My Side of the Mountain

Killington brands itself the Beast of the East. One of the largest ski resorts in New England, it draws a loyal following, whether weekend warriors who make the drive year after year, or devotees who have moved to Vermont to get more days in on snow. Opening day was earlier this month, and I wanted to talk to the die hards. Skiers love skiing, and they are, I learned, willing to wake up at ungodly hours to get in their first runs of the season, even when only a trail or two are open. 

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Greg Cox has made it his life's work to feed people. He's starting with Rutland. Whether distributing free CSAs to those in need (over 1,700 people so far) or allowing up-and-coming farmers to use his land, Greg has made agriculture a vehicle for good in Vermont. His story began as a boy catching fish on Long Island, and then as a long-haired hippie during the 'Summer of Love.' He fell in love with the old ways, but he's never stopped innovating. Listen. 

https://www.facebook.com/Boardman-Hill-Farm-111000503930209/

https://www.vermontfarmersfoodcenter.org/

https://www.petesposse.com/

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It started as a joke: What if we had a sheep farm? Nine years later, Peg and Todd Allen know sheep. They raise lambs — “the finest colored Corriedales in New England” — produce yarn, and now, they even own a fiber mill.

I visited the Allens on their farm in White River Junction, Vermont. We talked the decline of New England mills, the trial sand tribulations of sheep farming, and suburban boredom. 

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JoAnne Russo has transformed scientists' understanding of moths in Vermont. I spent a night on her porch documenting these fuzzy winged creatures. We talked obsession, entomology, and moth genitalia. 

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Meet Ian Vair. Ian is a mushroom forager, and a maker of medicinal tinctures. He’s also a fun person to walk with through the woods. That’s what we did one hot June morning in Rutland’s Pine Hill Park.

Before Ian made mushrooms his life, he was a chef. He went to culinary school, studied French cuisine, and worked in fast-paced kitchens. When he first started looking for mushrooms, he wouldn’t even eat them. He thought they were kind of gross. Then, in his twenties, Ian started having seizures. He ignored them for a little while, but they kept getting worse. They got so bad, he couldn’t even work; he stopped driving. So, he started walking in the woods more, looking for mushrooms. He learned to identify a dozen, then two, and soon he knew hundreds of different species. It’s spiritual for him, the connection to nature, to a higher power. He calls the mushrooms his children, and in a sense they are, because he watches them grow, and talks to them, and believes in them with his whole being. Now, he transforms reishi and chaga and turkey tail and lion’s mane mushrooms into healing teas and extracts. Together, we looked for chanterelles and chicken-of-the-woods, got on our hands and knees to study mushrooms, to smell them, to taste them. 

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