By Cal Garrison, a.k.a. Mother of the Skye Happy New Year to all of us! This week's Horoscopes are coming out under the light of a Pisces Moon with aspects that are creating levels of intensity that require awareness and control. Try not to get carried away by things that upset your applecart. Let people…

By Marguerite Jill Dye I am ready to take angel messages to heart and make a conscious decision to focus on the positive and create more happiness in and around me in 2017. I announced this to a longtime friend who sighed, reached up to heaven in gratitude, and silently mouthed “Hallelujah!” It’s about time,…

By Joe Rankin Back in September, I put out the bird feeder. I try not to do it too early because, well . . . bears. My feathered friends emptied it in hours. A couple of refills later and I decided I couldn’t afford to put out the buffet that early. The weather was warm;…

I don’t know when I got so behind the times but I have a feeling that retirement is the culprit! I am happy in my little world of limited technology but when various items need replacing I am going to have quite the time adjusting. I am the type who tends to replace things only…

As you read this, 2016 is over. 2016 is roaring to a close, taking nearly every talented person with it, Pat Harrington, David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Dan Haggerty, Glen Frey, Abe Vigota, George Gaynes, Tony Burton, George Kennedy, Nancy Reagan, Robert Horton, Joe Santos, Joe Garagiola, Ken Howard, Peter Brown, Garry Shandling, James Noble, Patty…

Hey guys, do you remember the 90s? I sure do: the Pogs, the Beanie Babies, the Reebok Pumps, that Sears commercial where the deadbeat suburban husband finally submits to his wife’s entreaties to order a new air conditioner for their home, vowing to “call now”—and, most of all, the usage of the word “Not!” as…

By Marguerite Jill Dye The winter solstice arrived, promising the coming of light in our darkest hours. The other celebrations in this season also honor illumination: Christmas worships the love and light of Christ and our highest, truest selves; Hanukkah, the festival of light, hails the miracle of purifying the temple when a day’s supply…

By Patrick White You picked it out, maybe cut it down, brought it home, watered it, and decorated it. But do you know what species of tree that is, surrounded by presents in your living room? If you purchased your Christmas tree rather than cutting it out of the woods, chances are it’s either a…

By Kyle Finneron Did you know you can rip someone’s beard if you put too much shoulder pressure on their jaw? I didn’t, but I do now. After my first eye opening attempt at jiu-jitsu I decided, even though I was steamrolled, that I could see myself enjoying this new sport. Jiu-jitsu in my eyes…

Merry Christmas to me! I got my new helmet and goggles! I shed a bit of a tear when I put aside my old faithful helmet, with its dents, and well … more dents.  Up to now I have only had one helmet, my first, and I have had it for 13-14 years.  The funny…

Millennials aren’t found of talking about age because they are “as young as they feel.” They are the age they are and, at any point, that is the right age to be. Such is the confidence of youth. It is among older folks one hears the talk of how aging feels, or how one feels…

On Dec. 16, Netflix released to streaming audiences the new film “Barry.” Purchased by the scarlet-hued home-entertainment colossus following its September premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, “Barry” marked 2016’s second indie drama about the early years of Barack Hussein Obama, who, by the looks of it, poses a threat of displacing Abraham Lincoln…

There are many worthy options for quality music in this area so it’s great when a new “local” arrives and adds to that. David Soltz is starting to make a name for himself in the Ludlow/Killington region. Soltz moved up here last year from Massachusetts and plays every Friday and Saturday night at Santa Fe…

  By Marguerite Jill Dye I confided to my friend that in spite of the holidays, I’ve felt down about our nation’s current events and guessed I should read “Mein Kampf” to better understand the mind of a dictator. She said “Get out of the raging river and find a different path. You can’t see…

By Madeline Bodin Mention carpenter ants, and Declan McCabe, chair of the biology department at St. Michael’s College in Colchester, thinks about the time he got a lungful of formic acid. He had taken a class into the field to survey insects. He saw a huge ant and sucked it up into his aspirator. Yes,…