Hello, Spring - Visit to Cobb Hill

by Charlotte

Last Saturday I enjoyed a visit to Cobb Hill Cohousing in Vermont. Phil, one of the residents, showed me the common house, the farm, cheese-making, Jersey cows, sheep, vegetable gardens, the sugar bush, the ski trails, and finally, the homes.

It's a beautiful setting (I was there on a gorgeous first day of spring, so of course I'm not thinking of their winter weather!) including a flat river bottom for the farm and hillside woodlands and summer pastures.

Here are a few views:

Looking down from the hill toward the common house and the barns below.

Panorama of the homes beyond the common house - amazingly they all share the same core plan but by combining different dormers and bays, they look pleasantly varied. All have solar hot water and little photo-voltaic panels to power the water pumps.

The Jersey cows - they supply milk for the cheese-makers - in their state-of-the-art barn.

Inside the common house:

View from a home living room:

The central area is landscaped with rock gardens and terraces - there are paths across to the righthand row of houses that can be used for deliveries or emergency vehicles.

I left feeling so inspired - if we can do a fraction of the local food stuff that they are doing AND be close to transportation - we'll have our own little utopia!