Spring comes to Vermont in fits and starts, coughing and sputtering like an old man in the morning. This year is no exception: the occasional raw, chilly day will spoil any ten-day outlook, just as the gnats do my early morning backyard excursions with Scout. What is the point of a trustworthy dog off leash, … Continue reading Vermont Springtime Portrait: Pictures and Words
Month: April 2017
Toying with Words: Pondering the Evolution of Language
For years growing up I believed the Edgar Allan Poe short story “Murders in the Rue Morgue” was in fact Murders-in-the-Room Org. I knew of it only because my mom loved to wax poetic about the 1930s horror film based on it. I imagined a bloody scene in a bedroom ruled by a wrinkly, club-wielding … Continue reading Toying with Words: Pondering the Evolution of Language
Winter Has Loosed Its Grip: Perfect Friday Afternoon in Vermont
In my fledgling foray into photography I'm learning light is everything, especially when your equipment is limited to an oldish Nikon and a single lens; I can make do for now, and should until I know better. The light in Arlington Park on Friday afternoon was clean scrubbed and brilliant following a spate of biting … Continue reading Winter Has Loosed Its Grip: Perfect Friday Afternoon in Vermont
Daily Commute
Like so many geographic place names in America, Taconic comes from a Native American word, meaning “in the trees.” I can think of no better moniker for the landscape that greets us each morning, but the daily commute frees one (if only briefly) from the confines of the woods which can at times overwhelm. In … Continue reading Daily Commute
Manchester by the Sea: Reflections on the Human Condition
No one in the South ever asks if you have crazy people in your family. They just ask what side they’re on.—Julia Sugarbaker I chide my twenty-something for goading me to watch horror films with him when we’re together. Twice he succeeded some years ago, once for The Ring (do not go there, gentle reader), and … Continue reading Manchester by the Sea: Reflections on the Human Condition
Sycamore Stories 