By Mary Ellen Shaw By the time April arrives gardeners tend to get a little antsy. The temperature can be toasty warm one day and chilly the next. You want to plant some flowers but it’s just too early. However, there is still plenty to do in your yards and gardens as we get ready…

By Merisa Sherman For a few days every spring, there comes a magical moment for paddlers in Vermont. A section of the Otter Creek swells over the road and fills in a dairy farm pasture. The fields and some forests fill with a few feet of water, making this a paddler’s dream adventure. For years,…

I am presently sitting on the deck of a small boutique hotel in the Caribbean overlooking a tropical bay littered with yachts, catamarans, and sailboats of various sizes. Many of the vessels I see are moored together in groups of two and three with the passengers enjoying evening cocktails and revelry; the music is ubiquitous…

By Kevin Theissen Some data suggests that divorce rates in the U.S. have been falling in recent decades. Whether this is accurate or not, many people face the difficult challenges that come when their marriage ends. Getting a divorce is a painful, emotional process. Don’t be in such a hurry to reach a settlement that…

By Susan Shea On a warm, rainy April night a few years ago, I drove up our muddy, rutted dirt road through the mist, steering around the wood frogs hopping across the road. As I approached the vernal pool, there were more frogs in the road, so I parked to avoid hitting them and walked…

By Cassandra Tyndall Regardless of your location on the globe, April brings a change in the weather. In some parts, such as where I’m from, the night creeps up on the day. While in other parts, the evenings grow longer in anticipation for an endless summer. With the turn of the seasons, brings a turn…

By Merisa Sherman They were everywhere. Random and haphazard, they were strewn about like something had exploded. Pieces of all shapes and sizes littered the ground, discarded from their base as if they were nothing. Things that were once essential were now strewn about as if they had never really mattered in the first place.…

By Gary Salmon So how do trees work like a bank account? When they are sequestering carbon as all trees have over eons. A forest of trees is like principal, that grows and occasionally gets partially withdrawn (harvested). The faster and longer the growth the greater return from your collection of carbon sequesterers. It’s a…

At this very moment, nestled into the sediment at the bottom of your nearest lake or pond, are Daphnia eggs – as many as 100,000 per square meter, according to one Michigan study. A genus of microscopic crustaceans, Daphnia are sometimes known as “water fleas,” and their eggs can remain viable for anywhere from several…

By Kevin Theissen Planning for retirement can be slightly different for women. Although things are changing, women are still more likely to serve as caregivers, and as a result, they earn less income and benefits due to their time away from work. A 2019 Pew Research study showed that 39% of women took a significant…

By Cassandra Tyndall I’m not sure exactly when, how, or even why it happened, but somewhere along the course of history it was decided that intuition was to be questioned and linear logical thinking was superior. That being said, how many times have you second guessed your own sixth sense, only to be proven wrong?…

By Merisa Sherman As the sky turns a bright blue and the temps begin to rise, the special weirdness that is spring skiing begins to show its true colors. Midwinter black turns into a myriad, almost hideous bright colors. Every single shade of everything is on display — and even some that might qualify more…

By Dom Cioffi I have been outspoken in my battle to rein in my son when it comes his time on digital devices, but some recent research has me especially worried. I hate to say it, but if I were to do it all over again – knowing what I know now – I’m confident I…

By Mary Ellen Shaw It’s hard to believe that it’s almost Easter. This holiday can fall any time between March 22 and April 25 (this year it’s April 4). In Vermont the earlier dates mean the possibility of snow on the ground. That just doesn’t seem like Easter! In a picture from the 1950s my…

By Kevin Theissen You should pay all taxes due – but not a penny more! You can then help others with the excess – how you decide. Many taxpayers regularly overpay because they fail to take tax deductions for which they are eligible. Here are some overlooked opportunities to mitigate your tax bill. Reinvested dividends: When…