there are still quite a few farms in Vermont, albeit smaller than the ones you may find out in the Midwest or western plains. A quick look at the census data shows that while farms are becoming more plentiful again in Vermont, they’re getting smaller as the next generation becomes more creative about keeping farming as a viable career choice.
Vermont’s history as a farming state has generated hundreds of miles of fences of all kinds, and even when land changes hands or purposes, the fences often remain as memorials to the The efforts of the farmers who have come and gone. The split rail fences are, for me, some of the most picturesque of these testaments.
The weatherworn, unpainted variety are my favorite. In the summer and fall, they complement the foliage perfectly. On rainy days in mud season, however, they and the stark lines of the still naked trees seem to combine perfectly the creative efforts of man and mother nature.