EAST MONTPELIER – Political historian Heather Cox Richardson, author of the daily newsletter “Letters from an American,” opined the other day that the news of the past week has seemed to be breaking faster than ever. From the invasion of Venezuela and kidnapping of its president and first lady, to[Read More…]
Columns
The Crack of Dawn
When my mind races down the rabbit hole of brokenness, I remind myself of Leonard Cohen’s song, “Anthem.” “There is a crack in everything/that’s how the light gets in.” My inbox has been flooded with the year-in-review emails: all the breaking news of 2025. Well into 2026 now, it seems[Read More…]
How to help Evening Grosbeaks and Researchers
Vermont Center for Ecostudies WHITE RIVER JUNCTION – Every holiday season, my family and I spend a weekend day cutting down our Christmas tree. We like to go to a local place about 45 minutes away in New Hampshire. The owner used to be a wetlands scientist, and you can[Read More…]
The winter garden, full of interest, beauty
CABOT – The winter garden is an underrated joy. Even in the deepest part of winter, a garden can be full of interest and beauty, full of different heights and textures and colors. If you would like to enjoy your garden year-round, the key is to incorporate trees, shrubs, and[Read More…]
Houseplant care during winter months
BURLINGTON – Winter has officially arrived, bringing unique challenges in caring for houseplants. At this time of year, we experience less intense and fewer hours of sunlight. For most indoor plants, the lack of daylight signals a special kind of dormancy called quiescence. During this period, plants conserve their energy[Read More…]
The day the FBI came to Grandma’s house
HARDWICK – In the early morning of August 24, 2022, FBI agents raided my house. Unbeknownst to me, for the previous three weeks I had been renting one of my Airbnb spaces to Brian Preller, a participant in the events of January 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol. The FBI[Read More…]
Light accumulating snow to start; sun appears by Friday
EAST HARDWICK – Not having a thaw during the winter last year felt like an anomaly. It turns out that was true. Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve seen several rounds of brief warm-ups causing precipitation to turn to rain. One episode of that came just before 2026, when[Read More…]
Miles were already adding up
EAST MONTPELIER – Normally, when I thread the stop-and-go traffic of Lynn, break out at last into seven breakneck miles of I-95, and then merge into the rocket-propelled caravan of I-93, headed for New Hampshire and Vermont, it’s with a feeling of regret. I’m leaving a lovely weekend behind, and[Read More…]
Change to definition of library, librarian
HARDWICK – At the beginning of a new year it is not unusual to reflect on what around us has changed in the past twelve months. How much taller are our children or grandchildren? How much has that apple tree grown? How many more miles are on the odometer? How[Read More…]
Seven haiku for a new year
O, how our minds need to grasp: what is held in thoughtis what waits in store. Thinking, watching from a perfect sanctuary.Nothing understood. Here, now, yet again, a chance to experienceexperiencing. Ocean-walk at dawn. Sun, surf, breeze, seagulls singing.Godhead 1.0. Silence says, “Come in.” Learn here-dwelling, story-free.Then — unchained —[Read More…]
The incredible shrinking shrew
MILLBROOK, N.Y. – Last autumn, I was canoeing in a quiet saltwater cove on the Maine coast when I realized I had a tiny stowaway onboard. A masked shrew (Sorex cinereus, also called the cinereus or common shrew) was huddled in the boat’s bow, trying to disappear into the nose[Read More…]
Quiet persistence of clubmosses
BROOKFIELD – Walking in our woods in winter, I notice dense patches of clubmoss that lend a welcome splash of green to the forest floor. Some of these evergreen plants resemble miniature Christmas trees; others have fuzzy runners that creep across the ground. Despite their name, clubmosses are not true[Read More…]
