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These days I’ve been on edge more than normal.  There are a number of factors that could be contributing to my anxiety. But I’m sure that first on the list is the election that’s only days away.

Not so long ago I became angry and frustrated after spending too much time in my political echo chamber of choice. My initial response was to rage around the house muttering and sputtering.  Realizing that I needed a more constructive outlet, I stomped out to the mud room, put on my boots and jacket and charged down the hill for a three-and-a-half-mile walk.

And then something shifted. I began to notice Keep reading

As I sit down to write this, it’s late afternoon.  But the sky is darkening as if night is falling.  A storm is brewing.  Nothing is stirring.  It’s the literal calm before the storm.  
The scene outside my window mirrors the churning in my soul whenever I try to make sense of the news these days. 

In order to cope with the endless stream of unsettling events, I find myself seeking out inspirational and comforting words.  And earlier this week I stumbled on just the thing…Keep reading

Several years ago, we had the barn that was attached to the north end of our house torn down and replaced by a more usable structure.  For the entire summer there was a trench along the east side of our house, rimmed by a mound of dirt.

After the first serious rain the newly dug trench and ridges were dotted with chunks of pottery that had been cast aside by former owners of our house.  And not just pottery, but glass shards, handwrought ironware, and even a few animal bones found their way to the top of the dirt after decades of lying undisturbed below. 

Recently I’ve been feeling like I’m back in the trench discovering bits and pieces of lives lived decades ago.  But my current trench can’t be found around the foundation of the house.  Rather, it’s inside my head and heart.
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My husband Chuck had been making plans for last Monday’s solar eclipse since 2017.
Part of those preparations included determining the optimal place to experience the longest period of totality.  Criteria included maximum duration of darkness, unobstructed views of the sky, in a setting within less than half a day’s drive from home with overnight accommodations.
The winner turned out to be a ski resort in the far northern reaches of Vermont. This is not a place…
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My great-grandfather was born on February 14.  His parents named him Valentine and his friends called him Val.  The card in the photo is one of his combo Valentine’s Day/Birthday cards.  I vaguely remember seeing it in an old album when I was a kid and recognizing that the message was that people were thinking of him.  He mattered to them. Giving and receiving cards was a large part of my elementary school Valentine’s Day celebration.  The little paper cards, bearing the words “Be mine,” that we slipped into the slots of each other’s decorated shoeboxes carried the message that…

Imagine leaving all of the unpleasant things from the old year behind and just starting all over again in the new year.  Now that we’ve entered the second month of 2024 I’m aware of the 2023 residue that clings – wars, extreme weather, lingering effects of the pandemic, political animosity.  To say that we’re living in unsettled times is an understatement.  And it makes me anxious. But in addition to the anxiety that I brought into this year with me, I also brought a surprising source of inspiration: Matilda.  Matilda Hoyt Alexander, to be precise. I never met Matilda. Not…

The T-intersection where our gravel road intersects with the main gravel road leading to the paved roads (three miles away in one direction, about a half mile the other) is as mucky and mired as I’ve ever seen it.

Even though it’s showing signs of beginning to ease, Mud Season in Central Vermont persists.

There are things I dread this time of year, starting with the rapid cycle of thawing-freezing-thawing that ensures you never know what you will encounter on any road, even if you had traveled it just hours earlier.  On the way down the hill, you might be bumping along on what seem to be valleys and peaks deeply etched into the solidly frozen ground by the tires of vehicles great and small.

Then, just an hour or so later, as you travel back up the same road Keep reading