Recently I looked back way beyond the days of my own yesteryear. A coffee meeting with two cousins took me back to the late1800s. One cousin, Betty, lives in Rutland so I see her often. I barely remembered my other cousin, Kathie, as I had not seen her since I was about 10 years…

By Carolyn Lorié Unlike the majority of birds, brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) do not start life surrounded by their own kind. The females do not build nests, but instead add their eggs to the clutches of other birds—usually one per nest, but sometimes several. Host birds generally do not recognize the dumped egg and will…

I write this column on my younger brother’s 20th birthday—happy birthday, Zach! For me, naturally, this occasion of my younger brother’s aging out of adolescence has led, with predictably anxious self-centeredness, to reflections on my own increasingly ancient status within a youth culture with which I still sort of identify: I’m old enough now to…

Cal 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 look into this weeks horoscopes    …

  By Meghan McCarthy McPhaul The Karner blue, New Hampshire’s state butterfly, is a wisp of a thing, a tiny fluttering of silvery-blue wings. Unless you happen to be wandering through a pine barren or black-oak savannah, however, you’re unlikely to spot one. Even then, it would be a challenge, as the butterflies have been…

  Empathy, perspective and ethics: refugees and Rutland Today I am going to leave my usual topics and briefly dive into a topic that is in the news here locally: Syrian refugees coming to Rutland. I was surprised and pleased when Mayor Louras announced that Rutland would be hosting 100 Syrian refugees. I was proud,…

Most of the young couples I know who have recently gotten married lived together for a couple years before becoming engaged. For two people who have cohabitated romantically for an extended period of time, their daily routine no different from that of a traditional married couple, does marriage make their lives together significantly different in…

By Dom Cioffi It was after midnight and everyone was in bed. I didn’t feel like watching television and I didn’t feel like reading. I just wanted to be outside. After all, I waited all year to spend time at the beach. If I was going to be there – especially after what we paid…

By Cal Garrison, a.k.a. Mother of the Skye This week’s Horoscopes are coming out in the afterglow of the Summer Solstice, under the light of a moon that is rolling into Aries as we speak. There is a buffet of aspects that we could noodle around and analyze from multiple angles, but I get bored…

Cal 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 look into this weeks horoscopes    …

Cal 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 look into this weeks horoscopes    …

By Dom Cioffi As I stated in last week’s column, in an effort to inspire my 12-year-old son with his drum lessons, I decided to take him to his first large-scale rock concert. He’s seen local bands play at smaller venues like farmer’s markets and city parks, but he’s never been to a big-time show.…

Courtesy of Sherburne Memorial Library Sherburne Memorial Library invites the public to come in and find out about its extensive offerings. Killington’s Sherburne Library hosts concerts, clubs, classes and programs for all ages By Polly Lynn Yes, your local library still feature books—and the book clubs for adults and summer reading programs for kids that…

A group of friends met for breakfast the other day. One topic of conversation was children’s birthday parties in the 50s. A popular trend today is to celebrate at a rented venue. But we all remember our homes as “party headquarters” back in the day. A birthday party was announced with a handwritten invitation. It…

Jack-in-the-pulpit–or is that Jill? By Meghan McCarthy McPhaul Jack-in-the-pulpits (Arisaema triphyllum) are not the most colorful spring flowers, but what they lack in beauty they make up for in interesting characteristics. These easily-identified plants are full of surprises, from their ability to change from male to female (and back) to the bite of their calcium…