EAST HARDWICK – What a way to welcome the first day of spring. A storm system lifting through the northeast on Friday had enough cold air to work with to bring several inches of heavy wet snow to the region, along with some slippery driving conditions. We ended up with[Read More…]
Columns
Here’s where my amazement began
EAST MONTPELIER – As I age, I’m more and more frequently amazed at the complexity of various systems and the genius it must have taken to design and build them. The loop-the-loop highways of Montreal, Boston and Los Angeles are one example. Though much cursed, reviled and lampooned, it’s hard[Read More…]
Bell choir strikes a community chord
HARDWICK – For many in the area, the sound of handbells ringing has been the backtrack to holiday Masses, the annual tree lighting, baccalaureate services and more. The legacy of the St. Norbert’s Community Bell Choir is a long one, spanning 26 years and countless performances. Founded in 2000 by[Read More…]
Weeks Gone By
100 Years Ago in The Hardwick Gazette Town Clock Not on Time For some time past our town clock has been ahead of standard time and today it is fully ten minutes fast. This is confusing to those in the community who endeavor to keep their time pieces correct and[Read More…]
The lengthening days of spring
STANFORD, Calif. – Light in the evening brings the first sign of spring’s arrival. Before the snow has fully melted or any scraps of green start to appear, those lengthening days are a promise. Just when I’ve forgotten the world was ever anything except cold and gray, I’ll step outside[Read More…]
IPM is key to safe, sustainable gardening
BURLINGTON – Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, is a holistic approach that gardeners can use to reduce pesticides when managing insects, diseases and weeds. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines IPM as “a sustainable approach to managing pests by combining biological, cultural, physical, and chemical tools in a way that minimizes economic,[Read More…]
Brief cooling, clearing today; steadier rain and snow by Sunday
EAST HARDWICK – Snowpack depths continue to plummet across the low and mid-level elevations, with little, if any snow in the valleys. Other places, such as Craftsbury, have up to four inches of snow depth at elevations of 1,500 feet. The higher terrain of Greensboro has closer to 12 inches.[Read More…]
Alaska can’t hold a candle . . .
EAST MONTPELIER – December 13, 1989 – Dear Sir – You are cordially invited to participate in the NINETEENTH ANNUAL INTERSTATE GERIATRIC SKI TOUR and GRAND SUB-ARCTIC BUSHWHACK to be held at the Hell Gate cabins in the Dartmouth College Grant from Friday, February 16, to Sunday, February 18, 1990.[Read More…]
Meaning-making
SHELBURNE – Many news clips these days begin with a dismal disaster headline followed by, “What does this mean going forward?” The answer is often, “We don’t know. The message keeps changing.” I watch the devastation in disbelief. “Eve of Destruction,” Barry McGuire’s song from the ‘60s, rings in my[Read More…]
Gobbling, strutting: wild turkey mating season
WASHINGTON, D.C. – At this time of year, wild eastern turkeys are still congregated in the flocks of 20 or so birds with which they spend the winter. Groups of hens, mature female turkeys, will generally winter with the broods they raised the previous summer. Toms, mature male turkeys, spend[Read More…]
Tillandsia, the world of air plants
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – You’ve probably seen them attached to magnets or posed on driftwood. You may have even wondered if those cute, spiky air plants that grow with no soil really are living plants. The answer to that question is, yes, they are, though they are different in many[Read More…]
Milder mode for precipitation; light snow sandwiched in middle
EAST HARDWICK – A warm-up over the weekend brought highs well into the 40s and 50s with some light rain transitioning into breaks of sun by the start of the work week. Total rainfall amounts from Tuesday, March 3, to Monday, March 9, ranged generally from one quarter to one[Read More…]
