After the month that was, chances are that by now, you need a little resolve. This week brings one of the most calm and quiet weeks we’ll see in some time. Though collectively, we’ve grown grossly unused to it, there is a magic in the stillness,  in the calm and quiet where nothing seemingly happens.…

April’s storms were turbulent. Explosions. People losing their heads. Temper tantrums. Life really has been feeling like its straddling the boundary between chaos and order. Chaos can make you feel like you have purpose. Expending rage, for rages sake. Unless you’re still wearing diapers, petulant behavior is rarely a good look. For brief period, the…

Spring and summer are seasonal reminders to me of those who have contributed to my perennial gardens. As their gifts to me come into bloom I remember the person who gave the plants to me and their kindness in doing so. This year in particular I will be remembering our neighbor, Eleanor DiSabito, who sadly…

Three vibrant young 20-somethings were just gathering up, skis on their shoulders as they walked from their vehicle to the trailhead. Their day packs were small, ready for whatever fast and light adventure they had chosen for the day. But they had definitely been here before, definitely had a plan and definitely ended the day…

When I was playing basketball in high school, there was a strict rule that no team member was allowed on the ski slopes during the season. Apparently, too many athletes had fallen prey to freak injuries while skiing and cost the school state championships.  I had been involved with basketball since grade school, so I…

The shift begins around the time we turn the clocks ahead, a gradual transition from winter’s steady chorus of chickadees, squawking jays, and crows cawing over the compost pile to — well, more.  On an afternoon walk along back roads, I’ll hear an avian uprising and look up to find a large flock of red-winged…

Building our Killington Dream dream lodge, Part 11 We began to build our ski lodge in 1958, the same year the Killington Access Road was built and the mountain opened for its first ski season. Preston Smith who began it all lived at the end of Roaring Brook Road, about a mile past the land…

I look into the sky as the rain slips off my face. The pond ripples. The water puddles in the street. Rivers rush and ducks quack in the distance, barely audible. A slightly wet bunny frolics through the puddles. A robin pulls a worm from the mud. Spring is coming, and with it new beginnings.

I am pretty sure she was a little disappointed when I turned into the Kent Pond parking lot. Can someone really get excited about the 100 acre pond that you pass by all year long on the way to the resort or to work? It is definitely not expected when someone says “Will you take…

When I was in college, my friends and I decided to vacation to Florida during spring break week. One of the guy’s parents lived near Ft. Lauderdale, so we made a plan to drive down in one 24-hour stretch, hang out for a few days, and then drive back. MTV was at its apex at…

By Barry J. Wicklow For nearly 15 years, I have been exploring the headwaters of a river near my home. The entire drainage area, encompassing all the streams, rainfall, and snowmelt that pass into a single river, is called a watershed. Within each watershed, a system of rivers and streams forms a network, in which…

Building a Killington Dream Lodge, Part 10 As the ski house we were building in Killington grew, I did, too, from age 7 on up. I entered adolescence and continued helping with various tasks. My latest assignment was pretty exciting compared to repairing our tar paper roof. I climbed a ladder to the top of…

The Earth is beautiful, That should never change, The earth is natural, And it should stay that way. Magical and wild, The earth has always been, Sunning and gorgeous, It should always be. But our earth is slowly losing, What is used to be, Temperatures are rising, Making ice melt at sea. Forests are dying,…

As the dust begins to settle upon the chaos that April has been, thus far, don’t be fooled into thinking the storm is over. While the skies are quiet comparatively to what they’ve been, this is simply a chance to calm down, regroup and refocus. In times of war (real or metaphorical), in times of…

Courtesy Bookstock Book lovers seen at a recent Bookstock event selceting from a wide variety of  literature. Bookstock, the  summer literary festival in Woodstock, cancels its annual event after 14 years. After 14 years of annual literary festivals, Bookstock is closing down. Its festival planned this summer for June 21-23 will not take place. The…