SOUTH BURLINGTON – Slugs are a tenacious foe in the home garden, as they do their work at night and are capable of wreaking havoc quickly. To combat them, you need to understand what conditions they prefer, what plants they target, and how to protect your garden from their assaults. [Read More…]
Columns
Weeks Gone By
100 Years ago in The Hardwick Gazette, May 27, 1926 Commissioner H. P. Sheldon to Speak Here Next Week State Fish and Game Commissioner H. P. Sheldon will come here next week Thursday evening, a guest of the Hardwick Rod and Gun Club, and a banquet will be given by[Read More…]
I’ve run out of elders
EAST MONTPELIER – Most of us have always been told, and believe it, too, that for wisdom we should look to our elders. At my age, however, I’ve about run out of elders, and I don’t feel particularly wise, myself. But I’ve discovered something that’s changing my attitude: my kids[Read More…]
Human Library lends people
HARDWICK – Last month I wrote about April’s poetry slam at the Jeudevine. Poetry slams have been around for a while, but this was a first for the Jeudevine, and perhaps for Hardwick as well. This month, as a participant in our town’s signature annual event, the Hardwick Spring Festival,[Read More…]
From an Earth dweller to a freedom flier
HARDWICK – One of my favorite books to help small children understand death and renewal is based on the life cycle of a dragonfly. Dragonfly eggs are laid in or near water and that is where they are born and live most of their lives. Aquatic nymphs, or baby dragonflies,[Read More…]
The sediment story above and below Jackson Dam
HARDWICK – Last week’s discussion looked at what the recent study found at Jackson Dam. This week, it’s worth stepping back and looking more closely at how rivers move sediment and why that matters. When people think about a dam, they usually think about water. But an important part of[Read More…]
Walden Home Dem celebrates 80th anniversary
WALDEN – The Walden Home Dem group (home demonstrators) is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. The first week in May is “National Home Demonstration Week.” The Walden Home Dem group held its first meeting on January 14, 1946, at the home of Betty Hatch, who was then elected their[Read More…]
Weeks Gone By
One-hundred years ago in The Hardwick Gazette, May 20, 1926 WILBER FISK MEMORIAL, M. E. CHURCH Craftsbury, Vermont Last Thursday morning Mr. LeBaron of Morrisville, head sarpenter (sic), appeared on the church lot with two helpers, and began to erect forms for the concrete wall. About ten o’clock Mr. Debrune[Read More…]
Holding space for songbirds
DEER ISLE, Me. – One of the great joys of early May in the Northeast is the dawn-break aubade of songbirds returning to summer habitats or passing through to their nesting grounds in higher latitudes. Mornings that only a month ago were silent, save the croaking crows and shrieking blue[Read More…]
Planting under trees presents challenges
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – If planting something beneath a tree, or growing grass there, it’s possible to grow successfully in a shady, full-of-roots location. While it’s true that planting under a tree does present challenges, that doesn’t mean it’s more trouble than it’s worth. Any plants sharing soil will compete[Read More…]
Cold, wet for work week, sun and warmth by weekend
EAST HARDWICK – Some heavy rain at the beginning of the forecast period last week brought us ahead of to-date monthly rainfall averages. 1.74 inches of new rain fell between Tuesday, May 5, and Monday, May 11, bringing the monthly total to 1.98 inches, which is 146% of normal as[Read More…]
UVM opens Lyndon weather station to fill gaps in flood prediction
LYNDONVILLE – A new University of Vermont extreme weather monitoring station opened in Lyndonville recently, the first in a planned network of monitoring stations to help fill gaps in extreme weather predictions and response. The station will be able to monitor the lead-up to major weather events like flooding or[Read More…]
