A loved, respected, admired, gentle, kind, and all-around awesome Silverback has left us for that greater Jungle in the sky. SB Derrick (Gilead SBs) was both the ultimate SB, but also the quintessential Vermonter. What makes a quintessential Vermonter? Well, he has to be a dairy farmer. And he has to prefer Jerseys over those walking Ben & Jerry’s billboards. (Move the slider bar left and right.)
And he has to make maple syrup during Mud Season, and to do it in the world’s most picturesque setting. That means being a proud participant in the greater farming community as a member of the Cabot Creamery Cooperative, the Traditional Maple Farmers, and the Grange, someone who is a fixture at the Tunbridge World’s Fair.
And you have to be a family man, with four sons, who will hopefully find a way to keep the family farming tradition alive. And you have to respect and provide for the Silverbelle Lady who provided you with those sons and who drives a mean tractor herself.
And you have to be a good neighbor who supplies the gardeners of Gilead Brook Road with mulch hay and manure, and who always has time for a little visitin’ after the delivery. It seems like just yesterday when Rick delivered maple syrup destined for delivery to other Silverbacks … and that’s because it was just yesterday.
Life is short and sweet, like sugarin’. RIP Silverback Derrick Wright of Gilead Brook Farm.