Hal Borland, American author, journalist, and naturalist once said, “No Winter lasts forever, no Spring skips its turn. April is a promise that May is bound to keep, and we know it.” English writer Samuel Johnson said that April can be a moment of joy for those who have survived the winter. This April seems…

  I found myself stopping every few minutes. Not to catch my breath or recalibrate my route, but simply to stop moving for a moment and let myself really take it all in. Too much all at once, when there hasn’t been enough at all. From one of the most boring winters that I can…

Growing up, I was never the kid who caused a lot of trouble. I did my homework, played sports, and did my best to endear myself to girls. I suppose you could call me boring, but I looked at it as the easiest way to navigate childhood.  Not surprisingly, I had an older brother who…

The Outside Story By Decan McCabe The sharpest contrast between rivers and lakes is in water movement. While rivers flow inexorably downhill, lake water movement is more subtle. Anyone who has weathered a storm on a lake, however, can attest that less consistent water movement does not mean no water movement at all. In fact,…

I hear the wind wheezing by my ears as I race through the trees, the tips of my skis barely missing the trees. I can hear the snow blowers blasting snow and people carving on the slopes. The skies are clear, a perfect bluebird day! I dive in and out of the trees, under and…

My brother Billie met Ann Wallen when he attended Colton ski camp. Ann was helping out in the kitchen and knew we’d become friends, too. That was the week Dad bought our land under 6 feet of snow from Oren Bates. It was 1958 when Killington was just beginning. When we arrived to begin our…

From the sky, Thousands of snowflakes fall, Layering up, Making mountains of snow. Fluttering down, Like feathers. So beautiful and unique. Just like us, We are beautiful and unique, And don’t let anyone tell you, That you are not, Because, You are amazing, You are beautiful, And you are strong, No one can put you…

The adage that one door closes while another door opens is one I’m sure you know well. In theory, it sounds viable, practical and even doable. In reality, it doesn’t always feel so pleasant. How do you decide which door to close? How do you know you even want that door to close? If you…

Editor’s note: Bruce Bouchard, former executive director of The Paramount Theatre, and his partner Maureen McKenna Padula have traveled from Rutland to the Riviera Maya for the past three years. This series covers adventures, food, and testimonials from Vermont to the tropics. This is the last in the series as they Rutland travelers have now…

A common question that children are asked is, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Odds are that their answer will not be the future profession they choose after graduation. I read a survey that was given to children in the U.S. whose ages ranged from 8-12. The child who said he…

I woke up this morning to the sounds of birds chirping outside my window. And not just one lonely, mixed up and confused bird desperately looking for a bite to eat buried underneath the snow. No, this was a plethora of birds, belting out their happy morning songs on another beautifully warm day. Last week’s…

Parents and children, if they’re lucky, will find a multitude of ways to bond. My son and I have been fortunate in this respect because we’ve always found common activities that have brought us closer together.  Early on, we bonded over Legos. I grew up enthralled with the plastic building blocks and subsequently passed this…

Frogs have hopped about Earth since before the time of the dinosaurs, and it shows. Celebrated for their amphibious lifestyle and cacophonous choruses, the long arc of frog evolution has yielded other awesome and efficient adaptations in organs from their lungs to their skin. Research on green tree frogs demonstrates that frog lungs also assist…

Building our Killington Dream dream lodge, Part 7 I felt I was living a double life since everything happened Friday through Sunday. Returning to “normalcy” in New Jersey resembled acting in a surreal play. We knew once we crossed the New York State line and entered Vermont, the magic would start. Our weekends were filled…

Colorful flowers, Purple, yellow, pink and white, Petals of color.