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Path of Totality
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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Deadra 
Valentine
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…
My Ghost
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…
Treasures of Darkness
I will give you the treasures of darkness…” (Isaiah 45:3)
When I was a child, I was afraid of the dark. I was certain that hideous creatures lurked in the shadows, ready to pounce the minute I let down my guard. At bedtime I insisted that the hall light outside my bedroom door remain lit until after I fell asleep, convinced that it would keep the other-worldly beings at bay.
Like most children, I eventually outgrew the need Keep reading
Mud!
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