Don't get me wrong. It's an inviting town, well worth a visit. Just a few weeks ago I spent a rewarding afternoon exploring the writer Shirley Jackson's legacy here. But there's the rub. My habit is to become intrigued by something or somewhere. I'll do a little research, then go and check it out. Boots on the ground. And, too often, not go back again, sometimes for years.
It isn't that the 'something or somewhere' disappointed. More a case of "So many places, so little time". My restless curiosity gets the best of me. I crave fresh discovery. There's nothing like the thrill of a first date, even if that first date is with a limestone ledge and its fossils. Or a buggy swamp that might possibly host a few overlooked orchids. And so I move on and on. And sadly, don't keep in touch with my old 'place' friends.
Cuddling with Mary - Web image
But on January 17, 2019 Mary Oliver died, and I knew I'ld be going back to North Bennington. Oliver's poetry was an inspiration to all who take their sustenance from nature. Over the course of a long life she wrote hundreds, maybe thousands, of poems. Some fine prose as well. In Long Life there's an essay titled 'Home' that could well serve as the anthem for this blog.
She liked to walk. Almost every morning found her wandering thru fields, woods, along beaches. Always with a notebook, often with her beloved dogs. For most of her life she lived in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Her poems are filled with images of the shore, the ocean and the life they nourish.
She also taught. For five years from 1996 to 2001 she taught at Bennington College. Her students remember her warmly. She was selflessly dedicated to them and their work. Humble about her own writing. And they remember seeing her walking. Early in the morning, usually with a dog.
Bennington College - Web image
Since her passing I've been reading and rereading Oliver's poems. So have a lot of other people. If I could, I'ld go to Provincetown. Walk where she walked. Follow her admonition:
"To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work." But the Cape is a little beyond my reach. North Bennington, on the other hand, I can do. And that's what Gwenne and I did recently. We went to Vermont and walked where Mary might have. I'll share a little of what we saw. Nothing poetic but I did try to pay attention.
THE SHORT ALDRICH TRAIL
From the circle in the center of town we crossed Paran Creek and drove up Prospect Street to where it turns sharp left. Instead of turning, go straight thru the stone pillars to a small parking lot. The Short Aldrich Trail begins just a little back down Prospect on the left. It's a narrow footpath that winds thru several distinctly different wooded areas, eventually coming to a place where you can cross Paran creek, walk some streets and then enter the Mile-Around Woods on the other side of the valley.
At least that's the way you are supposed to do it. We, on the other hand, followed what seemed like a well trodden path that started right from the parking area. It turned out to be a short cut that students use to get to town. We quickly came out in back of Jennings Hall, the impressive stone mansion that houses Bennington College's music department and that is reputedly haunted. Denied any ghost sightings, we wandered college lanes and paths before coming to The Orchard, a small cluster of houses used by faculty. Past the colleges observatory and gardens we eventually entered the woods and picked up the Short Aldrich Trail back to our truck.
The Bennington College campus is invitingly spacious with open fields and eclectic architecture. What's called The Blue Trail encircles it. I don't know what the college's policies are but it seems OK to walk here and it's certainly pleasant. I'm sure Mary Oliver's footsteps fell on every inch of these paths.
THE ROBERT FROST TRAIL
I doubt if she ever walked the next trail we went on. But I'll bet she would have liked to. What poet wouldn't want to follow The Robert Frost Trail? But it wasn't built until 2011, post-dating Oliver's time in North Bennington. It goes from the Lake Paran beach to the Robert Frost Stone House Museum in nearby South Shaftsbury. Lore has it that Frost, after an all night writing session, went out for a morning walk. Then he came back, sat at his kitchen table and wrote "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening". That fruitful walk, in June of 1922, may have traced the route of today's Robert Frost Trail.
We hiked a couple of miles out to Paran Creek and back (With nothing to show for it but this blog post. Obviously, I'm no Robert Frost!). That's about half the way to the Museum. Most of the route is along the lake shore with one hill that takes you up to a high, open meadow with sweeping views. The Green Mountains look like a wooded tidal wave coming in from the east while cone shaped Mt. Anthony shares the southern horizon with its phallic companion, the Bennington Monument. To the west are the low hills of the Vt./N.Y. border. This area is sometimes referred to as the Hoosic Falls reentrant, where the Walloomsac and Hoosic Rivers have eroded a gap in the High Taconic ridgeline.
Naturalist will find much to enjoy along the Robert Frost Trail. Even on a cold winter day we saw mallards on open water above a beaver dam and scores of tracks in the snow. Come the first warm days of spring this south facing hillside will come alive with flower blossoms and bird song. I'm think Mary would have liked it here.
THE MILE-AROUND WOODS
No walking tour of North Bennington is complete without visiting The Mile-Around Woods. Since they were open to the public in 1994, and the carriage road has been there much longer, I would be surprised if Mary didn't spend time here during her teaching years.
To access the property go up West Street from the town circle. After going thru an intersection and past the Park-McCullough House you'll see a lane leading across fields on the left. There is limited parking along the road. Walk on the lane between fences and don't disturb the horses that sometimes graze in adjoining pastures. The maple lined lane ascends a low hill to informational maps and signage at the forests edge.
The carriage road winds thru an impressive, mature forest with lots of healthy looking beech trees and some glacial erratic boulders that kids have fun playing on. Most folks will just stroll the Mile-Around loop but there is an extensive network of trails that can be explored. This would also make a good ski tour, being wide and gently rolling. The bedrock in this part of Vermont is dolostone with some marble and these carbonates should encourage a profusion of spring wildflowers. No matter the season, The Mile-Around Woods will delight.
Map with trails in purple - Short Aldrich on right and Mile-Around to the left
Mary Oliver's heart may have been in Provincetown but her feet had a five year fling with North Bennington. Life gets a little better when you read her poetry, share her sensibility, walk where she did. And when you pay attention.
A FEW STEPS FURTHER...
Learn more about Mary Oliver and North Bennington at these sites:
* Her former students reminisce here.
* The poet gave few interviews but she did talk to Krista Tippett for On Being. Listen to the podcast or read the transcript here.
* The Fund for North Bennington is the community organization that has preserved the land and developed the trails I mention. Find out more about them here.
* Isabel Marlens has put together a neat guide to spring ephemeral's that you might see on these trails. Access it here. They'll be blooming before you know it.
* Info on the Robert Frost Stone House Museum here.
* Many people go to North Bennington just to visit the Park-McCullough House. It's conveniently adjacent to the Mile-Around Woods. Here's what you need to know.
* Brett Stanciu is a writer/blogger from northern Vermont. She's also a fan of Mary Oliver. You might enjoy her Stony Soil Vermont.
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