Mountain Meditation By Marguerite Jill Dye Mom always said, “Vermont is heaven on earth,” and I feel as if I’m between heaven and earth in Vermont. I was pulling wilted wave petunias off flower box bouquets when a red-spotted purple butterfly fluttered my way, dancing around me with jet black wings with intricate blue designs…

By Dom Cioffi In the ensuing weeks since my unexpected cancer diagnosis, I have been adrift in interesting emotions. The first emotion I experienced was shock, which, in hindsight, is a natural and expected response. I don’t think anyone who is told they have cancer cuddles up to television afterwards to watch a ballgame. The…

By Cal Garrison, a.ka. Mother of the Skye This week’s Horoscopes are coming out under the light of a Void-of-Course, Aries Moon, just as the sun leaves Leo and enters the sign of the Virgin. As I sit down to dream up yet another batch of astrological musings, it occurs to me that half the…

Cal Garrison Mother of the Skye weekly HoroscopesCal Garrison (a.k.a Mother of the Skye) writes weekly horoscopes for The Mountain Times. If you would like an emailed notification sent to you weekly, sign up for the newsletter, below. Want to hear more from Mother of the Skye? Check out Mother's Celestial Inspirations for a deeper…

It’s funny what happens when you run on autopilot. More on that later, though. A couple of weeks ago I was out riding my road bike, and my ride took a bit longer than I had hoped (my plan was to go up Killington Road, down to Route 4, up to the pass, and back,…

By Mary Ellen Shaw Many of us learned some type of hobby from our parents. Perhaps we didn’t appreciate what we were taught at the time. But with age comes wisdom! My mother loved to crochet and do embroidery, along with a little knitting. All of these hobbies take patience and practice. I never caught…

By Elise Tillinghast The first red squirrel appeared at about 50 m.p.h. It climbed up over my headrest and landed in my lap. I don’t recall the next few seconds very clearly, but according to my 5-year-old daughter Lucy, I yelled something along the lines of, “Oo squirrel. Oo Oo. squirrel squirrel.” What I do…

By implicitly encouraging “the Second Amendment people” to assassinate presidential rival Hillary Clinton—lest she appoint Supreme Court justices who would take away their right to bear arms—Donald Trump has produced one more opportunity for Democrats to condemn him on purely moral grounds. This has been one of the Democrats’ primary messages during the election season—that,…

This week’s Horoscopes are coming out under the light of a Capricorn Moon, a moon that will turn void-of-course and remain in that mode until Tuesday morning, Aug. 16, at 7:52 a.m. After that, as the next 72 hours unfold and the moon reaches fullness in the late degrees of Aquarius on Thursday night, Aug.…

By Dom Cioffi Two weeks ago I had a conversation that was ripped straight from a movie script. While sitting in a chair at the doctor’s office, I listened intently as I was told that I had cancer. Of course, I had walked into this appointment thinking I was going to get a prescription to…

By Dom Cioffi A couple weeks ago I chronicled my battle with Salmonella poisoning. It was a horrific week-long event that affected my entire body. As I was in the throes of the infection, I told myself several times that when I got better, I would do everything in my power to appreciate what it…

By Marguerite Jill Dye Driving along our area’s roads we are often reminded of Tropical Storm Irene’s devastation, but what I remember most about Irene is Vermonters’ big hearts: heroes rescuing and reaching out to those in need, sharing food, water, shelter, and compassion. Strong, independent, reliable folk, Vermonters care for one another and for…

Most of you know that I was, for a very long time, a nationally touring stand-up comic. Some of you know that I had a weekly comedy show this past winter up at the Summit Lodge. What nearly none of you know about is that the best audience for which I ever performed was the…

By Joe Rankin The honey bee is an introduced species in North America. It’s only been here about 400 years, brought by English colonists who found none after stumbling ashore and then promptly put in an order with their backers back home. The honeybee, more properly known as the European honeybee, took to its new…

It was reported last week that George Zimmerman, the infamous neighborhood watch coordinator who was acquitted of second-degree murder in 2013, was punched in the face inside a bar in Sanford, Fla, after bragging about the 2012 incident in which he shot and killed the unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman was not badly hurt in…