When I was younger this time of year used to depress me. I pushed myself through it by fueling up with tons of calories and reminding myself that it was only going to last a few weeks. Taking off for the tropics wasn’t in the budget. Having money in the winter meant getting Fuel Assistance…

“Communally Acquired Pneumonia.” While this sounds like the way a deity might punish hippies, what this really means is that it is a case of pneumonia that was not acquired in a hospital (aptly named “Hospital Acquired Pneumonia”). Ask me how I know. Remember that cold that settled down in my lungs for a long…

By Marguerite Jill Dye “You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I’ll rise,” said Maya Angelou, an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. The day after the inauguration, women’s marches took place in 673 American cities and…

By Meghan McCarthy McPhaul If the river otter is the most aquatic member of the mustelid family and weasels represent the terrestrial branch of the clan, the American mink is the adept middle child, taking advantage of its adaptations both in the water and on land to make a living. Like both otters and weasels,…

A couple weeks after the presidential election, I compiled and published here a top-50 movie list in which I selected my favorite film for each U.S. state, based on narrative setting rather than filming location: a sort of cinematic travel guide for our large, fractured nation. New England yielded “The Fighter” (Massachusetts), “Far from Heaven”…

By Susan Shea “Jay, jay, jay!” Every morning last winter I awoke to the loud cries of a flock of 17 blue jays dancing around my feeder. They gorged on sunflower seeds and suet, scaring away smaller birds, then left, only to return in the afternoon. I ended up buying a second feeder for the…

By Marguerite Jill Dye If you’ve followed “Mountain Meditation” for a while then you know how I feel about our political situation. My spiritual friends say: “Stay positive to help raise the vibration.” “Don’t worry. All is in divine order.” “There is a reason for what has transpired.” “Stay connected and act on inspiration.” So I…

When I was growing up in Rutland during the 50s and 60s you didn’t have to leave the city to experience downhill skiing. You simply headed to the Rutland Country Club on Grove Street.  There was a rope tow that brought you to the top of a 525-foot hill. It offered a safe environment and…

Things have been alright. My back has been alright, weightlifting has been alright, work has been alright, the skiing has been alright (we keep getting these little surprise powder days, nothing on Killington Road, but really nice turns up on the mountain). Things have been alright. Winter climbing league has started down at the climbing…

TV catchphrases aren’t meant to live forever. Even the most successful character slogans like “Dy-no-mite!” and “Don’t have a cow, man!”—which made the jump from in-series use to real-world use—gradually faded from the American lexicon except as fond memories of our pop-culture past. Of all the television-born crossover phrases, however, possibly none has flamed out…

By Dave Hoffenberg This Thursday, don’t miss Michael Glabicki at the Pickle Barrel Nightclub at 8 p.m. You may know Glabicki as the front man of Rusted Root. The band played the Pickle last February as part of its 25th anniversary tour. This time, he’s coming as a duo with Rusted Root guitarist Dirk Miller.…

By Cal Garrison, a.k.a. Mother of the Sky This week’s Horoscopes are coming out under that light of a Gemini Moon. Well on its way to fullness, with a plethora of what appear to be stressful aspects, it looks to me like the upcoming week will be filled with experiences that beg us to get…

Every second Friday night of the month at 7 p.m., you need to head to Taps Tavern in Poultney  to see the Mean Waltons. They’ll be nice to you and your ears as you listen to some great folk covers. The Mean Waltons are Wayne Surrell, guitars and vocals; and Earle Provin, slide guitar, mandolin,…

By Marguerite Jill Dye It is such a blessing to spend time with friends from near and afar. I especially love getting together after months or years and picking up conversations where we left off as if no time has passed. Friends bring out our very best and know and understand us well enough to…

This was a week for reconnecting with old friends and people who have assisted me in some pretty thunderous ways. Last week, at the 50th birthday party for a friend of mine, I ran into a bunch of people that I had not seen in a while, fabulous musicians who lived or performed in Killington…