Notes from the host
Arctic Acres
This house is available by the week or longer only. Long-term rentals welcome; contact owner for rates. The Vermont room tax of 12% does not apply to any rental of 30 days or more.
JUST INSTALLED, JULY 2024: TESLA UNIVERSAL LEVEL 2 ELECTRIC-CAR CHARGER. Works with all electric vehicles, including non-Tesla cars. Charging is free to all renters.
Our home sits on 450 SPECTACULAR ACRES, which includes about 90 acres of BEAUTIFUL FIELDS, with the balance FOREST, PRIMARILY SUGAR MAPLE, with sections of softwood. There are MILES OF PRIVATE WALKING TRAILS throughout the forests, several of which lead to a very PRIVATE FIELD with STUNNING LONG RANGE VIEWS, a sitting PLATFORM AND PICNIC TABLE. We have spent many hours hiking these secluded trails, and never came back to the house without feeling wonderfully refreshed in body and soul.
The west side of the property ABUTS THE BARR HILL NATURE PRESERVE for more than 3000 feet, a 255 acre parcel owned by the Vermont Nature Conservancy.
The house itself is surrounded by ESTABLISHED PERENNIAL FLOWER GARDENS, large maples, with raspberries, blueberries, gooseberries and currants.
Visible from almost every room in the house is the ONE AND ONE HALF ACRE BEAUTIFUL POND fed by a named stream and six large springs. Some people when viewing the pond exclaim that it looks more like a lake. This pond acts as a WILDLIFE MAGNET, and over the years we have seen in or near the pond moose, bear and cubs, deer, coyote, fox and kits, otter, bobcat, a multitude of various ducks and in the spring ducklings, blue heron, American Bittern, an occasional bald eagle, osprey, etc. The water is crystal clear and cold, and offers wonderful REFRESHING SWIMMING.
When we bought our home in 1987, we had this 1830's old hill farm house thoroughly renovated, while retaining much of the OLD WORLD CHARM, such as the now-exposed HAND HEWN BEAMS in the living room and country kitchen, and some very wide old floor boards which became glowing with their 175-plus years after refinishing. We insulated the house and replaced all electrical, plumbing and heating (baseboard hot water, six zones), and installed fifty-two Marvin window with skylights, so that the house is FLOODED WITH LIGHT, even in the winter. In the summer, the surrounding maples provide lovely shade throughout, as well as on the back deck, which also overlooks the pond.
There are FOUR BEDROOMS, THREE OF WHICH HAVE THEIR OWN PRIVATE BATHS. Two have queen beds, one a double bed, and one with a single bed. One queen bedroom and the single bedroom share a full bath. A second queen bedroom is large, has its own bath with shower, and a private deck. The fourth bedroom is very private, with a double bed, and has its own half-bath and an additional sitting room, creating together a private
suite. ALL BEDROOMS HAVE VIEWS OF THE POND and fields. There is an additional full bath downstairs, with an old claw-foot tub, wonderful for soaking.
The house is RAMBLING and over 3100 square feet, FRONT AND BACK STAIRCASE, and in addition to the four bedrooms, living room and dining area, there is a private study downstairs, and a large family room/library with hundreds of books, and a very NEW SMART TV with satellite service and Netflix. This room is also home to a beautiful refinished 1884 walnut Steinway upright piano, recently professionally tuned.
The spacious living room, with windows overlooking the pond to the west and the barn to the east, is very comfortably furnished with a large sofa, three easy chairs and a rocker, and plenty of reading lights. There is also a new HEARTHSTONE WOOD STOVE in the living room, with a glass door, which combines the pleasure of sitting in front of the fire with the efficiency of a modern wood stove. We provide aged firewood for this stove.
The COUNTRY KITCHEN IS FULLY EQUIPPED, with plenty of dishes, silver, glassware and pots and pans. There is a DINING AREA off the kitchen, with a table for 6, with VIEWS OF THE POND, the large field to the south, and the forests beyond.
There is also GOOD INTERNET AND WI-FI throughout the house, fast enough to stream high definition movies from Netflix. There is no TV reception. There is a landline phone available. We also have a whole-house generator, which goes on automatically and seamlessly during any power outage, which does occur in rural Vermont.
In our many years of living there we always found this house A COMFORTABLE AND COMFORTING HOME, and now invite others to enjoy what gave us such deep enjoyment.
Please note: this is a NON-SMOKING house.
We will allow one pet only, with permission. There is an additional charge of $100 per reservation for a pet. Absolutely no cats are allowed.
Greensboro has long been a vacation destination for more than a century because of its pastoral beauty and Caspian Lake. Today it combines many rich cultural activities in the summer with five active dairy farms (there are only 700 plus in the entire state), one of them being the renowned Jasper Hill Farm (cheese). There is a Black Angus grass-fed beef farm, locally produced maple syrup, a blueberry farm, and a local farmer's market. Very near to our house one can buy fresh eggs, local organic pork, local organic lamb, local organic beef, as well as organic vegetables from the famous Pete's Greens in neighboring Craftsbury. The Wilson Farm Stand is open seasonally.
Less than a mile from our house is award-winning Hill Farmstead Brewery, rated number one artisan brewery in the world in four of the last five years.
For those who enjoy live MUSIC, there are the wonderful Craftsbury Chamber Players and Summer Music in Greensboro, which between them have performances several times weekly in the summer. And in 2017, the twelve million dollar HIGHLAND CENTER FOR THE ARTS opened, with high quality performances in varying venues, as well as a CAFE with an emphasis on local foods and specialties.
Greensboro has its own COUNTRY CLUB, with both golf and tennis facilities open to the public.
There is also the world famous Circus Smirkus, with its enthusiastic and remarkable performance of youth activities.
During the summer, there are so many plays, concerts, and other community activities that one could spend each evening in a different setting, although many people will enjoy relaxing on our deck, enjoying the natural changing canopy which appear on the pond, fields, and forests beyond.
M
Hosted by Mark and Mary McGrath
