The leaves have lost their luster and begin the process of dropping to the ground. When all the leaves fall off, the locals call it stick season…no leaves…no snow…nothing. Going on “leaf patrol” (what I call raking leaves) reminds me that nature will soon change course and the sticks will turn white and the ground will be blanketed with snow.
Living in a “ski town” its interesting that people don’t tend to come until there is snow in their back yard. Yet, with all the advances of snow making and, our natural weather, we usually have enough snow for skiing even when most of New England does not. The outlook for this winter is….who knows? All the experts were calling for 10+ hurricanes this season yet only several appeared, so how can we trust any long range forecast? We’ll just hope it is a “normal winter” which brings with it plenty of the white stuff and fun for all…except for those of us who have to shovel it!
In the snow making area, I was told that the Trapps Nordic center will have some snow making capability this winter. That will help the many folks who come to visit us at Ten Acres Lodge since we seem to attract many cross country enthusiasts.
I know its hard to imagine winter right now but it is coming. If you plan on skiing, make your plans now. If you’d like a place to stay, give us a shout…we’d love to have you.
The professional hockey season started in Stowe last week even though no one knew about it. The Boston Bruins were in town for a little break from the rigors of training camp and for some team building. I was fortunate enough to be asked to lead their team building event while they were here.
It was great fun for me. I used to do this kind of work all the time in my corporate life and I’ve missed it since I bought Ten Acres three years ago. My plan was always to host team building events here at the lodge and now I’m hopeful that will begin to happen.
The team was great and did an excellent job throwing themselves into the activities I had designed to meet their needs. The Bruins are a commited organization that has invested resources of all kinds to help with the development of the club. I met with the team’s Sports Psychologists and gained insight into their challenges and goals. From there it was faciliate the event and help them discover how to work better.
One activity we did was orienteering. This was my first experience with it as a facilitator and I found it to be a useful activity. The guys loved it and worked hard to find all the targets. The other activitites were classic “low ropes” challenges…these are basically problem solving activities that require a team to think collectively. I was pleased at not only how well they did solving the problems, but the enthusiasm in discussing the process afterwards. They wanted to learn and get better. If you want to read an article on the day, click this link http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?show=localnews&pnpID=999&NewsID=842992&CategoryID=18256&on=1
The coaches and management seemed pleased with the day and I was fortunate to be asked to join the team for dinner that night. Some great stories were shared as well as dreams of a run to the playoffs. I haven’t followed hockey that much, but I told the guys I would be keeping an eye out on them throughout the season.
While the official start of the season for the Bruins is this Friday (in Dallas), to me, the season really started on an open field surrounded by fall colors in Stowe VT.
