When Amy Lothrop, of Winooski, took her Girl Scouts troop snowshoeing last winter, none of the girls had been before. She initially heard some reluctant grumbles, but by the end, they were asking, “When can we go again?”
The act of flipping a row of sizzling burgers on a barbecue grill is one of summer’s simple pleasures. But there is danger lurking in those glowing embers, and the potential damage is far worse than a few charred cheeseburgers.
Freshwater mussels are not exactly charismatic. They don’t flit gracefully about like a Karner blue butterfly, or munch on clover like a cottontail. They aren’t known for their sweet songs like a wood thrush, and they don’t close down traffic on the first rainy night of spring like spotted s…
I don’t know how the mosquitoes know, but they do know. They know that whenever a motorized vehicle, radiating carbon dioxide and heat (among their favorite attractors) pulls up to the steel gate at the entrance to the Dartmouth College Grant, smack in the middle of a large cold-water swamp,…
LYNDONVILLE — Who knew chasing dreams could mean chasing storms?
The act of flipping a row of sizzling burgers on a barbecue grill is one of summer’s simple pleasures. But there is danger lurking in those glowing embers, and the potential damage is far worse than a few charred cheeseburgers.
I recently went to Cochranville, Pennsylvania, to visit relatives, and they brought me to visit a successful farm-to-table farmer. I learned some new and interesting ways of looking at gardening, and I think they are worth sharing with you.
Chloe Rose, 2018
A sizzling steak on the grill is a great way to soak in the flavors of summer. Make it a local venison steak and you’ll be joining many Vermonters who enjoy food from our own fields and forests.
Part of it is loving the sound of Helga’s left rear tire on the road just behind my elbow; another part of it is the muffled restraint of a German exhaust; a third part is feeling the wind ruffling my hair; and a large part is gratitude that I still have hair to ruffle. The impulse to go is …
I’ve never subscribed to the old saying that “Children should be seen and not heard.” So it shouldn’t surprise you that I don’t insist that all the flowers in my garden stay in place each year, and that those that do wander are not necessarily disciplined with a weeding tool. No, I recognize…
Whether you love or hate heat and humidity, it’s important to take precautions in the summer to protect yourself from heat-related illnesses.
On early summer nights, I sometimes see large, pale green moths with long, twisted tails fluttering near our porch light. Later, I often find them dead on the ground. These beautiful moths are luna moths, named for the Roman goddess of the moon. Each of their four wings has a transparent, mo…
In 1760, a relentless phalanx of army worms devoured almost every green thing in its path on its march through the Connecticut River Valley.
What would you say if a friend asked you to define independence?
The lazy days of summer are here. With the lure of long mornings of sleeping in and no schoolwork, it can be hard to keep teens mentally and physically active. Here are some ideas to help them stay busy through the summer months.
Lilac season is about over. For the last two weeks, I have enjoyed the amazing fragrance of “Miss Kim,” a species of lilac (Syringa patula) with light purple blossoms. It was sold to me some 25 years ago as a dwarf lilac, but it is not. It’s just slow-growing. Mine is now 10 feet tall and wi…
The lazy days of summer are here. With the lure of long mornings of sleeping in and no schoolwork, it can be hard to keep teens mentally and physically active. Here are some ideas to help them stay busy through the summer months.
What would you say if a friend asked you to define independence?
July is a month of memories, of in-the-dark-of-night fishing on the coast of Maine for striped bass. But something happened along the way, something that opened up a new approach to angling on an overcast morning of fishing with my three sons a few years ago.
