Discover More from This Category: Columns

What we do for love

July 12, 2023
  I don’t think there is a female among us who hasn’t done something out of her comfort zone simply because she is dating someone who interests her. I definitely plead “guilty” to doing that almost 50 years ago! In fact, I did multiple things that were way out of my comfort zone. Perhaps my…

Taking action

July 12, 2023
  The big news this week is that two planets change signs. Firstly, Mars moves from Leo into Virgo and secondly, Mercury moves from Cancer to Leo. When planets change signs, it offers a change in tone and in this case, it’s the tone of action and communication that shifts. Until Aug. 28, Mars in…

DaMore Law teams up with attorney Ewald

July 12, 2023
  DaMore Law is forming a new division, Green Mountain Lawyers. Attorney Daniel Ewald and his staff are joining forces with Attorney Peter DaMore and his firm, DaMore Law. With the support of DaMore Law, Green Mountain Lawyers will be part of a team with 18 paralegals, law clerks, legal assistants and support staff along…

Tick checks: an unfortunate, but wise, summer routine

July 5, 2023
  We pulled up our bright white socks, the old school mid-shin kind that in my dad’s day might have had two red or blue stripes at the top. We pulled them up high, over our jeans and then sat down to put our sneakers on. Well, not too high, but just enough that there…

Flavor of the week

July 5, 2023
When I was in 7th grade, a couple girls in my class decided that I was going be the focus of their attention. The two girls wrote me a note explaining how cute I was and that they both liked me. I was admittedly, taken aback. It was impressive to have one girl like you…

Flying tigers

July 5, 2023
 When our lilacs bloom in late May, pale yellow butterflies with black stripes arrive to feed on their nectar. These are tiger swallowtails. These exquisite butterflies have a broad black band along the edge of their forewings bordered with yellow dots. They also have small red spots and “tails” at the base of their hindwings.…

Holding the perimeter: Part 2

July 5, 2023
  Old war wound Holding the perimeter on my health is a lot like holding the perimeter on my lawn. If I want to keep my lawn from being swallowed up by the surrounding forest, I need to maintain it. With the right tools. I happen to enjoy this type of physical, outdoor, labor. Taking…

Finding balance under a full moon

July 5, 2023
  Figuring out a balance between your material and emotional life will be highlighted under this week’s full moon, July 3.  On the one hand, you may feel the pressure to produce, perform or provide. While on the other, the emotional terrain of Cancer season doesn’t always bend to what the world wants from you.…

Put on the red, white and blue and be part of the community

June 30, 2023
  The red, white and blue ribbons flutter behind the young girl as she skips along the parade route. Her hair glistens in the sunshine and she laughs with joy. She holds a thin stick, not quite a baton, with wrapping paper ribbon attached with a bow, way too much glue and curled with a…

Sitting on top of the world

June 30, 2023
  I was digging through some attic containers a few months ago when I came across a small black box with a familiar imprint on the outside. I knew I recognized the design, but my memory couldn’t place it. I opened up the box and pulled out some packaging before my eyes latched onto the…

Spawning sunfish, satellites, and sneakers 

June 30, 2023
  In the shallow margins of many lakes and ponds in June and July, you may spot male sunfish guarding their nests. The sunfishes (family Centrarchidae) comprise many well-known species — including largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, rock bass, and black crappie — but the most visible nest guarders in early summer are the pumpkinseed, bluegill,…

How is your garden growing?

June 30, 2023
  How is your garden growing? As gardeners we never seem to be satisfied with the way our flowers and veggies look. I think we are too hard on ourselves! Mother Nature as well as critters alter our plans and give us results that don’t always make us happy. But most of what we plant…

Something worth saying yes to

June 30, 2023
  I’m sure you can all relate to the experience of driving in your car , where your thoughts are a thousand miles away and far from the present moment. Then something sudden or unexpected happens on the road — someone hits the brakes in front of you, or maybe you didn’t see the lights…

Free food available to Vermont youth through the Summer Food Service Program

June 21, 2023
  By Olivia Q. Pintair/VTDigger Vermont youths age 18 and under will have access to free food again this summer through the Summer Food Service Program, a federally funded, state-administered program that began in 1968 and served hundreds of thousands of meals throughout the state last summer. The Vermont Agency of Education, which announced the continuation of…

An ode to bungee cords

June 21, 2023
We skied in a wedge, poles wrapped around our waists with the basket ends looped into the straps. You had to suck your stomach in to make it work, and then the poles would settle onto your hips and your hands would be free to do all the work. And so we slipped the ruts…