By Carolyn Lorié Multiflora rose is not without charm; in fact, there was a time when people went out of their way to plant it. The pretty spring flowers have a sweet scent; birds nest in the sturdy branches and eat the berries. You might even catch a glimpse of a bear or snowshoe hare…

What, exactly, is the difference between Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump? “Everything,” you might say. “Every single thing.” Yeah, that’s mostly right, but not entirely. There is one very obvious similarity, in that both Sanders and Trump have, from opposite ends of the liberal-conservative spectrum, engendered more genuine, visible excitement than their counterparts from within…

By Brady Crain Looking down from the top of Superstar, Crain snapped this photo. It was the middle of his 40-pound weighted-vest hike up and down that trail. At about mile 15, I crossed Route 4 from the Sherborne Pass lot to head up Deer’s Leap. Once on the trail, I squatted down to stretch…

By Cal Garrison, a.k.a. Mother of the Skye This week's Horoscopes are coming out under the light of a Cancer Moon, with aspects that are bound to require more than the usual amount of mental and emotional self control. The next few days will be governed by the way we handle ourselves from moment to…

By Dom Cioffi I am a self-admitted news junkie. I’m not sure why. It could be due to over two decades of work in the newspaper and television industries. Or it could be just an innate desire to be knowledgeable on as many subjects as possible. Whatever the case, I like the news. And I…

Jazz legend Mose Allison once said, "The essentials of jazz are: melodic improvisation, melodic invention, swing and instrumental personality." With that in mind, make sure you don't miss Oak Totem Trio do their take on jazz at Choices Restaurant this coming Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. It is also the first of what might…

It was an eventful week here in Killington, my week starting with an 11 mile run, the basic, Sherburne Pass to Killington Peak and back. It started with me not feeling well…thinking I might only make it about four  miles. But then, a mile in, I inhaled a rather large moth. I couldn’t cough it…

Have you ever had the feeling that, for the majority of the country, rural New England exists primarily as a collection of elite and picturesque yet vaguely sinister private boarding schools? In movies and novels, the New England prep school is not merely a setting but a hermetic, lyrically genteel genre unto itself, with its…

By Michael J. Caduto Encountering a snake in the garden causes many people to shriek or even panic. Yet snakes and another often unloved creature, the American toad, are among the most effective forms of pest control. If you tolerate these herpetological visitors–or better yet, encourage their presence–you’ll be less likely to share your garden…

A few months ago, I made an appointment with the editor of The Mountain Times to discuss some ideas I had for a beer-themed column. She bought into my idea of visiting with members of our region’s craft brewing community and reviewing Vermont-made beers with them. To keep it interesting, we would taste a beer…

By Cal Garrison, a.k.a. Mother of the Skye This week's Horoscopes are coming out under the light of an Aries Moon, on the Eve of Sept. 1. According to the prophets and the soothsayers the next 30 days are supposed to be one Hell of a time. Many have said that we're not going to…

By Dom Cioffi I just may be the luckiest man in the world… It started out as a normal Saturday morning with some fresh coffee, the morning news, a little Internet browsing and a quick peruse through my email. I like to utilize my extra time on the weekend to look back through the previous…

By Tiffany Soukup This past winter I spent three months exploring East Africa, traveling through ten different countries and covering over 8,077 miles. I was continuously impressed with how much local guides knew about their surroundings, in particular the human uses of various plants. In some instances we could not walk more than ten feet…

This week was fun, a long run, a short fast run, and a whole bunch of burpees, and otherwise uneventful, without much to report. The long run was pretty easy, just shy of 12 miles. I ran the Sherburne Trail, up the Hershey Highway to Pico Peak, back down the Hershey Highway to the trail,…

Hey, look, guys: summer is almost over. Does that fill you with sadness or excitement? And if the former—and if you haven’t been enrolled in school in more than a few years—then why? Selecting a “favorite season” is first of all an unnecessary endeavor and, like choosing a favorite thing in any other category (books,…