DUXBURY – Standing on the berm of a small pond, I watch the resident beaver leave its lodge, a silhouetted nose moving through the water. It disappears briefly and returns with a branch in tow. The beaver clambers over the edge of its dam along a muddy path, branch bouncing[Read More…]
Columns
Garden Inside this Winter
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Cold weather has arrived, and the garden has been put to bed for the season. That doesn’t mean there is no more gardening, the focus shifts from outdoors to in. Adding foliage plants to a home can help satisfy the need to be surrounded by green.[Read More…]
Making Forests Climate-resilient
CABOT – Taking steps toward climate resilience and flood resilience will benefit both the landowner and everyone downstream, if proper precautions are taken. There are steps to take that can add to climate resilience of a forest and land. As climate change progresses and extreme weather events become more powerful,[Read More…]
More Snow, Cold Wraps up Work Week
HARDWICK – Our first region-wide measurable snowfall came Thanksgiving Day, with totals ranging from 1.2 inches on Craftsbury Common to 3.1 inches in North Greensboro. Woodbury reported storm total snow amounts of 2.4 inches. Scattered snow showers continued into the weekend and early this week as colder air sunk to[Read More…]
A Sentimental Invention of Older Folks
EAST MONTPELIER – The other evening I pulled into the carport at the back of my house and before I turned off the ignition and opened the driver’s side door, I checked the outside temperature on the thermometer on the dashboard. Twenty-three degrees; cool enough. I double-checked it with my[Read More…]
Energetic Adventurer Needs Family to Learn and Thrive
MORRISVILLE – Jakob is a year old and filled with energy. He would love to join any hike or adventure. As a retriever-black lab mix he would enjoy swimming as well. Since he is still a bit of a puppy, he needs some more training. He is smart, he learns[Read More…]
Five Tips for Gifting Live Indoor Plants
BURLINGTON – Live houseplants can make meaningful gifts during the holidays or any time of year for birthdays, housewarming, and other special occasions. Not only do houseplants improve air quality in the home but a growing body of research shows that the care of houseplants is associated with greater mental[Read More…]
Skunks Prepare for Winter
WALTHAM, Mass. – Several weeks and many baths ago, my dog discovered a black-and-white stranger crossing our lawn. Wagging vigorously, and ignoring my frantic shouts, she ran up and offered her canine greeting: a nose-to-tail sniff. The encounter ended predictably, with the skunk waddling off into the dark, the dog[Read More…]
Some Snow In Store For Thanksgiving
HARDWICK – Blustery conditions wrapped up the weekend, with the re-introduction of some colder air, causing steady precipitation to end on Sunday in the form of a few snow showers. A trace of snow was reported at the East Hardwick observing station (1,100 feet), with a station at North Greensboro[Read More…]
Essentially an Inside Joke
EAST MONTPELIER – Well up on a heavily wooded mountainside in the eastern Adirondack high peaks, in a lonely, sloping seep between two rocky ridges that likely sees no human beings for years at a time, there lies an anomalous cast-iron cauldron, almost hidden by years of dead leaves, that[Read More…]
The Hardwick Gazette 100 Years Ago
Thursday, November 27, 1924 The Hardwick Gazette published an eight-page broadsheet exactly 100 years to the day before this current issue, on a Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. The publisher’s editorial from that issue follows, giving us a taste of life in that era. What follows that are notes, called[Read More…]
Caring for Amaryllis During Holidays and Beyond
BOLTON – Amaryllis bulbs and blooms make popular and appreciated holiday gifts. Gifted in full bloom to brighten the winter months or lovingly tended to bloom after the new year, amaryllis add vibrant color and joy to the dreary season. Amaryllis are commonly available during the winter holidays because they[Read More…]
