By Liz DiMarco Weinmann My recent Mountain Times feature, "For Your Own Good, Have a Plan," prompted a bemused request from friends over 70 who are socially active, engaged in community causes, and grateful to be traveling again: “So, what’s your advice for us? As a boomer who just celebrated a milestone birthday, I too…

By Merisa Sherman The fog came across the summit of the mountain in waves, wisps of clouds making their way across the sky. There had been no clouds down below, but here, sitting at the top of the mountain, the fog was so think you would think you could step right off the rocks and…

The unexpected chemistry of lightning By Kenrick Vezina To say that lightning “splits” the sky is no mere poetry. A single stroke contains about one billion joules of energy, roughly 280 kilowatt-hours of electricity, and could power a modern American household for more than nine days. What’s more, it’s enough to blast apart the very…

By Mary Ellen Shaw When I submitted my column to Polly recently I added a comment about how much I dislike hot weather. I told her I had much rather have it cold. I also gave her permission to remind me of those words when freezing temperatures come back to bite us! Polly responded that…

By Merisa Sherman Immediately upon arriving at the campsite, we split up into two teams. The teams are never the same, but the tasks always are. The tent has to be set up in a safe place away from possible falling trees and in such a way that water won’t drain under the tent during…

By Dom Cioffi He lived on my floor in our dorm during my freshman year of college. I knew him from countless parties and passing him in the bathroom, but we never hung out together. He looked like a young Tom Petty, with blond hair and perpetually squinting eyes. By all accounts, he was a…

By Laurie D. Morrissey On the New Hampshire lake where I spend much of the summer, loon calls are so common that I sometimes take them for granted. The sounds of the common loon (Gavia immer) are iconic of wilderness and have been described as haunting, plaintive, maniacal, other-worldly, even wolf-like. Recently, I’ve started listening…

By Merisa Sherman I looked around at the stop sign and smiled. There were so many of us. Well, not so many that I would call us a peloton or anything but enough that we took up some space at the intersection while we waited for enough cars to pass that we could send it…

By Kevin Theissen After a down first half of the year in markets, July changed direction, as markets tried to reestablish its foundation. In July, the S&P 500 was up 9.1%, Nasdaq up 12.3%, and the Dow up 6.7%. These returns marked the strongest monthly gains 2020. The economic data continued its path with high inflation…

By Dom Cioffi I told my son at the beginning of the summer that we were going to do things differently this year. In past years, he had thrown away every opportunity to better himself, but this summer he would successfully balance fun with accomplishments. As far as I was concerned, he was not going…

By Merisa Sherman A few years ago, a friend of mine moved to Killington from Philly and was very excited to vote in her first Vermont election. She was concerned however, with how much time she would need to set aside in her work day. Would two hours be enough time to vote, she asked,…

By Meghan McCarthy McPhaul Among summer’s many sweet offerings are wild berries. And among these, blueberries are my favorite. Years ago, I took to carrying large, empty yogurt containers in my car – and smaller vessels in my backpack – so I would have something to fill should I pass a good berry patch. My…

By Dom Cioffi I hit the nostalgic trifecta this past weekend when my wife and I attended a concert featuring three retro acts from the late '70s and early '80s Months ago, I got an email promoting all the popular musical acts touring the country over the summer. I went through the list and picked…

By Gary Salmon The mortality figures are astonishing among the three tree species nearly eliminated from our eastern and Midwestern landscape by either chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica), Dutch elm disease (Ophiostoma novo-ulmi), and now emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis). Four billion chestnut trees killed since blight introduction in 1904 (most between 1930s and ’50s and…

By Mary Ellen Shaw Many of us had pets growing up. Dogs and cats were the most common pets but goldfish, turtles and birds also had a place in many of our homes. On my street three of my closest friends had dogs and I had a cat. The dogs wanted to spend time with…