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
Author: Deb German
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
Remembering Michael Maule: Important Ballet Lessons for Life
Nothing like a good ballet school audition to remind you you’re not at the center of the universe. This is not a bad thing. It had already dawned on you years earlier in a classroom full of young ballet hopefuls when you did not get the instructor’s attention you so felt you deserved one afternoon. And … Continue reading Remembering Michael Maule: Important Ballet Lessons for Life
I Can’t Twirl Pasta (and other truths): Weekend Vignettes
Whoever coined the ridiculous phrase, You can do whatever you want to do, was dead wrong: I can never be a rocket scientist (not that I wanted to). I do want to twirl pasta skillfully against a spoon and I can't do that, either. Still makes for pretty pictures and good eatin' no matter how it … Continue reading I Can’t Twirl Pasta (and other truths): Weekend Vignettes
Nostalgia and the Shipwrecked Mind: Righting the Boat
Every major social transformation leaves behind a fresh Eden that can serve as the object of somebody’s nostalgia. And the reactionaries of our time have discovered that nostalgia can be a powerful political motivator, perhaps even more powerful than hope. Hopes can be disappointed. Nostalgia is irrefutable.—Mark Lilla Should you doubt that bit of wisdom, … Continue reading Nostalgia and the Shipwrecked Mind: Righting the Boat
Simple Living versus Excess (or How Not to be Insufferable)
It's dang cold in Vermont. Last week's record-breaking warm temperatures were but a tease: we woke up to 2° this morning. Still, I managed to run with Scout on Friday after work in frigid air with a bitter wind in my face (his ears were all aflap). On a positive note, I captured the moment he discovered a … Continue reading Simple Living versus Excess (or How Not to be Insufferable)
Romancing Haglund’s Deformity: My Forever Running Partner
Vermont broke weather records last week: my car thermometer said 73° when I left work Friday afternoon, with partly cloudy skies and a pleasant breeze that carried an earthy spring scent—in February. I could be wrong, I speculated to Handsome Chef Boyfriend a few days earlier, and I know there's still plenty of time for big snow, … Continue reading Romancing Haglund’s Deformity: My Forever Running Partner
Battle Cry of the Middle-Aged Bullied
How much bully-induced rage does it take to finally push a person over the precipice? Schoolyard bullies have enjoyed too much press for the last twenty or so years: there is nothing new under the sun to report about that, except possibly its lightning fast delivery through time and space thanks in no small part to … Continue reading Battle Cry of the Middle-Aged Bullied
Photo Essay: Scout Between Storms
Niko left us with about eight inches of snow on Thursday, Orson's knocking at the door right now: we expect him to gift us with ten to twelve or so inches. Yesterday Scout—with shiny, new off-leash privileges—took advantage of the calm between the storms.
Sycamore Stories 