Discover More from This Category: Columns
Looking Back: Christmas in the 1950s
December 13, 2023
By Mary Ellen Shaw It’s almost Christmas and as I look back I realize how the holiday is very different in today’s world. When I was a child in the ‘50s, downtown Rutland was bustling with shoppers who had numerous stores from which to select Christmas gifts. The windows were beautifully decorated for the season…
Livin’ the Dream: Sing with all the colors of the mountain
December 13, 2023
By Merisa Sherman You can see the stars overhead, twinkling against the shimmering clouds in the night sky. There are moments of clear, but this is Vermont. The clouds move about as they will, blocking different constellations throughout the evening. Almost as if by drawing your focus to different moments in the night sky, they…
The Movie Diary: Something smells funny
December 13, 2023
For reasons likely buried deep in my DNA, I have always had an acute sense of smell. While my other senses have been ravaged by time, my olfactory awareness has maintained a high-level status. My mother also had a great sniffer, which posed considerable problems for me and my two brothers as she was…
The Outside Story: Otters among us
December 13, 2023
In winter, river otters head upstream into the uplands, seeking areas of fast-moving water that remain open—at least open enough for an otter to slip into a stream in pursuit of fish. You might catch a brief glimpse of an otter along one of these smaller streams, as I did years ago with my…
Mountain Meditation: Gifts from the heart
December 13, 2023
It’s that time of year once again when we think of our dear family and friends. What would life be without special people who touch our souls and warm our hearts? Gift giving in many cultures is an honored tradition. It certainly is in ours. We live in a materialistic, throw-away society where objects…
Cosmic Catalogue: Great sacrifice
December 13, 2023
There are times in life, when in order to get to an ideal destination, you have to traverse through places you’d rather not endure. Life, at times, can seem like a continual cost-benefit analysis. In order to have X, you must compromise on Y. In order to compromise on Y, the desire for X has…
It shouldn’t have snowed
December 6, 2023
By Curt Peterson It shouldn’t have snowed, no, it shouldn’t have snowed While nothing is yet where it is meant to be stowed. The mower? Where the pickup should be put away. And the plow guy will say the pickup’s in the way. The splitter? The runabout? They’re misplaced as well. Their intended destination…
Senior Scene: Reflecting on the holiday season
December 6, 2023
Christmas and Hanukkah are special to all of us in many ways. Even if we complain about the hustle and bustle we all love the children, the toys, tinsel, parties and chaos. Charles Dickens said “Oh, would that Christmas lasted the whole year through, as it ought. Would that the spirit…
Living the Dream: What’s in your car?
December 6, 2023
Ever get to the mountain and find that you are missing an essential piece of equipment — like your boots — or just don’t have the right goggle lens for the day? Well, I have a bag for that. No seriously, I hate having everything loose in my car, especially when I might be driving…
The Movie Diary: A monstrous move
December 6, 2023
Growing up, I used to love watching cartoons on Saturday mornings. My mom was pretty good about letting me hang out in my pajamas, eat cereal, and take in the colorful programming, but by late morning, she was usually pushing me out the door to play. And I was usually ready to join my friends…
The Outside Story: Looking up for the Geminid meteor shower
December 6, 2023
I’ve always loved the idea of watching the sky for shooting stars. But I’m much more likely to be up to watch the sunrise than I am to stay awake past midnight, when most meteor showers happen. Lucky for me, the upcoming Geminid meteor shower will provide an opportunity to wish upon…
Mountain Meditation: Last bear cave message until spring
December 6, 2023
If you follow my columns, you know I’m an artist and writer with a vivid imagination. My spiritual mentor says it assists me in communicating with the spiritual world. Our anthropologist friend and neighbor says I’m lucky my imagination allows me to explore my unconscious like Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung did. Jung believed the…
Poetry is Power: Dogs are friends forever
December 6, 2023
Dogs, Are friends, Are love, Are happiness, Are fun, Are companions. Dogs are amazing, They are so important to our lives, They brighten things up when it gets dark. They are always our friends, They listen to us, They are always positive and wanting to play, They tell us that everyone needs a friend,…
Cosmic Catalogue: The good fight
December 6, 2023
Do you remember the good ol’l days when Saturn was in Capricorn? Concepts such as “boundaries” and “clarity” and the word “no” actually meant something. If you stood up for yourself or honored what was right for you, you were “so brave.” Then Saturn moved into Aquarius. What was right for you didn’t mean…
December is the start of bird feeding
November 29, 2023
By John Hall, VTF&W Bird feeders offer an easy and safe way to interact with wildlife, and installing them after Dec .1 limits the potential to attract bears, keeping you, your pets, the birds and the bears themselves safe — and properly wild. “Winter bird feeding is a great way to observe and…