Dear Friends,

It’s Kali writing for Don this week, as he and Grace become one with Rastafarianism while on vacation in Jamaica. As Don’s mentioned many times, he’s not a big fan of winter (I don’t second that, clearly), so we like to imagine that he’s blissfully soaking up the sun and sand with a good book, unplugged from the outside world.

Around here, we try to take vacations just as seriously as our work—as much as we love it, the more one can retreat from the constantly connected, fast-paced nature of our business and re-energize, the better. (Don, you better not be reading this…if so, shut that iPad and relax!)

The big news this week was that Governor Shumlin and representatives from All Earth Renewables and Freeaire were on hand to “cut the cord” and dedicate our new solar array, designed to convert sunlight directly into electricity and located on the grounds of our Waitsfield, VT headquarters. Currently, they are powering 100% our South Burlington location’s electricity and a percentage of Waitsfield’s usage; we hope to improve upon that in the future! Check out the photos on our Flickr page here.

Small Dog Electronics, along with the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing and Woodchuck Cider, was recognized yesterday by the Vermont Growers Association regarding our partnership in the annual Apples to iPods event. Each fall, wooden apples are hidden within the trees of participating Vermont apple orchards, and the lucky scavengers who find them are rewarded with an iPod or iPad! We’re happy to be involved in a promotion that supports local farmers, and though apple-picking season seems far off at the moment, we look forward to another successful event.