, and in the following year, the Breeding Barn’s two-acre roof was re-covered with 88,000 pounds of copper. Presently, Shelburne Farms is drafting plans to rehabilitate the Breeding Barn as a great hall for large-scale community and agricultural events and to renovate the Old Dairy Barn as an innovative residential learning center designed to expand the farm’s educational programs. In setting the precedent with the successful renovations of Shelburne House, the Farm Barn, and Coach Barn, visitors may anticipate similar—yet different—qualities and standards for the rehabilitations of the Breeding Barn and Old Dairy Barn when they are completed. Unlike the ill-fated 19th-century hackney horse, innovation has ultimately prevailed at Shelburne Farms, and the requirements needed to further the farm’s strength and beauty comes from the many forward-thinking individuals who, out of their love and vision for this extraordinary organization, have carefully guided it to remain a beautiful place and to become a remarkable matrix that inspires work, connectedness, respite, and thought. Feature 2 North Pomfret DANIEL EMBREE : Building traditional Adirondack guide boats During the summers in his youth, Daniel Embree often canoed with friends in upstate New York on the Hudson River. From the river, he could see the Catskill Mountains, and the prospect was not unlike the scenes depicted in Hudson River school paintings: colorful, dramatic, and inspiring renderings of man’s profound place in the natural world. Later, the water occupied Embree professionally; he entered a maritime academy and ultimately became a sea captain working on large ships that transported oil on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Off duty, he made wooden boats and knew that he might like to make boats after retiring. He had been at sea seven months a year for 20 years until he retired and his dream to build Adirondack guide boats became a reality. There are still a few builders carrying on the guide boat–building tradition in New York’s Adirondacks, but Embree makes hand¬made boats directly for customers from his workshop at his hilltop home in North Pomfret, Vermont. He follows the traditional Adirondack guide boat design, noted for its recurved ends and classic look, developed by H. Dwight Grant in the 1880s and 1890s. Embree works on three boats at a time, taking about 300 hours—or 2 ½ months—to make one boat by hand. Historically, the Adirondack guide boat was designed for portage (carrying boats and supplies) through the woodland trails that link the numerous lakes in the Adirondack Mountains region. A traditional guide boat is unique because of its structural design, which consists of a series of individually sawn ribs, each cut from one piece of wood. Its structure provides its strength, and the guide boat has a great capacity for carrying heavy loads such as fishing, hunting, and camping gear and food, as well as being quite fast on the water. In the 19th century, grand—but rustic-looking—hotels and lodges were built in the Adirondacks to accommodate affluent ladies and gentlemen from the cities who wished to experience the skill and thrill of back-country sports like fishing or hunting. Hotels often provided guides to take guests on extended expeditions into the wilderness. Because of the remote and mountainous landscape, there is no way to drive an automobile between the lakes, so adventurers need to portage, and a guide boat is the best method for doing just that. From Utica, New York, one can travel by guide boat, lake to lake, to Montreal, Quebec. Embree likes to make boats, and he likes to row boats. Making a handmade boat requires patience during the careful and precise construction process. For Embree, rowing a boat is a physical interest similar to cross-country skiing or walking: the activity is repetitive and, through the exercise, creates a certain relaxed and healthy state of being. Embree always rows his boats before parting with them, to make sure that they are absolutely perfect and row beautifully. Many of his boats, however, are never rowed beyond his initial test. Because of their beauty, they are often treated as sculptures and are hung on walls or suspended upside down from ceilings in Adirondack and other wilderness camps. For many, though, the object of acquiring an Adirondack guide boat is to be outside, to row, and to move. The beauty of the object lies in the experience: to be on the water, in an exceptionally well-crafted guide boat, in a spectacular setting. Feature 3 Lunenburg ANDREA MODICA : Photographing the Northeast Kingdom When Andrea Modica moved to Vermont in 2005, among the first things that caught her eye were apple trees; they seemed to be everywhere and growing wild in the most unlikely places—in the woodlands, alongside roads, or emerging out of old stone walls—perhaps having grown from seeds that birds or small animals had carried and dropped. Although Modica resided in New York City, Colorado Springs, or Philadelphia for many years, her choice of subject has always been rural life, and she now focuses her work on Vermont. Traditionally, she has made photographs using a large 8 x 10–inch view camera to capture images, and from the negatives she develops exquisite platinum prints that exhibit the rich, sensuous tonal ranges for which she is widely known. In the quiet northeastern region of Vermont, Modica noticed that no one seemed to own or care for the roadside apple trees that she became attracted to as a subject and, because they were easily accessible, she began to make photographs of them in the fall. She was amazed to see how many apples were still hanging on their branches during the frozen winter months, and she continued to photograph them well into spring. Many of the subjects in Modica’s Northeast Kingdom series are anthropomorphized: they take on the embodiment of figures in the landscape. As subjects or figures, the apples and trees could be seen as gloomy, but they can also be viewed as hopeful or as a metaphor for the seasons of life: birth, growth, aging, death, and rebirth. “An apple is something that grows and dies within one year, but an apple tree is a living thing that continues to grow and live for many years,” says Modica. As in some of her past work, Modica has followed and explored subjects over time. In Northeast Kingdom, she has perhaps created an awareness of both the brevity and expansiveness of time and what it means to hang onto it. In this impressive edition of photographs, she shows us the unexpected and simple beauty of a mysterious and changing natural world. —Glenn Suokko, 2007 |