By Dom Cioffi I was having a conversation with a coworker recently when she disclosed that she was in the process of getting a divorce. Knowing that she has two young children, I immediately acknowledged how sorry I was for situation. Surprisingly, she shook her head adamantly and said it was for the best. Apparently,…

By Merisa Sherman The last paddle of the season, a chilly float in December With the weather this ridiculously warm, we had both been on watch for quite some time. Most days, I would try to slow down as I drove by and even once I pulled into the parking lot to just sit and…

By Mary Ellen Shaw Remembering Christmas from the '50s and '60s has become a topic for my column every December. From a child’s point of view downtown Rutland was a magical place with lighted garlands strung across Merchants Row, Center Street and West Street. Santa Claus was waiting for my visit inside the Economy Store. …

By Susan Shea Santa’s reindeer need fuel to pull that sleigh full of toys, and one of their primary winter foods is reindeer lichen, also known as reindeer moss. These are puffy, many-branched, pale green or grayish-white lichens up to 4 inches tall, spongy to the touch when damp. Multiple species of reindeer lichen cover…

By Merisa Sherman It was dark as I pulled into the parking lot, but a beautiful glow from the almost full moon lit up the trees that surrounded the lot. The clouds prevented a perfectly clear night, giving the sky an almost eiry Halloween feeling — even though we are almost two months past. With…

By Dom Cioffi I’m on a business trip this week about five hours from my home. The company I work for is having their products installed at a remote location and I needed to be available for help in a particular area. I made the trip on Sunday night so I could wake up and…

By Gary Salmon Several years ago, Michael Wojtech’s book, “BARK: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast,” came out, which helped in this difficult identification process. Bark is not as consistent as leaves are and changes as the tree gets older, as rates of growth change over time, and where on the tree the…

By Rachel Sargent Mirus Grinning and giggling, my 1-year-old son ran across the living room, only to trip over his own feet and faceplant on the carpet. Sometimes, two legs can be too many to coordinate. How, then, do invertebrates walk with six, eight, or hundreds of legs? In some ways, walking for insects, arachnids,…

By Dave Hoffenberg Bridgewater’s Collen Doyle, who owns the Woolen Mill Comedy Club there and Killington’s Matt Vita put on the festival. They both performed throughout the weekend. There were shows from Thursday through Sunday in Bridgewater, Killington, South Pomfret and Woodstock. I was fortunate to catch 5 of the shows. On Thursday I saw…

By Dave Hoffenberg The Vermont Comedy Festival kicks off Thursday, Dec. 1 and the area will be filled with comedy until Sunday night. Four days and nights with shows at the five locations: the Bridgewater Woolen Mill complex and Long Trail Brewery both in Bridgewater, at Rivershed in Killington, at the Grange Theater in Pomfret,…

Forward part 2: Flip your dial from ‘stuck’ to ‘forward’ By Sandra Dee Owens Have you ever noticed when one negative emotion (i.e., resentment, anger, fear, guilt, anxiety, or the ‘should’ gremlin), comes to call, they all jump in? It’s like a pig pile of yuck. And suddenly, without your consent, you’re trapped in an…

By Merisa Sherman I could feel the snow melting underneath my feet, as I swung my oldest, bestest ski sister around by the elbow. We were dancing in the joy of the moment and celebrating our 35-year-old sisterhood. Then we grabbed the next elbow, a woman who has never ski raced a day in her life,…

By Laurie D. Morrissey Even if you’ve never ventured farther into the forest than an urban park or a college campus, you’re probably familiar with Sciurus carolinensis, the eastern gray squirrel. While it’s easy to identify gray squirrels by sight, however, recognizing the various sounds they make is more complicated. Their vocalizations – squeaks, moans,…

By David Goodman/VTDigger Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from The Vermont Conversation with David Goodman, a VTDigger podcast on local and national issues with politicians, activists, artists, changemakers and citizens who are making a difference. Santa Claus is coming to town. But the person shimmying down the chimney may not be the rotund, bearded…

By Dom Cioffi Eighteen years ago this week, I wrote a letter to a young woman I barely knew. In that letter, I summarized the first months of an infant boy — the same boy she gave up for adoption earlier that spring. Every year since, I have written that young woman at Christmastime. I…