Editor’s note: Bruce Bouchard, former executive director of The Paramount Theatre, and his partner Maureen McKenna Padula have traveled from Rutland to the Riviera Maya for the past three years. This series covers adventures, food, and testimonials from Vermont to the tropics. This is a story about how the power and beauty of an eco-village…

We were making progress on Dad’s Killington dream lodge, but it was slow going with lots of delays, often due to frequent weather changes. Whenever it rained, water leaked onto the floor. When it was bitter cold, ice carpeted the back room. With electricity in our basement at last, extension cords snaked around the room.…

By Merisa Sherman I came over the crest, and my heart skipped a beat. I wasn’t ready for this kind of greatness. Who really was expecting something that I don’t remember witnessing since I was a child? A little one at that. But there it was, laid out in all its glory for everyone. Well,…

When I was growing up, my father loved to watch boxing on the weekends. I don’t remember him ever attending any in-person matches, but he would spend hours scrutinizing fights on television.  Since he controlled the dial, I watched a lot of boxing by default. I got to know the major fighters and their stats…

In the cosmic dance of heavenly bodies, no phenomenon possesses the drama of a solar eclipse, when the moon passes directly between the sun and earth. In the path of totality, where the moon completely obscures our home star, the world falls into an ominous darkness that has evoked everything from wonder to dread. This…

I looked out the window at the crystals slowly drifting down. Their lacy designs are both beautiful and unique at the same time. I thought about how they are beautiful in their own way, like us. They pile up on the ground, raising the pile of fluff higher and higher. They seem to sparkle and…

Fields and fields of daisies, As far as the eye can see. Bunnies hopping around, Cute little creatures, So carefree, Not paying attention to anything else. Right now, They are paying attention to where they are, Paying attention to when it is. That’s what’s important. Paying attention to themselves, Paying attention to their families, To…

The lunar eclipse this past weekend began a dramatic turning point for events that will only be exacerbated by the upcoming solar eclipse. A full moon in Libra tends to highlight the dynamic of we versus me in relationships. The sun in Aries is individualistic and “me first.” While the full moon in Libra whispers,…

There appears to be quite a lot of confusion about what is balanced or about what is fair. What is fair to one person is unfair to the next. What seemed like a fair deal to you once upon a time doesn’t to you now, and vice versa. Who is someone to dictate to you…

The snow crunches as we walk to tap our trees. The sap had been filling the buckets all night. We couldn’t wait for the sweet sensation of maple syrup on our tongues. I felt the bitter cold biting away at my fingertips and toes. My face stung from the dry cold. As we walked down…

  By Jackie Bussjaeger In the wild, finding a suitable mate is no simple matter — and it’s an extra complicated affair for one familiar resident of the woods and underbrush. With its chunky build, boldly striped head, and namesake white throat, the white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) is among the most common and recognizable birds…

In life, inevitably, you will accumulate a group of people who traverse major milestones with you. You may not necessarily pick these people as much as haphazard circumstances bring you together. This certainly has been the case for me. After college, I moved back to my hometown; my college sweetheart followed soon after. We found…

I know Vermont loves to trick us with the weather, but come on! This week has been absolutely ridiculous! I don’t know if it was the viral stomach infection I got messing with my mind or what, but I think Sunday had about five seasons all rolled into one 12-hour period. Between the pouring rain, sunshine,…

Chatting with friends during our weekly breakfast often results in a few “looking back” thoughts for my column. After all, looking back is what our age group does best! One subject we reminisced about was old TV shows. Back in the 1950s, there were not a lot of channels available, which meant very limited viewing…

Building our Killington dream lodge, part 6 When the power company man climbed a tree to connect wires to our basement ski lodge, Mom planned a party to celebrate the grand occasion for which we’d been waiting. Mom selected a rectangular table with two benches she’d stashed in our house in Montclair, New Jersey. We…