By Cal Garrison a.k.a. Mother of the Skye Our New Years’ Eve Horoscopes are coming out under the light of a Scorpio Moon, just as Mars crosses the Pisces-Aries Cusp. I find it interesting that just as we enter the New Year, the planet that governs the male principle, and all of our most visceral,…

Cal Garrison (a.k.a Mother of the Skye) writes weekly horoscopes for The Mountain Times. If you would like an emailed notification sent to you weekly, sign up for the newsletter, below. Copyright - Cal Garrison: 2018: © Want to hear more from Mother of the Skye? Check out Mother's Celestial Inspirations for a deeper look into this weeks horoscopes…

Photo by Donald Dill The torchlight parade at Okemo is a preview to the fireworks show that follows.

Photo submitted Alfredo and Violetta set the stage in “ La Traviata ,” broadcast live from the Metropolitan Opera.

Wednesday, Jan. 2, 7 p.m. —RUTLAND— Presidential biographer Willard Sterne Randall will discuss how the life of Alexander Hamilton inspired a major Broadway musical in a talk at Rutland Free Library on Wednesday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m. His talk, “Hamilton: The Man and the Musical,” is part of the Vermont Humanities Council’s First Wednesdays lecture series…

Photo courtesy Town Hall Theater The Horse Traders

Friday, Dec. 28, 3 p.m.—QUECHEE— Cheetahs live in landscapes quite different from those that surround the VINS Nature Center, but on Friday, Dec. 28, the lives and future of cheetahs will be taking center stage among VINS’ birds. Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies Master student Sarah Omusula will be discussing her work with…

Saturday, Dec. 29 —RUTLAND— Rutland County Audubon’s annual Christmas Bird Count and potluck will take place this year on Saturday, Dec. 29. Birds spotted within a 7.5 mile radius of Meads Falls in Center Rutland will be counted by teams of birders and feeder-watchers in this count circle. Counters may participate from dawn to dusk,…

Saturday, Dec. 29, 7 p.m.—MIDDLEBURY— The Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival is pleased to announce a special screening of the compelling drama “The Kindergarten Teacher” on Saturday, Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. The film’s star, Maggie Gyllenhaal, will appear at Town Hall Theater for a Q&A session following the screening. The Q&A will be moderated by Ms. Gyllenhaal’s husband,…

Thursday, Dec. 27, 8 p.m.—KILLINGTON— Bow Thayer kicks off the first night of his Wobbly Barn winter residency with a very special guest: the indomitable Val McCallum, Thursday, Dec. 27. Even those that may not know him by name, have probably heard his music. McCallum has played with Jackson Browne, Lucinda Williams, Randy Newman, and…

By Susie Spikol Some people keep lifelong birding lists. I’ve tried, but birds and I have never really hit it off. Too many colors, too many species, and I’m tone deaf, so birding by ear is completely beyond me. I do keep a lifelong weasel list. I can tell you exactly where I was when…

By Leonard Perry Most people associate mistletoe with kissing, as it’s customary for anyone caught standing under a sprig of this plant (often strategically placed in a doorway) to receive a kiss. But did you know that mistletoe, now considered a Christmas plant, was used as a religious symbol in pagan rites centuries before the…