The Outside Story By Susie Spikol Some people have life birds, species of birds they’ve waited their whole lives to see in the wild. I don’t have one of these, but I do have a life mole. I’ve been waiting to catch a glimpse of Condylura cristata, the star-nosed mole, ever since I learned about…

I had already been working as an astrologer for 20 years when I got invited to write this weekly column. It started out as a radio broadcast on WEBK, in Killington, Vermont. It morphed into a newspaper piece when the radio show folded and people wrote in asking if maybe the Mountain Times would run…

As spring continues to unfurl in our region, biological cues are sending snakes across roadways and hiking trails and into the lawns and backyards of many Vermonters, according to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. With the onset of longer days and warmer temperatures, many snakes have emerged from their winter dens to bask in…

The Rutland County Humane Society (RCHS) would like to remind you that June is “Adopt-A-Shelter-Cat Month.” Every year at RCHS we care for nearly 800 cats and kittens and they are all looking for loving homes. There are many benefits to adopting a cat and before you know it they’ve become members of your family! Cats are…

The following restaurants are open for open-air dining in Killington As Gov. Scott continues to loosen the spigot on social gatherings, area restaurants have adapted with outdoor seating. Here are the locations on Killington Road offering on-site dining. Call ahead to order and reserve seating. Lookout Tavern: Deck Daze have begun. Open 12-8 p.m., Friday…

Yes! Restaurant patios are open at 50% capacity. This is a new world though. You’re most likely going to a restaurant that threw together a patio in hopes of making some money. The building was not designed for this. They are trying their best, but everything may not be perfect. Eating in the streets is…

RUTLAND—Locally-owned in downtown Rutland for 37 years, Domino’s Pizza is giving back to those who support small businesses as they reopen. Starting June 1, customers making a purchase at any locally-owned-and-operated business in the district and get a free medium 1-topping pizza. To order, customers call the store for carryout and say that they have…

Saturday, June 6 at 7:30 p.m.—Rotary Clubs in both southern Vermont and southern New Hampshire have busy the past few months since the pandemic struck with projects to help food pantries and those in need, so the anticipated announcement by Governors in both states that each state may “open” more so at the end of…

Each year, Vermonters encounter native turtles in the wild or crossing roadways, and some folks illegally bring them home as pets, but rarely does this story have a happy ending, according to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. Some turtles grow large and others require more complicated care than their owners realize.  Turtles kept indoors…

RUTLAND—The city did not close Pine Hill Park during the ‘Shelter In Place’ order, and the park saw record numbers of pedestrians, mountain bikers. However, due to Covid-19, the much of the volunteer work the park relies on did not happen. In fact, they had no large volunteer groups this spring. That means they lost…

Rutland Free Library is following the lead of the state of Vermont in a gradual reopening to the public. It started to provide in-building services beginning Tuesday, June 2, at 10 a.m. “This makes us one of the very first library reopenings statewide,” wrote Randal Smathers, director of the Rutland Free Library in an email. (The…

By Bonnie Kirn Donahue, UVM extension master gardener Planning your vegetable garden doesn’t have to be daunting. By starting with your own observations and being open to experimentation, you can develop a garden plan that takes into consideration what you have learned in previous years. First look back at what happened in your vegetable garden…

What a wonderful time to enjoy the beauty of nature and the gifts of life that we all need to wake up our senses. Celebrate National Garden Week June 7-13, 2020. We are finally out of the cabin and able to tend our own lands, enjoy the sun and the sunsets and the wonders of…

Inspired by the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress and their Folklife Archive Challenge, the Vermont Folklife Center and Middlebury College Special Collections are teaming up on the Vermont Folklife Archive Challenge! For years the American Folklife Center (AFC) has invited musicians to draw inspiration from their holdings to create their own new…

Friday, June 5 at 8:50 p.m.—BETHEL—In these socially-distant times, drive-in theaters are seeing a resurgence. Locally, the Bethel Drive-in opens Friday, June 5 for its first showing of the summer. On screen will be “The Call of the Wild” starring Harrison Ford. It is rated PG. Shows begin at dusk, approximately 8:50 p.m. The movie…