January 25, 2010
 On crisp sunny winter days we dispense with our duties as quickly as possible to enjoy an outdoor activity. When we can take Toby, our Golden Retriever, all the better. It makes him a happy dog. This week we grabbed our snowshoes and headed to the Long Trail for a hike up Bromley Mountain. The trail-head can be found just south of Route 30 on Route 11 as you head toward Manchester. On the right you can see a parking area where Equinox Snow Tours orchestrates snowmobile rides through the mountains. Park there and walk along the snowmobile trail toward Bromley. The trail-head is on the left. (You can tell this is a foot path). White marks on the trees designate the path, but generally you can tell where the trail leads.      It is about 1 1/2 miles to the summit.
You know you are almost to the summit when you cross a ski trail at the top of Bromley mountain. We made friends with a few skiers who were surprised to see us, but couldn’t resist meeting our fuzzy partner. With the short winter day moving into late afternoon we headed back down the mountain into the rich light of a fading sun.
December 23, 2009
Holiday Preparations are almost complete…
A beautiful snow…
 decided to stay
Ornaments in the Tree
Festive trimmings
And conversations by the living room fire…
Create a season of warmth and good cheer
In the Kitchen…
Chef Zak
Prepares his stock
For Christmas and New Years Dinners
No escape for Mr. Lobster
While Dinner guests enjoy…
A quiet table in the corner
 beneath a local artist’s creation
Or next to the fire’s warm glow
December 6, 2009
New Package for Winter Weddings and Elopements!
Small weddings and elopements are in high demand, and we are happy to accommodate with our new all inclusive package. Just this morning a happy bride and groom departed with families and friends after two days of celebrating in our welcoming New England setting.
Ceremonies in our cozy living room or Tavern are followed by dinner next to a warm fire. You may plan a special menu prepared by our Chef Extraordinaire! Custom cake, flowers and more are all included to give your special day a lifetime of warm memories.
To see the details just visit our website from this link, or give us a call.
October 28, 2009
July 6, 2009
June 4, 2009
 Nestled between southern Vermont’s mountains and streams are hosts of farms and orchards producing a variety of fresh Produce that can be shopped or picked fresh from the field. Shown here is Walker Farm Stand, only 10 minutes away on Route 5 between Brattleboro and Putney, Vermont.
If you want to take a little taste of the country home with you we will direct you to the many farms, orchards, farm stands and farmer’s markets nearby. Just down the road on Route 30 is Dutton Farm Stand.
Actually, this is more than a farm stand. Fresh baked pies and breads, along with jams and jelly line the counter. Often the aroma of the latest creation fills the room. The Dutton family has been growing fresh produce throughout southern Vermont for decades.
 Scott’s Farm and Orchard and Dwight Miller Orchards also grow an extensive array of farm fresh products.
Every Saturday morning in the summer the Brattleboro Farmer’s Market is in full swing. You can also buy local farm products at the Brattleboro Food Co-op and the Putney Food Co-op.
Take a day to visit the local farms, farm-stands, orchards and Co-ops. Better yet, put on your jeans, wander the fields and pick your own…get in touch with your inner farmer!
Here is a seasonal listing of some favorite farm fresh products from the area:
March / April
Vermont’s famous Maple Syrup can be found in sugar houses throughout the area. Visit and watch the wood fire stove distill this golden harvest into the sweet amber syrup known throughout the world.
May
Spinach, Rhubarb, Ramps, Asparagus, Fiddlehead Ferns, Wild Mushrooms and Eggs
June
Cherries, English peas, Strawberries, Sugar snap peas, fillet beans, lettuces, rhubarb, apple blossom honey (a specialty of Dwight Miller)
July
Blueberries Raspberries Peaches, Plums, Peppers, Eggplants, Zucchini & Summer Squash, Herbs
August
Tomatoes, Blueberry and Peach peak season. (Many peach varieties become available) Currants, Blackberries, Watermelon Lopes, Dews, Nectarines, Legumes and Potatoes
September
Apples (Cortland, McIntosh, Gala, Honey Crisp, Macouns, Twenty Ounce, Empire, Wolf River. (Pick your own!) Pumpkins, Squash, Bartlett Pears, Magnes Pears, and Bosc Pears, Fall Raspberries. Table Grapes. It’s Cider Season!
