Despite concerns about demonstrations in the wake of last week’s attack on the US Capitol, Vermont’s State House was practically deserted Sunday except for media and law enforcement. Police, reporters and a few curious citizens chatted, and it just another quiet, gray and snowy Vermont day, but one with security unheard of on a winter Sunday afternoon. The only demonstrators were down at Montpelier’s city hall several blocks away protesting against fascism.
As crazy as the rest of 2020, winter at the end of the year was happening slowly, in cold starts followed by fits of warm weather. Above, the colors of winter rolled in over Camel’s Hump, north-central Vermont’s local mountain. Below, the wintry look of Dec. 23 followed by the unwintry look of Dec. 26, after a day of fifty-degree weather and rain. 
Snow due tonight and tomorrow will change things.
Stick Season: the interlude in Vermont between autumn and winter, when there are no leaves and no snow. But there are long, long shadows, peace, and a sense of anticipation for the next seasonal act. Above: East Montpelier. Below: North Branch of the Winooski River and elsewhere in Montpelier. Click here for a gallery of Stick Season shadows and people.
Maybe because of the drought, peak fall foliage in Vermont has come early this year. It’s spectacular, but the dry, brittle leaves are coming down fast. These are from Albany and Craftsbury, in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. 
We’ve had some frosty nights, followed by summer-like weather, so the water temperature in Lake Champlain has plummeted into the low 60s, but it’s still paddling season. 
Apple time at Burtt’s pick-your-own orchard, Cabot VT. Burtt’s plants the trees in intensive rows, supported by cables, more like a vineyard than a traditional orchard, so the trees are closer together, the apples easier to harvest. Definitely doesn’t look like an old-time orchard with trees, pruned to be low and to gather the sun, dotting a hillside.
Lake Champlain never disappoints, whatever its mood. These are from Burlington’s waterfront a few days before I broke my ankle.
It seemed as though real spring would never arrive, but overnight, the leaves popped and it was here. Most of these are in the town of East Montpelier, VT.
A funny spring so far: warm and then cold with snow sweeping across the highlands. Now we have the leaves ready to pop and the mountaintops are white. Makes for a nice contrast of green and white, but warm temperatures are coming and in about a week it will really look like spring. These are all in the stately rolling town of East Montpelier, VT. 
November turned to winter in a hurry: snow, skiing and temperatures one night near zero. Both photos, early season skiers at Craftsbury Outdoor Center, VT, USA.