Discover More from This Category: Columns

Get to know the junco

December 29, 2021
By Susan Shea Most winters, the dark-eyed junco is one of the most common birds at my feeder. While I rarely see juncos in summer, except when hiking in the mountains, small flocks of juncos typically appear soon after I hang my feeder in early December. Due to their sudden appearance in winter, John James…

Weekly horoscopes for Dec. 22-28, 2021

December 22, 2021
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image="194740" img_size="full" alignment="center"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=".vc_custom_1582852508329{margin-top: 40px !important;}"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width="1/3"][vc_raw_html]JTNDc3BhbiUyMGNsYXNzJTNEJTIyaWNvbmlmeSUyMiUyMGRhdGEtaWNvbiUzRCUyMm1kaS16b2RpYWMtYXJpZXMlMjIlMjBkYXRhLWlubGluZSUzRCUyMmZhbHNlJTIyJTNFJTNDJTJGc3BhbiUzRQ==[/vc_raw_html][vc_custom_heading text="Aries" font_container="tag:h2|text_align:center" use_theme_fonts="yes"][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1568082984251{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}"] March 21 - April 20 [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Regardless of whether you’re working this week or not, you might start contemplating your professional path as well as your overall life direction. This might be due to wanting different things than what you once did,…

Season passes foster devotion: let’s not pass on an adventure

December 22, 2021
By Tony Crespi A score of day tickets clipped on a jacket may soon become iconic. In times past a stream of lift tickets often began many a conversation. Where did you ski this weekend? Do you ski often? That was times past. Nowadays this may soon become obsolete. Riding the gondola a few years…

Venus backtracking

December 22, 2021
By Cassandra Tyndall During a week that represents family, celebration and the honoring of various faiths and traditions, it’s one of the most intense weeks of the year, astrologically speaking. Venus, the planet of love, romance and harmony hits the brakes and backtracks through the sign of Capricorn. As she does, she’ll make a second…

Lichen colors offer protection

December 22, 2021
By Rachel Sargent Mirus As I stroll through the cemetery near my home on a snowy day, splashes of golden orange, bright as daylilies in July, pop from the gray stones. These patches are elegant sunburst lichens, which provide a vibrant example of just how colorful lichens can be. Lichens come in a wonderful range…

Taking an eye for an eye, or cheek for a cheek

December 22, 2021
By Dom Cioffi Once baptized by John the Baptist and after he had first preached to citizens of Galilee, the man known as Jesus of Nazareth wandered up a mountainside and sat down. Later, legions of his followers approached in anticipation of hearing him speak. In his ensuing speech, Jesus laid out his beliefs and…

Please remember the homeless animals this holiday season

December 22, 2021
The homeless animals at the Rutland County Humane Society (RCHS) would love to be added to your holiday list this year! Some of the items on this year’s wish list include: animal bedding (new and used blankets and towels), 13 and 33 gallon trash bags, paper towels, brooms and dustpans, cat toys, litter pans, canned…

Revisiting ‘White Christmas’

December 22, 2021
By Merisa Sherman “Vermont must be beautiful this time of year …all that snow.” What a great way to trick your best friend into heading up to Vermont for the holidays! The phrase gets repeated over and over again throughout the movie, as Danny Kaye successfully manipulates Bing Crosby into changing their plans from New…

Is it time to be optimistic?

December 21, 2021
By Kevin Theissen The University of Michigan’s index of Consumer Sentiment (UMCSENT) showed an increase in optimism in early December — and it had nothing to do with the Michigan Wolverines winning the Big 10 Championship for the first time in 17 years. The UMCSENT was up (+4.5%) month-to-month, although it remained down year-to-year (-12.8%).…

Weekly horoscopes for Dec. 15-21, 2021

December 15, 2021
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image="194740" img_size="full" alignment="center"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=".vc_custom_1582852508329{margin-top: 40px !important;}"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width="1/3"][vc_raw_html]JTNDc3BhbiUyMGNsYXNzJTNEJTIyaWNvbmlmeSUyMiUyMGRhdGEtaWNvbiUzRCUyMm1kaS16b2RpYWMtYXJpZXMlMjIlMjBkYXRhLWlubGluZSUzRCUyMmZhbHNlJTIyJTNFJTNDJTJGc3BhbiUzRQ==[/vc_raw_html][vc_custom_heading text="Aries" font_container="tag:h2|text_align:center" use_theme_fonts="yes"][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1568082984251{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}"] March 21 - April 20 [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Regardless of how much we want something, sometimes we simply have to admit defeat. In manifestation circles, this is known as “this or something better.” When we miss out on something, it doesn’t have to mean…

Bleeding Killington

December 15, 2021
By Merisa Sherman A young man was banging on doors, a large blue cardboard poster under his arm. In the center was a large black and white photo of a random mountain in Vermont. It was taken from an off angle, and you could see the wing of the plane in the corner of the…

Underneath it all: Discovering a new world

December 15, 2021
By Dom Cioffi Many, many decades ago, my grandmother bought herself a lake property. She had been ill for some time and was looking for a place to recuperate. In hindsight, it’s clear she was severely depressed, but back in the 1940s, they simply called it “exhaustion.” The property was old but my grandfather, being…

RCHS has holiday gifts for everyone on your shopping list!

December 15, 2021
Do you have animal lovers and supporters of the RCHS on your gift list this holiday season? If so, RCHS has lots of items that will make purrrfect gifts for everyone on your list! Our stylish and cozy knit pom beanies will let people know you support RCHS, while keeping you warm this winter, and…

How to preserve a snowflake

December 15, 2021
By Frank Kaczmarek Wilson Bentley (1865-1931) lived his entire life in Jericho, Vermont, where he developed a passion for snowflakes at an early age. He started by collecting snowflakes and trying to create detailed drawings of each one, but the snow crystals’ tiny size and the speed at which they melted made this a futile…

Is it really bad news?

December 15, 2021
By Kevin Theissen Financial markets can be challenging to understand. But when markets enter a “bad news is good news” cycle, it becomes even more difficult to follow along. For a recent example, at its November meeting, the Federal Reserve outlined its plan to taper monthly bond purchases, which will end this pandemic-era policy response…