It’s tough on Tennesseans. And Texans. I remember the first time the mercury dipped below zero when I was living in my first home here, my delicious little lakeside cottage in Vermont’s exquisite Upper Valley: I recall the first time I felt pain when I tiptoed outside, the first time I heard my shepherd Clarence-the-Canine cry … Continue reading When the World is Nine Below
Outdoors
Tail of the Dog, in Which Warden Prepares to Play the Wrong Piano Concerto
In 1999 the Portuguese virtuosa Maria Joao Pires famously sat at the piano with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, conductor Riccardo Chailly at the podium, awaiting the first bar of the piano concerto she expected to play for this lunchtime concert. Imagine her surprise when the orchestra began playing a different piece of music—the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor—instead … Continue reading Tail of the Dog, in Which Warden Prepares to Play the Wrong Piano Concerto
Photo Essay: Grey Day on the Battenkill
Ain’t no sunshine in Vermont (cue the Bill Withers). And thus far today seems a carbon copy of yesterday—solid grey as far as the eye can see, the distinct chill in the air nudging you to put something warm on your back. Makes me whiney. Autumn in New England is spectacular at the height of leaf … Continue reading Photo Essay: Grey Day on the Battenkill
Wilmington in Black and White
We pulled the Subaru into our Vermont driveway late yesterday afternoon with another 2,200 miles on it, a couple of road-weary travelers we, still a little sugar-frosted from the beach and lightly crisped around the edges. I made it all the way to the Pennsylvania state line on Saturday before I fought back tears thinking … Continue reading Wilmington in Black and White
Twelve Seconds on the Battenkill; Summer Cycling in Vermont
Making Sense out of the Senseless: Love is the Answer
Annie Lennox urged me to pick up my feet and pick up the pace through sweaty ear buds, her lyrics suffused with emotions: love, loss, loneliness, joy, she knows each of them intimately, she sings. A perfect Vermont Saturday morning was the only other motivation I needed to run: success is measured in hot cheeks, … Continue reading Making Sense out of the Senseless: Love is the Answer
Agricultural Reflections: Cycling on the Battenkill
People here in Vermont are much closer to the land than they are in other states where I've lived. The state as a whole is sparsely populated, sparsely developed, and most of us live within spitting distance of at least one working farm. The road where I ride my bicycle is dotted with them, and an … Continue reading Agricultural Reflections: Cycling on the Battenkill
Self-Stewardship: Healthful Habits, Happy Body
Updates: I am pretty dang pleased to report my foot issues have not yet derailed this latest big effort to resurrect my beloved running habit. I told somebody yesterday I've learned to view every glorious, temperate day in Vermont as a gift; last week there were several of them, and the temperature once even climbed into the … Continue reading Self-Stewardship: Healthful Habits, Happy Body
Running on the Battenkill: Easter Sunday
Your body is a temple. I'm an adherent but lately have not behaved in a way to reflect this heartfelt conviction owing to circumstances and such. I started running about fifteen years ago for several reasons, chiefly to energize myself in the early morning hours ahead of a long day dealing with a difficult child. By 2011 … Continue reading Running on the Battenkill: Easter Sunday
Snowless Winter: A Walk in the Woods
The woods are lovely, dark and deep—Robert Frost Mt. Equinox looms over the Vermont Valley at 3,816 feet, the highest point of the Taconic Range, a finger of the Appalachians, and the oldest mountains in the country: Mother Myrick Mountain lies to its north, and Red Mountain to the South, the place we call home. Everywhere are … Continue reading Snowless Winter: A Walk in the Woods
Sycamore Stories 