Every few years, the old chestnut of the 13th signs gets re-opened, leading everyone to think their star sign has changed. It hasn’t. While sharing the same name, the constellations and the Zodiac are not the same thing. Around the time that ancient sky priests were observing correlations between earthly matters and celestial events, the…

By DJ Dave Hoffenberg It was an exciting week of softball. One team stayed undefeated with the most thrilling win in league history and another stayed winless by choking away what could have been a thrilling victory. Both of the losers in those two games blew big leads. The first loser at least rebounded with…

By Dom Cioffi I’m officially over Covid-19. In fact, I’m over the year 2020 in general. Admittedly, when this whole quarantine thing started back in March, I experienced a bit of mild excitement mixed with cautious trepidation. Most of the excitement came from the thought of working from home. I have long grumbled about my…

By Merisa Sherman There’s a place I go to hide. It’s just a few paces off the beaten trail but somehow no one ever seems to be there. I maneuver past whichever old — but not quite rusted — pickup truck seems to be blocking my secret path that day and duck my head underneath…

The Outside Story By Rachel Mirus As you swat away blackflies this summer, look closely; it may be that not all those flies are flies. Some of them might be tiny sweat bees, members of the Halictidae family, which gets its common name because some species will lick sweat from human skin. Sweat bees are…

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Dept.is encouraging anglers to consider their impact on trout when fishing during the current hot weather because many of Vermont’s streams and rivers are at or above stressful temperatures for trout, and flows in most rivers are very low. “With air temperatures expected to be close to or above 90…

Saturday, July 25 at 10 a.m.—LUDLOW—The Fletcher Farm School for the Arts and Crafts will be holding a fabric and craft supply sale on Saturday, July 25, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. inside and outside the gift and craft shop on the school’s Ludlow campus. Proceeds of the sale will go toward keeping the…

Saturday, July 25 at 9 a.m.—CAVENDISH— The Cavendish 10th annual town-wide tag sale will take place on Saturday, July 25, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.. All vendors are required to wear masks and practice social distancing. Hand sanitizing and masks are available in two locations—the Proctorsville Green Gazebo and the Cavendish Baptist Church in Cavendish. It’s a…

LUDLOW—Every member of the community has faced dramatic changes, felt difficult emotions, and responded to the global spread of Covid-19 in a variety of ways. The Black River Academy Museum and Okemo Valley TV have partnered on a community memory project, because your stories are important and they are here to help preserve them. Create…

Sunday, July 26 at 4 p.m.— BARNARD—Join BarnArts in the apple orchard at Fable Farm Fermentory for a live, socially-distancing presentation of monologues by BarnArts actors. This fundraiser supports BarnArts and its community theater program. Performance times are 4 p.m. (with dinner/drink following) and 7 p.m. (with dinner/drink before.) Tickets are available on a sliding scale.…

A cocktail with sparkle and tang, courtesy of Sam Nelis, c. 2017. Ingredients: 0.75 oz vodka 0.5 oz Amaro Braulio 1 oz grapefruit juice 0.5 oz rosemary syrup sparkling wine Preparation: Combine ingredients (except the wine) in mixing tin, add ice and shake, strain into champagne flute and top with sparkling wine.  Garnish with an…

Friday, July 24 at 5:30 p.m.—WOODSTOCK—Vermont’s own trad-roots power trio Pete’s Posse will open the season of Pentangle Art’s Music by the River series. Composed of acclaimed musician Pete Sutherland, his talented protégé Oliver Scanlon and the uber-dynamic Tristan Henderson, Pete’s Posse never fails to surprise and excite. Twin fiddles in tight, wild harmony over high-powered…

WOODSTOCK— Billings Farm & Museum announced the Juror’s Choice Awards and the Staff Choice Award for the 34th Annual Quilt Exhibition at the opening reception for the exhibition on Friday, July 17. The Quilt Exhibition is a juried show, with each of the exhibition’s three jurors selecting a quilt they thought most deserving of recognition. Judi Simon-Bouton of White River Junction was recognized for her quilt, “Square in a Square” by…

All 183 Hannaford grocery stores are expected to stop selling tobacco products by this fall, according to Hannaford spokesman Eric Blom. Specific dates will vary for each store, Blom said. Hannaford Supermarkets is the latest in a series of major retailers that have announced that they’re phasing out tobacco products. “We have been moving away…

The Woodstock Area Relief Fund (WARF) has raised half a million dollars from almost 500 donors. Donations have ranged from $1 to $50,000 — almost 40% of the donors are second-home owners. Relief grants totaling more than $310,000 have already been provided to 496 local residents—adults and children from Barnard, Bridgewater, Killington, Plymouth, Pomfret, Reading, and Woodstock. That…