EAST HARDWICK – Last week lived up to the guarantee of oppressive humidity and excessive heat. Montpelier, as one of our nearest long-term observation stations, tied record highs on both Wednesday and Thursday. Thursday’s high temperature of 90 degrees also occurred the year record-keeping started there in 1949. On Wednesday,[Read More…]
Columns
It’s Boston for me when it comes to the birth of the nation
EAST MONTPELIER – I’ve had the dubious good fortune during the past five years to drive every couple of weeks or so to the neighborhood of Boston. It’s becoming a habit, casually alternating visits to Nahant with my friend Bea’s visits here in Vermont. But where else would we be[Read More…]
Why we still talk about flooding
HARDWICK – I’ve heard more than one person say recently, “It hasn’t flooded for two years. Why are we still talking about flooding?” It’s a fair question, depending on your perspective. It probably does feel like we’re spending a lot of time talking about flooding right now. We are. In[Read More…]
Remember the Ladies
SHELBURNE – As we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, I am thinking of Abigail Adams and her famous letter to her husband, John, on March 31, 1776. He was in Philadelphia as a leading delegate to the Continental Congress negotiating the framework for[Read More…]
Weeks Gone By
125 years ago in The Hardwick Gazette. July 11, 1901 Baseball Barton and Hardwick baseball nines are going to cross bats and see who’s “best man” Saturday afternoon of this week. Each team has won one game, so this game will be the struggle for honors. Game will be played[Read More…]
Identifying the Recently-Introduced Jumping Worm
BURLINGTON – We are now in our gardens installing new plants, weeding and applying mulch. As we move soil, we inevitably encounter earthworms. Since introduced jumping worms have been reported across Vermont, many gardeners feel alarmed when earthworms appear. Jumping worms are the newest earthworms to appear in Vermont. The[Read More…]
Jewelweed is hummingbird favorite
BROOKFIELD – By midsummer, the deck in our backyard is lined with a profusion of tall orange flowers. Each flower is shaped like a small funnel with a curved spur and hangs from a slender arched stem. Hummingbirds zip back and forth, hovering in front of the flowers and probing[Read More…]
Groundcovers work as living mulch
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Most gardeners are familiar with the benefits of mulch. Its application helps suppress weeds, conserves soil moisture and helps regulate soil temperature. It can also help with erosion control by keeping topsoil in place. Plants can also act as a living mulch A groundcover plant is[Read More…]
Dangerous heat and oppressive humidity; cooling some for holiday weekend
EAST HARDWICK – The first week of astronomical summer featured high temperatures in the 70s, with abundant sunshine. Temperatures broke 80 degrees as we wrapped up the weekend. A few showers were mixed in, with about half an inch of accumulation over the course of the week. Temperatures continue to[Read More…]
Visiting one of the Isles of Shoals
EAST MONTPELIER – I’d never heard of Celia Thaxter, so when the producer of our TV show emailed that the crew had a chance to visit her garden on Appledore Island, I was politely underwhelmed. Still, it was a chance to visit one of the Isles of Shoals, which had[Read More…]
Are we planning for the storms of the future?
HARDWICK – Many Hardwick residents can remember a time when a storm meant steady rain for a day or two. Roads might flood. Fields might pond. Rivers would rise and eventually return to their banks. The floods of recent years felt different. In July 2023, portions of the Hardwick area[Read More…]
Broderick’s second season’s spring lambs bring new colors
EAST HARDWICK – In the early afternoon, with dew on the grass and sun peeking through the clouds, high pitched bleats echo through the air. With spring having come and gone, these summer mornings are a first for these fluffy springtime arrivals. Kevin and Karen Broderick returned hops farming to[Read More…]