October
More Apples! (Golden Delicious, Baldwins, Northern Spy, Blue Pearmain, Pound Sweet, Empires, Cortlands, Bancroft, Crandle) Pears, Pumpkins for pie, Pumpkins for carving, and Squash.
November
Root vegetables, Parsnips, Carrots, Gilfeather Turnips, Horseradish and assorted Turnips
May 26, 2009
 Summer is underway… We’re off! A full house of happy guests just checked out today. This Memorial Day weekend we had guests celebrating anniversaries and graduations, weekend ‘quick escape artists’, just looking for time to decompress, and several very active outdoor enthusiasts getting the season off to an active start. After sketchy forecasts the weather blessed us with cool sunny days and brisk evenings. This lively group experienced a nice variety of some of the area attractions. There is a lot of summer ahead! Grab your partner, lover or fuzzy friend and come visit. Don’t forget our weekly Monday Morning Specials. You can see them on our website, or get first crack by signing up for our weekly email. Just send us and email with ‘Monday morning special’ in the subject. Here’s a sample of what awaits!
 Canoe trips at BattenKill Canoe Some of the most beautiful areas of southern Vermont can be experienced from a canoe or kayak. At BattenKill Canoe you are escorted to the river and picked up at a pre-determined location downstream
 Bike rides and rentals from West Hill Bikes With a broad variety of bikes and routes to suit your ambition and ability. We have a large selection of paved and unpaved routes to give you a choice of short leisurely tours, or more demanding itineraries. We can direct you to scenic routes with light traffic to maximize your enjoyment of biking through the back roads of southern Vermont.
 (Very brisk) dips in our just-opened pool These intrepid souls were under 12, which explains how this was accomplished. However, with warm sunny days now at hand basking on the deck entertaining thoughts of taking a cold dip isn’t too bad.
 Golf at Stratton, Mt Snow, Haystack and more Also nearby are Brattleboro Country Club, and Okemo’s Tater Hill. Most of these locations offer summer golf school sessions which some of our guests will be attending later this summer. Escape to a golf outing here in the beautiful green hills and valleys of southern Vermont.
 Lounging by our stream, ponds and gardens We believe we witnessed major headway by our guests on books and newspapers out by the pool and the Adirondack chairs we have placed here and there throughout the grounds and next to the stream.
 Shopping at Dutton’s Farm Stand With farms throughout southern Vermont, Dutton’s Farm Stand always has a nice selection of local produce and fresh baked pies. Greg and Zak frequently make runs to Dutton’s when they are preparing the evening’s dinner menu. Having a cocktail in the Tavern or on the porch served by our experienced (and very accommodating) wait staff
 Head Waiter Bob Leavitt has been a Four Columns feature in the dining room for over 12 years and knows how to make a mean martini brim full to the top of the glass…just like you’re supposed to. (…and he never spills the drink) Better yet, he and the rest of the wait staff have a reputation for warm and professional dining service.
 Enjoying Chef Greg and Zak’s summer menus
Here Sous Chef Zak Clayton works his magic. Items on our menus change daily, with seasonal favorites introduced frequently. This weekend items included Crispy Soft Shell Crab with lemon caper tarragon mayonnaise, Local Wild Leek Soup with Fresh Morels, and Baked Halibut and lobster with slow-baked tomato, olive oil, rosemary and garlic.
 Hiking to the summit of Stratton Mountain and the Fire Tower
Actually, the weather was so beautiful we did this hike with Toby, our Golden Retriever and our legs are still all tingly. But if you want a good work-out and a great view this is the hike for you. The final climb to the top of the fire tower to see the surrounding mountains and lakes, and to feel the wind is well worth the effort!
 Glass Blowing exhibition at Taft Hill Gift Store and Gallery
This past weekend visitors were able to watch Robert DuGrenier and Zachary Wickhaman demonstrate their craft as they worked on a commissioned Tiffany sculpture for a store opening in Seattle. But you can visit any time to see these beautiful works of art and other fun items from the Taft Hill Gift Store
 And finally…
Retreating to one of our guest rooms for a good night’s sleep before enjoying a hearty country breakfast and finding the next adventure for the day ahead.
