>I wonder if isolating for so long has dulled people's immune response to these relatively common viruses?

I think this is definitely a factor in households with small children -- a lot of kids going into daycare, preschool, and kindergarten this last fall have had so little exposure to other people.

So you have environments that are already known to be a massive vectors for communicable disease, and a bunch of little people who've never been exposed to common illnesses. Combine that with parents who may have also been heavily isolated for the last few years?

https://preview.redd.it/ofch9yxqoela1.jpeg?width=450&format=pjpg&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=b69e56bafda07b5d5679dbaabe5d44e94cfb9273

They sell GMB flags at the State history museum.

The portrait room at the Vermont History Museum could work -- it's right downtown, so it would be easy for guests to get between the two spaces. Room would be big enough for 60 without it feeling too cavernous. The portraits would lend a cool backdrop, and it would be easy to dress up the room with a some floral arrangements and other decorations. You'd also be right by the State House for pictures.

If it doesn't taste like Satan's piss after a hefty serving of asparagus and pine needles, you're doing it wrong.

This person wastewaters.

If it's like every "Vermonter" pizza or burger at (insert high end pub grub place) it will have cheddar, apple, bacon and maple syrup in some form.

This is what I'm guessing -- I've met a fair few conservatives who think that Vermont is a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah.

Do you know the political affiliation of your wife's coworker? Because I've found that some conservative people think that Vermont is the home of Fully Automated Luxury Gay Socialism where we happily murder newborn babies in retroactive abortion while we dance naked around a bonfire.

White Christmas, maybe? It takes place in Vermont (even if it wasn't filmed here.)

If you rent out the Lodge, you can have the reception right on site -- that's what we did. The only thing to note with this option is that you'll either need your guests to do a true BYOB or hire a bartending service. You can't do the "bring a bunch of coolers" at the State Parks.

What time of year? There are a lot of State Parks that could fit the bill and the venue/day use fees are very affordable. (I think the big, purpose-built venues at Kingsland Bay are the exception.)

We had ours at Mt. Philo, and our cost for the venue ended up being under $500 for the Lodge rental and day-use fees for our guests. Ranger Pam was awesome to work with and you can't ask for a better spot for photos. Depending on if you want a "mountain" or "lake" wedding there are a few options that could work, as far as the distance and facilities.

Once had a friend who works with unhoused people down in NYC visiting, and she had a shocked look when I said something about "listen to that gorgeous thrush!" She was very relieved to find out they were a family of birds.

Exactly -- my "favorite" encounter with a rude dog owner this year was in Groton over Labor Day weekend when a guy called us flatlanders because we asked him to leash his dogs after they ran up to us, growling with tails down, and started sniffing us down and slobbering on us. When we told him his were the only unleashed dogs we'd encountered the entire hike he said "well, they must all be flatlanders, too."

Charming.

One of the reasons we haven't done it, actually -- we try to check beforehand to see what regulations are, and we go to a lot of bird sanctuaries because they're typically prohibited there. But, of course, people still bring their dogs :/

As a frequent hiker this is one of my only complaints about the trails here. There are way too many people with untrained dogs who let them run loose, and then act like you're the problem if you ask them to leash their animal. Or, god forbid, put a hiking/ski pole between you and the dog when they're acting aggressively towards you.

My husband is also nervous around dogs, especially large ones, and we've had a few different hikes this year interrupted by rude dog owners who got argumentative when we asked them to follow the regulations after their dogs jumped all over us.

If you can't consistently verbally recall your dog the first time, they shouldn't be off leash at all. If a wildlife area/park says leash your dog, they need to be on a leash. If a trail says no dogs...don't take your dog. It's not safe for other people, it's not safe for your dog, and its disruptive to wildlife to let them run all over the place.

Some do, and the Venn diagram of those employers and the ones claiming "no one wants to work" is pretty much a circle.

The companies losing employees right now are losing them to employers that pay better and/or treat them with more respect. You don't get unemployment if you quit a job, and the expanded benefits have expired anyway.

I left an employer last year who loved this rhetoric, but they paid below market wages and were positively draconian when it came to how they treated workers. Believe it or not, paying people subsistence wages while treating them like kindergarteners isn't a great way to retain talent.

They even invited a bunch of us in to talk about how they could keep employees; when we talked about wages, they poo pooed us and implied we "only cared about money." Well, no shit, we aren't working for the greater advancement of (insert international manufacturer), we're working to support our families and build a life. Especially when the bonuses for the CEOs are public record. We aren't stupid, we know the money is there.

When I left weeks later, for a better paying job with a local small business that treats me incredibly well, they were all *shocked Pikachu face* and threatened me with never being hired there again. THE HORROR.

There are plenty of applicants for jobs that pay well and respect their workers as actual people with actual lives. It's not our problem that you/your employer/your family business thinks people should live in poverty for the privilege of working themselves to the bone.

Unfortunately, most of the "Mexican" places I've been to in VT have been overpriced hipster joints. Thankfully it's not too hard to make pretty authentic stuff at home, and I have family in a couple of places where I can get the real deal.

I don't feel like paying $10+ for 3 measly tacos with "fusion" flavors, stale tortillas and listless salsa, which seems to be the norm.