Lupine is one of the most spectacular flowers of early summer, painting long stretches of roadside with shades of purple and blue. Thanks to this tall, showy plant, even a stop-and-go drive to Boston’s Logan Airport has its moments of beauty (as I recently had occasion to observe). Full sun …
I was lucky to get the job. Fresh out of college with a bachelor’s in English, a wife and two kids, I was looking for something other than seasonal construction work for a change. Somebody mentioned an open teaching position in high school English in a town on the west shore of Lake Champlai…
At Mike’s Store and Deli in Hartland, customers can order up specialty sandwiches, warm meals, and food off the grill, plus a coffee or local craft beer or wine to round out the meal. But what customers don’t see is a compost bucket — two of them, actually, one in the store’s kitchen and the…
Every year, as Vermont’s black bears emerge hungry from their winter dens, we hear about our neighbors’ encounters. As the bears amble onto lawns to ransack bird feeders, compost piles and trash bins or — worse — attempt break-ins in homes and garages, we feel both surprised and in awe of na…
A few months ago, I was at a gathering among people I know when I took a small device from a pocket to check the time. Just as I was about to put the device away, a woman asked if she could get a look at it. I handed it to her and she then held it up in the air. “Hey, everybody,” she said, “…
It's June! As we finish up planting our vegetable and flower gardens, it's a good time to start thinking about how you will address your inevitable garden problems and questions that pop up each year like weeds.
Prisma Sauvignon Blanc, 2017
Consider for a second a fish that can live in turbid, low-oxygen water. Can breathe through its skin. Eats almost anything. Has a wickedly effective defense mechanism. And is a really focused parent. Plus, it’s good to eat.
My earliest memory of a flower dates back to spring, 1948, when I was just 2 years old and living in Hingham, Massachusetts (we moved away that fall, so I know the year). My mother, sister and I were walking through a pine woods when we encountered a cluster of pink lady slipper orchids. I w…
What would you say if a friend asked you to define independence?
A Bronx borough of New York shoe store owner placing a package in a secure location inside his shop. The Access Point is one service UPS offers to help manage the flow of delivery packages.
Over the course of 50 years, I went to the same hunting camp in the Adirondacks, up on a shoulder of Hopkins Mountain. The gang there possessed a wide range of talents and abilities, but one of them stood out to me because of his mechanical savvy. Charlie had been, among other things, an exo…
Last year, e-cigarette use, or vaping, among high school students rose by 78%, and more than 3.6 million middle and high school students used e-cigarettes — an increase of 1.5 million more youth from the previous year. These are alarming statistics and they are expected to continue to rise.
So school is out, and now the kids have too much time on their hands.
One afternoon last summer, my partner Rick called me out onto our deck to see a tiny hummingbird. Not just tiny, but the tiniest hummingbird he had ever seen. My curiosity piqued, I walked out and there it was — hovering in front of the bee balm, sipping nectar and beating its wings at an im…
“How much farther to the summit?” is a question I hear often from other hikers when I’m out on the trail. It’s a fair question to ask your fellow travelers when your legs are tired and your mind isn’t sure if it can take another uphill step.
If you’re like me, by now you have your garden planted, both vegetables and flowers. It seems like a good time to take a deep breath, pour a cold glass of your favorite beverage and watch the flowers perform. I have set up chairs by my Japanese primroses for viewing, and have invited friends…
According to the National Aphasia Association, 2 million people in the United States have aphasia. Many people don’t know what Aphasia is. Do you?
Weeds! They’re every gardener’s nemesis. While our gardens will likely never be completely free of all weeds, there are ways to keep them under control.
New York Route 149 West ends at a T-shaped intersection with U.S. 9 a little bit south of Lake George and its multiple tourist attractions. I was about a half-mile short of that spot after a pleasant, sun-soaked Saturday morning drive across Vermont, over the Green Mountains west of Killingt…
In one of my favorite movies, “Gettysburg,” there’s a scene in which Joshua Chamberlain, colonel of the 20th Maine and two days away from performing a prodigy of defense that will earn him the Congressional Medal of Honor, and his staff sergeant, Buster Kilrain, two days away from receiving …
Apothic Red
Death is always one moment away for most young, wild creatures in springtime.
Have you seen a spotted lanternfly? If you live in New England, and answered “no,” that’s good. But we’ll have to check back with you next year.
There are weeds to worry about. There is even one that I fear. But most weeds are just a nuisance and can be managed relatively easily.
