By Merisa Sheman The yard was covered in white. I mean, really covered in white. It wasn’t that pathetic little amount that we got on the first snowfall last week where you talk yourself into thinking that there’s probably enough snow to ski some laps around the yard before the snow is all gone. This…

By Kevin Theissen It has been estimated that fewer than 50% of adults have a will or other estate documents in place, which may not be entirely surprising. No one wants to be reminded of their own mortality or spend too much time thinking about what might happen once they’re gone. But a will is…

By Lee Emmon For nearly a decade, I’ve been adding to a brush pile in the woods behind my home. A depository of pruned branches, dead flowers, discarded logs, old leaves, and an occasional Christmas tree, the pile is a decaying testament to seasons and chores long past. Over the years, the pile has settled…

By Cassandra Tyndall 2020 has been one of the most dramatic years I’m sure many of us can remember. Amongst dramatic years, there are dramatic months and dramatic weeks. When I studied the astrology of this year, I highlighted this week as being one of the most intense and direction shifting all year. This is…

By Gary Salmon Maps are windows to our world. The more colorful the more interesting. They tell us where we have been and can even direct us to future actions. Two come to mind that have been useful this year. The weekly Tuesday Covid-19 maps of Vermont continued to stay the same color while a…

By Merisa Sherman It has snowed before and it will snow again. As the world swirls around us like snowflakes in a mid-winter storm, I find comfort in these words. I find that I repeat them to myself, like a comforting mantra, while I focus on my breathing. I let the words wrap around me…

By Dom Cioffi It’s Monday night as I’m writing this – the eve before one of the most contentious presidential elections in recent history. I voted two weeks ago by mail-in ballot and have spent most of the past 14 days avoiding media. I haven’t watched or read the news and I certainly haven’t engaged…

By Mary Ellen Shaw They say that with age comes wisdom. While talking with a friend recently we discussed how a lot of things we thought were “cool” back in the day were actually bad ideas! Many of us baby boomers grew up in houses where parents smoked. Back in the 50s when we were…

By Sandra Dee Owens For years I told myself (and anyone listening), that I was going to begin a personal challenge of skiing the length of Vermont on the Catamount Trail—but I never did. Years before, while backcountry skiing with a group of girlfriends, one gal recounted skiing the entire length of this Nordic ski…

By Laurie D Morrisey Pine barrens are certainly piney – but they’re not the least bit barren. They were so named not because they lack life, but because colonists found them unsuitable for raising cattle or growing vegetable and grain crops. Left behind by the glaciers more than 10,000 years ago, pine barrens are characterized…

By Cassandra Tyndall A new month brings a new batch of astrological possibilities. That being said, it doesn’t mean things will magically progress immediately. When it comes to topics involving communication, logistics, paperwork and money, the devil will be in the details. Move too fast and you might have to re-do something. Yes, that’s frustrating.…

By Cassandra Tyndall Sometimes, the truth can be stranger than fiction. The continuing reverse cycle of Mercury in Scorpio continues to dredge up information that may surprise, shock and intrigue. The desire to find a sense of balance or peace may be blindsiding. Glossing over facts or seeing what you want to see doesn’t make…

By Merisa Sherman Anticipation coincides with the rumble of the engine, as you switch from the pavement onto one of Vermont’s gravel roads. It’s past foliage, so reddish-brown leaves line the sides of the road like a rural sidewalk. Or it’s late spring and the leaves are their brightest green, weighing down the branches as…

By Scott Funk Remember when it was just the Good Humor® truck?  It would come pling, pling, plinging down the street and every kid on the block would run screaming, “It’s the ice cream man! It’s the ice cream man!”  He’d stop without completely pulling over to the curb, walk around to the side of…

By Dom Cioffi Like most teenagers these days, my son has an affinity for the popular music that dominates the charts. Thankfully, while I am forced to listen to the occasionally track by Yung Gravy and Juice World, he also appreciates plenty of classic rock staples from bands like the Eagles, Aerosmith, and the Beatles.…