May 16, 2009
Jamaica State Park
 Pet friendly Four Columns Inn is the home of Toby, our robust, lovable and energetic Golden. If not taking a snooze Toby likes nothing more than escaping with his masters through the hills of Vermont, or touring to other places where he always seems to get attention and lots of pats.
One of Toby’s favorite Vermont hikes is beautiful Jamaica State Park, just up the road from The Four Columns. An old railroad bed from the 1800s manicured for hiking parallels the West River and makes a wonderful 2 ½ mile tour to the crest of the Bald Mountain Dam The trail is generally flat, and wide, perfect for a quiet stroll and conversation.
 Less than a mile into the hide a picnic table is situated on a platform overlooking the river. This is one of many great spots for a picnic. Before you take off for your hike you can grab a sandwich just across the street from The Four Columns at The Newfane General Store, or The Newfane Creamery.
A bit further is the Overlook loop trail. A little climb and worth the effort for the birds’ eye view of the surrounding hillsides. Another option on up the main trail is the Hamilton Falls trail. This is about a mile climb to see this beautiful waterfall and pool tucked into a deep crevasse in a beautiful wooded area.
Continuing on the trail next to the river brings you to a beaver pond at the base of Bald Mountain Dam. Here Toby likes to take a swim before we climb the switch-back trail to the top. Once you reach the top of the dam, views of Stratton Mountain can be enjoyed. Fresh stiff breezes always make this an exciting vista. Twice a year the gates of the dam open wide to the delight of whitewater kayakers from around New England. The trip to the dam and back is roughly 3 hours or more depending upon your pace. This is a hike we find rewarding in all seasons. Don’t forget your snowshoes or cross country skis in the winter!
May 13, 2009
Rock River Artists announce the 2009 studio tour
Saturday and Sunday, July 18 and 19
Take advantage of the 3-Day weekend Super Saver or other Packages and combine your tour with the dining and hospitality of the quintessentially New England Four Columns Inn
The self-guided tour begins in picturesque South Newfane, Vermont.
Maps to individual artists’ studios will be available at The Four Columns and at The Old Schoolhouse in South Newfane.
The 17th Rock River Studio Tour offers a quintessential Vermont summer getaway. Anyone who has done Rock River knows the tour is different every time, and many people regularly plan their summer travels around the July event
The breathtaking art produced in this valley burgeons in the fertile fields of a sublime landscape. Within minutes of beginning the tour, one may see a sunny pasture overcome with daylilies, a cool forest fragrant with fallen hemlock needles, a 200-year-old barn still in use on a family farm, a dirt road that winds up a steep slope through a quaint old wood, and a covered bridge that crosses a clattery, shimmering river. It’s worth coming to Rock River just for the chance to take the many roads less traveled by.
But for most visitors, the draw of Rock River is the unique alchemy that results when you have 15 world-class artists showing their work within a 12-mile radius. When these artists open their homes, gardens and studios to the public for the weeke nd, the experience is comfortably intimate. Though this is a tour, participants are not treated like tourists: everyone is invited in as a back-door neighbor. And while the tour includes many artists whose works regularly appear in big-name galleries and museum collections, that is not the point here. A museum visit resembles Rock River the way a display of stuffed lions resembles a safari. The art in its native habitat, much of it in progress, still pulses with the ideas, emotions and other mysterious forces that originally called it into being.
For more information about the tour visit the Rock River Artist website.
May 12, 2009
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On crisp sunny winter days we dispense with our duties as quickly as possible to enjoy an outdoor activity. When we can take Toby, our Golden Retriever, all the better. It makes him a happy dog. This week we grabbed our snowshoes and headed to the Long Trail for a hike up Bromley Mountain. The trail-head can be found just south of Route 30 on Route 11 as you head toward Manchester. On the right you can see a parking area where Equinox Snow Tours orchestrates snowmobile rides through the mountains. Park there and walk along the snowmobile trail toward Bromley. The trail-head is on the left. (You can tell this is a foot path). White marks on the trees designate the path, but generally you can tell where the trail leads.
