WEST LEBANON, N.H. – Most people know that the bottom of a northern lake or large pond is a mucky, muddy mess of weeds, decayed leaves, some rocks, and a few crayfish to avoid stepping on while wading. This area is known as the lake shelf. Just beyond the shelf[Read More…]
Columns
The Meadow Across the Creek
GREENSBORO – Whatever preserves and enhances this meadow in the natural cycles of its transformation is good, whatever opposes this meadow is not good. My life orientation is that simple. It is also that pervasive. My understanding of the Great Work began when I was quite young. At the time[Read More…]
Planting bulbs for Spring flowers
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Autumn is in full force. Green leaves have turned to brilliant shades of red and gold that flutter to the ground in their yearly dance. The garden is winding down in preparation for its long winter nap: the perfect time to think about spring. Don’t let[Read More…]
On-and-off showers expected through weekend, gradually cooling
EAST HARDWICK – Our latest weather-maker comes after a period of-rain free days that left frost-covered and starlit nights through Friday. Temperatures moderated after that under fair skies and the wind picked up ahead of a strengthening low closing off over New England on Monday. Many areas of Vermont saw[Read More…]
Pooh-poohing the winter’s inconveniences
EAST MONTPELIER – Well, it’s happened. We could feel it coming on for a few weeks: long shadows across the forest paths by four o’clock, nippy air flooding in through the door when I let Kiki out early, fog in the river valleys, the night light in the hall turning[Read More…]
Weeks Gone By
20 years ago in the Hardwick Gazette, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2005 Railtrail hike offers stunning vistas and misuse by Nathan Mercier HARDWICK – Exhausted after hiking from St. Johnsbury for two days on the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, Kevin Russel stopped in Hardwick Tuesday night, drained but enthusiastic. His mission[Read More…]
Regift grace every day
EAST CRAFTSBURY – In the Gospel of Luke, some Pharisees and scribes asked Jesus, “Why do you eat with sinners?” To which Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:30-32)[Read More…]
Bailey Shepard’s firefighting dream comes true
HARDWICK – Bailey Shepard vividly remembers the sense of belonging he felt the first time he put on a firefighter’s helmet. It was a weekend day, and his family was at the Berlin Mall. Out in the parking lot, the fire department had brought trucks and tankers for kids to[Read More…]
Frightening fungi
VERMONT – October and fall mushroom season is upon us, and plenty of Vermont fungi are adding to the spooky Halloween vibes. While carved jack o’lanterns are lighting porches and front steps, their mushroom counterparts illuminate the forests with an eerie glow. The bright pumpkin orange Omphalotus illudens, or Eastern Jack[Read More…]
Dan Urban was influential landscape architect
PANTON – Dan Urban Kiley (1912–2004), who lived and worked in Charlotte, is recognized as one of the most influential figures in modern landscape architecture. He was best known for his disciplined, formalist designs that combined classical order with modernist clarity. Kiley was born in Boston in 1912. He began[Read More…]
More clouds, some sun, potent rainstorm
EAST HARDWICK – A few picture-perfect days highlighted the holiday weekend, with conditions on Saturday and Sunday largely incorporating sunny skies and mild temperatures. Highs in the mid-to-upper 60s were just above normal for this time of year, which is about 60 degrees. Some measurable rain came from two systems[Read More…]
So far, very little
Well, now, that was a weekend! Late on Monday afternoon, I’m still trying to collate all the details and events of the last three days and turn from them to face the coming week with some new ideas and insights. So far, very little. My friend Bea had scored a pair of[Read More…]
